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Hard Gospel director supports Dean Bond on ‘Senior Royal’ General Synod invitation
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| The Revd Earl Storey | Dean John Bond |
The director of the Church of Ireland’s Hard Gospel Project, the Revd Earl Storey, has given his support to the recent proposal of the Dean of Connor, the Very Revd John Bond, that a senior member of the Royal Family should be invited to visit and address the General Synod, paralleling the visit and address by President McAleese at the General Synod in Galway last May.
GAFCON Primates outline their plans
The first meeting of the GAFCON Primates’ Council took place in London from 20th-22nd August. The London meeting followed the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON ), held in June in Jerusalem, which issued the Jerusalem Declaration. The Declaration addressed the current inter-Anglican crisis and called for the creation of the Primates’ Council, overseeing a volunteer Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, as well as a new structure of accountability.
Editorial
THE GAFCON PRIMATES’ COMMUNIQUÉ
The publication of the communiqué from the recent London meeting of the GAFCON Primates’ Council (report, page 1) marks a further development of what is termed a "movement" within Anglicanism. The development is particularly significant because of the impetus given to the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) and because of the formation of a secretariat. One thus sees three strands to this formalised, traditional Anglican movement: first, a Primates’ Council; second, a wider body (the FCA) which is open to membership of individuals, Churches, dioceses, provinces and parachurch organisations; and third, a secretariat. A further and most significant aspect of the GAFCON Primates’ communiqué is the reference to the possible formation of a province in North America for the Common Cause Partnership. This would very probably have serious funding implications for The Episcopal Church, USA and possibly also for the Anglican Communion itself and its Communion-wide organisations. Full Text
Home News
Belfast rector to lecture on controversial creationist issue
The rector of St Bartholomew’s, Stranmillis Road, Belfast, and Gazette columnist, the Revd Ron Elsdon, will give a public lecture entitled ‘Rescuing Genesis from the creationists’ in the church on Tuesday 9th September, at 1.15pm. Explaining the background to the lecture, Dr Elsdon said: "Huge questions have been raised about how evangelical Christians (and others) should handle biblical texts, and especially the opening chapter of Genesis.
One-day Cruse conference on aspects of child bereavement
Cruse Bereavement Care (NI) will sponsor a one-day conference entitled ‘Childhood bereavement in the 21st century: spectrums of support for bereaved children and those who care for them’ in the Armagh City Hotel, Armagh, on Thursday 18th September, from 9.30am to 5.00pm.
‘Get real ... ’ theme in CIEF’s programme of Meetings
The Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship (CIEF) has recently announced details of its 2008/09 programme of meetings. The first meeting of the new session will be held in St Saviour’s, Dollingstown, Diocese of Dromore, on Thursday 9th October, when Bishops Harold Miller and Bill Love will speak on ‘Reflections on Lambeth 2008’.
Dublin parish celebrates role in wider community
Over the weekend of 19th - 21st September, St Nahi’s church (parish of Taney), Dublin, will host three days of talks, music and worship to celebrate its role within the south Dublin suburb of Dundrum.
New Communications and Projects Officer appointed for Down and Dromore
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| Scott Mackey |
Scott Mackey has recently joined the Down and Dromore diocesan staff team as Communications and Projects Officer. He comes to the post after two years as Project Officer for Lagan Valley Rural Transport, a rural community transport operator based in Lisburn. Prior to that, he worked as a researcher at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, where he completed his degree in 2002 and his doctorate in 2005.
Mission agency encourages Church members to ‘have their say’
Some 85% of people questioned by the Church Mission Society Ireland (CMSI) at this year’s June/July Summer Madness Christian youth festival at Belfast’s King’s Hall said that they wanted to be more involved in mission, although more than one-third of them felt that the Church in Ireland wasn’t providing clear enough teaching and leadership when it came to mission issues
Scout Award
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Ian Bartlett, a member of both the select vestry of St Columb’s Cathedral, Londonderry, and the Londonderry Scout Executive (centre), and Albert Smallwoods, secretary of Glendermott parish, Derry and Raphoe Bishops’ Appeal representative and current President of the Londonderry Scout Council (2nd right), are pictured following their award of the Silver Acorn for distinguished service to the Scout Movement by Wilfred Mulryne, the Northern Ireland Chief Scout Commissioner (2nd left). Also included are Richard Edgar, Londonderry District Scout Commissioner (extreme left), and Lord Carswell, Northern Ireland Scout President (extreme right).
