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Front Page
Bishop Good welcomes major funding boost for parish projects
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| Bishop Ken Good |
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, the Rt Revd Ken Good, has welcomed the awarding of substantial grants by the International Fund for Ireland to two parishes in Derry Diocese - All Saints’, Clooney, in the Waterside area of Londonderry, and Maghera. The funding will enable the employment of staff, running of programmes and building of facilities that will benefit the whole community. All Saints’ Caring Association, linked to All Saints’, Clooney, has received almost £600,000 to allow the organisation to develop a programme of community and cross-community activities, as well as redeveloping its Stewart Community Hall on the city’s Glendermott Road.
Editorial
Inter-Anglican Theology
A recent meeting of the Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC-2) group in Canterbury took particular note of work done by the earlier TEAC Working Party which resulted in the ‘Signposts statement’, setting out the essentials of the Anglican way. Full Text
Home News
Mission agencies’ diversity ‘threatening Anglican unity’ - Canon Comerford
The present "wide divergence and diversity" among mission agencies in the Anglican Communion is contributing to the divisions within the Anglican Communion itself and "threatening Anglican unity," Canon Patrick Comerford told a recent ecumenical gathering. "Those divisions and diversity separating the different mission agencies within the Anglican tradition of the Church reflect the divisions within Anglicanism today and have also contributed in a large measure to creating those divisions," he said.
Dublin group brave weather to ‘engage’ with Haiti suffering
By Garrett Casey
Members of the congregation of CORE, Diocese of Dublin, and friends recently braved overnight sub-zero temperatures to take part in a 24-hour fast and sleep-out which raised over €20,000 (including pledges) for the work of Tearfund in earthquake-struck Haiti. The group started the fast and sleep-out at 8.00pm on a bitterly cold Friday evening and continued until 8.00pm the following day. Amongst those participating were lawyers, accountants, architects and clergy and they spent the night in tents and sleeping bags at the top of Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s busiest pedestrian thoroughfares.
Dean of Sydney to speak at evening reception during May General Synod
The Irish Church Missions (ICM) is planning to host an evening reception for members of General Synod and others on Thursday 6th May, at 7.30pm, in the ICM building, 28 Bachelors Walk, Dublin. The guest speaker will be the Dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, the Very Revd Phillip Jensen, who will speak on the subject of ‘Why I am an Anglican’.
Sinn Féin supports Protestant schools in Republic
At the annual Sinn Féin Ard Fheis held in Dublin earlier this month, a motion in the name of the Ard Chomhairle (the party leadership) was resolved, declaring the party’s view "that the Irish Government approach to withdrawing the support services grant to Protestant feecharging schools is wrong". The resolution continued: "We believe that a process should be laid out so that steps can be put in place in order to bring these schools fully into the public education system with adequate supports for those who need them. The ultimate objective should be a complete end to the charging of fees."
Ordinand recounts experience in Methodist Church placement
By Jon Scarfe
As part of my training as an ordinand at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, I recently completed an eightweek Sunday placement with the Dublin Central Mission (DCM) and Blanchardstown Methodist church. Why the Methodist Church, you might ask? First, it was important to me as presenting a practical way of furthering and utilising the Church of Ireland/Methodist Covenant and second, I saw it as a good way of gaining experience outside my own denominational tradition.
Installation of New Canon
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Canon Terry Cadden, rector of Seagoe, Portadown, Diocese of Dromore (left), is congratulated by Dean Stephen Lowry following Mr Cadden’s recent installation as a canon of Dromore Cathedral.
Archbishop of Armagh issues statement on policing and justice
The historic cross-community vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday 9th March to approve the arrangements for the devolution of policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland is warmly to be welcomed. It now remains for the Northern Ireland Executive and the political parties in the Assembly to move decisively to address the many problems facing Northern Ireland.
Former Belfast Mission to Seafarers’ chaplain honoured
Canon Douglas Goddard, who was senior chaplain to the Mission to Seafarers in the port of Belfast from 1975 until his retirement last year, recently received two awards in recognition of his long and distinguished service within the maritime community. The Secretary General of the Mission to Seafarers, the Revd Tom Heffer, presented Canon Goddard with the title ‘Chaplain Emeritus’. He is the first recipient of the award, having given 35 years’ service with the Society.
C. of I. delegation on Civil Partnership Bill
A delegation representing the General Synod’s Standing Committee last week met with officials of the Republic’s Department of Justice to discuss the Civil Partnership Bill.
The delegation consisted of Bishops Michael Jackson and Ken Clarke, Canon Katharine Poulton and Sam Harper.
A spokesman for the Church of Ireland told the Gazette: "The meeting was at the request of the Department of Justice, following on a submission by Bishop Jackson and the Standing Committee on the Civil Partnership Bill.
"The group expressed the view that many in the Church of Ireland would welcome the legislation and that it was important that Government legislated for all its citizens. They did, however, raise issues relating to freedom of conscience and property."
In response to a request for further information on those issues, the Gazette was told that some members of the delegation had expressed concern over freedom of conscience issues for registrars who may have objections to participating in civil partnership ceremonies for same-sex couples.
The issues of property, we were told, related to the availability of parish halls under the Equal Status Act in respect of goods and services. We were told that clarity was also sought on the issue of Church halls that were not made commercially available, and that Department officials had said they would respond on that point.
Asked if the delegation had conveyed a request from the Church of Ireland for a relevant freedom of conscience provision to be introduced, the Church spokesman told the Gazette that "the concerns raised did not represent a formal request for any specific amendments in terms of a conscience clause", adding: "The representatives of the Minister for Justice made it clear that the Minister has already considered similar representations from other groups and that he has taken a decision that such an exemption would not be in the public interest."
The Gazette was further told that the Church of Ireland group "suggested that with regard to professional civil servants who, as State employees, feel personally compromised were they to act as registrars of such civil partnerships because of their Christian faith and practice, and others who find themselves personally compromised, some way of respecting their scruple should be found when the Bill is enacted as law".
MU All Ireland President commissioned
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Ruth Mercer (front row, 2nd left) is pictured following her recent commissioning in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, as Mothers’ Union (MU) All Ireland President, with her husband, Richard (front row, 2nd right), Bishop Richard Henderson, MU All Ireland Chaplain (left), and Archbishop Alan Harper. Mrs Mercer was accompanied by members of her family (back row, from left) son-in-law, Gary McGowan; daughter, Jenny McGowan; daughter-in-law, Karen Mercer; and son, Ralph Mercer. The commissioning of the All Ireland Board of Trustees also took place at this service.
Parish Profile
Mallow Union of Parishes, Diocese of Cloyne
By Harry Allen
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| Young people pictured in St James’ church, Mallow, at harvest time |
There are three churches in the Mallow union - St James’, Mallow; St Mary’s, Doneraile; and St Mary’s, Castletownroche - all of which are active. St James’ is a Gothic-style building, with a very distinctive ‘H’ shape, a tower and steeple at one end and a large chancel at the other. It was originally built in the 1820s to accommodate 800 people, but with the removal of the side galleries, it now holds about 350. The church was built in the grounds of the much older St Anne’s church, which stands as a ruin nearby.
World News
South African theologian dies in drowning accident
South African theologian, Steve de Gruchy, who died recently in a river accident near the Drakensberg mountains, has been hailed as a pioneer in Church activism, economic and ecological justice. The 48-year-old University of KwaZulu-Natal professor drowned after he fell off a river tube on the Mooi River. Prof. de Gruchy waved to his 15-year-old son, David, that he was alright, but did not reappear. His body was recovered 700 metres downstream some days after the accident.
C. of E. staff picket over pay and pensions
Picket lines were created last Friday (12th March) at Lambeth Palace and Church House, Westminster, in a row over pay and pensions. Some 118 members of staff represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union voted to strike for that afternoon. Church of England employees are angry that their pay is being frozen and that changes to their pensions mean some will lose out on thousands, Premier Christian Radio reported.
Muslim woman in Canada expelled over face veil files complaint
A Muslim woman has filed a human rights complaint after she was expelled from a Canadian college for refusing to remove her face veil. The Egyptian-born woman, who is a permanent resident of Canada, was enrolled in a government-sponsored French language class for new immigrants in Montreal, Quebec. The school, CÉGEP St Laurent, expelled her in November 2009, after she refused to remove her niqab, a veil that covers the face with only a slit for the eyes. The school argued that the niqab interfered with the language teaching, since part of the class involved proper elocution and seeing how a person pronounced words in French.
Focus - Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace Library to stage 400th anniversary exhibition
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| MacDurnan Gospels |
To celebrate 400 years since its foundation, Lambeth Palace Library is offering the public a special exhibition, ‘Treasures of Lambeth Palace Library - 400th Anniversary Exhibition 1610-2010’, to run in London at Lambeth Palace’s Great Hall from Monday 17th May until Friday 23rd July. The exhibition will reveal centuries of history and hints at the depth and intellectual value of the items in the Library’s care, some of which will be on display for the first time. It will draw from the rich and diverse collections of manuscripts, archives and printed books, built up over the past four centuries. Richard Bancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1604 until his death in 1610, bequeathed his extensive collection of printed books and manuscripts "to the Arch-Bishops of Canterbury successively for ever", resulting in the formation of Lambeth Palace Library.
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Gazette Editoro, Canon Ian Ellis, talks to Mrs Gabriel Sewell, the Lambeth Palace Library's Assistant Librarian and Curator of its 400th Annivesary Exibition. Canon Ian Ellis's audio interview with Gabriel Sewell can be found here
The Church of England Record Centre
The Church of England Record Centre at Lambeth Palace Library holds the archives of the central institutions of the Church of England and their predecessor organisations relating to the functions and activities of the Anglican Church in England, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Soap
Down at St. David’s
By Ted Woods
"This is something that I need like a hole in the head," Steve concluded - to himself - as he reflected on a conversation he had had with Eva Jackson, St David’s ‘saint in residence’. She had collared him after church the previous Sunday saying that she had a wonderful idea which she just had to share with him. When was he free? She hoped soon because it couldn’t wait. If it was to work, it had to be acted on quickly. Steve arranged a time early in the week and braced himself. "Steve, I’ve been thinking about Good Friday. You know that this year Oberammergau is once again holding its Passion Play. Well, why not have a St David’s Passion Play as well?"
Popular Culture
Shutter Island and A Single Man: good death?
Gareth Higgins
Norman Mailer once wrote of his disappointment that what he called "the resemblance between cinema and death" had been ignored by critics. I’ve come to believe that what he meant was that putting a record of human beings onto a piece of celluloid is an attempt by mortals at memorialisation: a colourful, dancing tombstone that will, thanks to the advances in digital technology, last forever, on a DVD or hard drive. You never look as good as you do when a great director frames your face; think of Lauren Bacall rising up through smoke in The Big Sleep or Harrison Ford clinging to the edge of the Bradbury Building in Blade Runner or Jeff Bridges lolling against the wall, composing the song that will bring him back to life in the recent Crazy Heart.
Life Lines
When ground and faith are both shaken
Ron Elsdon
Two recent earthquakes have wrought devastation. First, there was Haiti; then, there was Chile. Lives were lost; buildings and public services alike collapsed; and so did much else. For comfortable westerners like us, questions arise. They are not new, but, in the modern intellectual climate, they will not go away and facile answers will - thankfully - be seen immediately for what they are. How could a God who is supposed to be loving and all-powerful allow such things to happen? It’s a good question. One answer goes something like this: if he’s all-powerful and lets this happen, he can’t be very loving. If he’s loving and can’t prevent it, what sort of God is he? Either way, not worth worshipping, that’s for sure. For some, this poses a real problem; for others, it’s climbing on the backs of sufferers to find an excuse for not believing.
Book Reviews
Jesus and the Gospel Women
Author: Joanna Collicutt McGrath
Publisher: SPCK
Price: £10.99
Jesus and Philosophy
Author: Don Cupitt
Publisher: SCM Press
THE THINGS HE SAID : THE STO RY OF THE FIRST EASTER DAY
Author: Stephen Cottrell
Publisher: SPCK; 80pp
Archbishop of Dublin fears emergence of ‘two-tier’ Anglican Communion
By Patrick Comerford
The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd John Neill, thinks that a two-tier fellowship may emerge in the Anglican Communion as the member- Churches debate signing the Anglican Covenant.
Dr Neill, who was speaking recently to members of the Marsh Society in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, Dublin, said: "I don’t like two-tier fellowships, but it may be a way forward at the moment."
The Marsh Society is a student-led discussion group in the Theological Institute which invites guest speakers to talk to students on issue of interest.
The Archbishop, who chaired the committee that finalised the Covenant, said he expected it would be presented for ratification to the General Synod of the Church of Ireland in 2011.
Questioned later about his remarks on the likelihood of a two-tier Anglican Communion, Dr Neill said he feared it might emerge if The Episcopal Church (TEC) and the Anglican Church of Canada declined to sign the Covenant. However, he added: "I think there is a will there to sign it and they want to sign it."
He thought both member- Churches recognised the damage that had already been done in recent years and that they would both sign the Anglican Covenant.
Earlier, he said the Covenant was now in its final form and had been sent out to all provinces in the Anglican Communion. He said the Covenant "creates a balance and seeks to create space to recognise individuality and interdependence."
Dr Neill believed that the Covenant should be seen not as another instrument of communion in the Anglican Communion but as an "instrument of mission," seeking to identify the level of communion that could be expected in order to "hold us together with freedom to differ." The Covenant "requires living together and witnessing together into the future" and Section 4 included an "emphasis on being together to grow together."
The Archbishop added that "all communion, at its best, is limited and, at its worst, impaired," pointing out that various forms of limited or impaired communion already existed within the Anglican Communion; for example, not all the Anglican Churches that were members of the Anglican Communion through the four instruments of communion attended the Lambeth Conference, the Primates’ Meeting or meetings of the Anglican Consultative Council.
Dr Neill pointed out that Lambeth Conference resolutions were not binding; they were simply the guiding opinions of the Episcopal leadership of the Anglican Communion at the time.
Church Army announces secondment
In September of last year, the Church Army announced "a major strategic and managerial" partnership with the Christian Enquiry Agency (CEA). As a result, the Church Army’s National Officer for Fresh Expressions, Peter Graystone, was recently seconded in a part-time capacity to lead in the development of the www.christianity.org.uk website and other work connected with the Agency.
Appointment and Resignation