World News
World Council of Churches commemorates 60 years
Church leaders around the world have continued their celebrations of the founding of the World Council of Churches (WCC) 60 years ago in Amsterdam on 23rd August, 1948, when the grouping officially came together to forge greater Christian unity.
Archbishop claims challenge lies in staying together
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has sent a letter to the bishops of the Anglican Communion, setting out his personal reflections on the recent Lambeth Conference and claiming that the challenge lies in staying together. The letter was issued before last week’s GAFCON Primates’ communiqué.
Vietnam government orders harassment of religious leaders
The government of Vietnam has ordered the harassment, detention and imprisonment of individuals and leaders of diverse religious communities, says a new report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Plea from Georgia’s patriarch not heeded by Russian leader
A plea from Georgia’s Patriarch Ilia II asking Russia’s leadership to "end the confrontation between two Orthodox countries" and not to recognise the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia went unheeded by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Letters to the Editor
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Prince Charles, Christian Aid and GM foods Full Text
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Bishop’s House, Kilkenny Full Text
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Archbishop Harper’s comments on homosexuality Full Text
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Canon Law articles Full Text
Soap
By Ted Woods
Two appointments which had to be made after her consecration loomed on the horizon for Priscilla Barker. One was the appointment of an archdeacon to her former post, and the other was the appointment of a new dean following the death of Randall Strong. A post-mortem had shown that Randall had died from an overdose of sleeping tablets, and his wife, Marjorie, was distraught and devastated.
Focus on St Paul’s, New York
The little chapel that stood
As the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks approaches, Dublin-based Hard Gospel Project Officer, Philip McKinley, describes a recent visit he paid to St Paul’s, an Episcopalian church in New York at the heart of the tragedy and response.
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| The Entrance to St Paul's chapel, New York |
St Paul’s church is a chapel- of-ease to the larger Trinity church, five blocks south on the famous financial hub of Wall Street. Built as a ‘country chapel’ in neo-classical Georgian style in 1766, today, it is Manhattan’s oldest public building in continuous use. It is hidden behind leafy, sycamore trees, lost in a sea of modern skyscrapers and now dwarfed by the gaping hole of Ground Zero straight in front of it.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
It is a church of enormous historical significance. George Washington, along with members of the United States Congress, worshipped in St Paul’s after his inauguration as the first President of the United States. The church contains a Washington pew, above which is an 18th century oil painting of the Great Seal of the United States.
Popular Culture
Irish soul
Gareth Higgins
I’ve been thinking lately about the gifts of Irish spirituality, which is a challenging task. The first challenge, of course, is that of the six million people who live in Ireland, I am but a tiny fraction. How can I possibly speak for all of us? Beyond that, there is a sociological question: Ireland is changing so quickly that trying to explore what it really is, is a bit like chasing mercury - as soon as you catch it, it falls out of your fingers.
Life Lines
The genius of Charles Darwin
Ron Elsdon
The Radio Times heralded its coming with superlatives - ‘barnstorming’ was just one. Channel 4 let Richard Dawkins loose to unfold his story of evolution in a series of three 60-minute programmes. Don’t complain: do you remember how Channel 4 also let Bishop Tom Wright loose to put on a glorious programme on the reality of the resurrection?
Yours Faithfully
Moon time and the Jedi master
Maureen Ryan
When the children were young, they told everyone their parents lived on the moon. Apparently, if we were on a work jag and they asked us something, there was a nine-second delay before a response could be expected - the time, they calculated, it took for communication to be transmitted to earth. We weren’t unnatural parents. We hotly denied we were absent-minded, merely very focused, and in that wonderful state of total concentration, one’s subjective experience of time changes. Sometimes, you can stretch and rub your eyes after what felt like a few minutes and discover that it’s dark outside and the children are hungry. Sometimes, hours pass in a dog’s yawn.
News Extra
Dr Neill tells Parnell Summer School ‘minorities matter’ in education
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| The Most Revd Leo O'Reilly (left) addresses the Parnell Summer School, whilst Archbishop John Neill (centre) and Paul Rowe (right) listen |
The 2008 Parnell Summer School was held recently in Avondale House - the ancestral home of the Irish politician, Charles Stewart Parnell - near Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow. This year’s six-day Summer School took as its overall theme, ‘Educating Ireland’. Among those taking part were the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill; the Most Revd Leo O’Reilly, Roman Catholic Bishop of Kilmore and chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Education; Conor Lenihan, Integration Minister in the Republic of Ireland; and Catriona Ruane, Education Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly.