04.06.2019
Clergy from Dublin & Glendalough and Jerusalem Explore Challenges and Joys of Ministry Together
A group of clergy from our partner diocese in Jerusalem have joined counterparts from Dublin & Glendalough for a shared retreat. The retreat is based in the Emmaus Centre in Dublin and over the course of the coming days clergy will consider the theme of ‘the Challenges and Joys of Ministry’.
The retreat is being organised in two parts with the second part taking place in St George’s Cathedral Guesthouse in Jerusalem in November 2020. It is part of the five year link between the dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough and Jerusalem. Clergy will share experiences from across their diverse ministry contexts and build relationships.
The visiting clergy, including Archbishop Suheil Dawani, arrived in Dublin yesterday and the retreat got underway this morning (Tuesday June 4). Following Morning Prayer, participants met Dr David Tuohy SJ who spoke to them about Dublin & Glendalough’s Come&C intentional discipleship programme.
Dr Tuohy outlined the link between Dublin and Jerusalem – the first Bishop of Jerusalem, Bishop Michael Alexander, had studied and was ordained a deacon in Dublin. He was consecrated in Lambeth Palace in 1841.
He explained the concept of developing intentional discipleship in the dioceses, where people could look for ways to deepen their relationship with God more deeply.
“With Come&C there is a link between discipleship and mission. There is an intentionality. People follow Jesus in different ways. Part of Come&C was to explore what it means to hear the call and how we can find ways of deliberately exploring it rather than waiting to see what happens next,” he explained.
He said the basic text used was John 1 which talks about how Jesus called the early disciples. Within this text, Dr Tuohy said there was invitation, affirmation, calling, revelation and promise and they set out to explore how the church entered into this.
The Five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion were key to exploring discipleship, he said, adding that they were not widely used here but quickly became part of the fabric of the dioceses. They are: TELL – To proclaim God’s Kingdom; TEACH – To teach, baptise and nurture; TEND – To respond to human need; TRANSFORM – To transform unjust structures; TREASURE – To safeguard creation. He added that parishes and individuals were already doing these intuitively and they were then invited to explore the Five Marks.
Dr Tuohy asked the clergy present to examine the Five Marks and identify activities in their own ministries which reflected them.
The retreat continues with small group discussions, prayer and reflection. Tomorrow morning (Wednesday) they will hear from Philip McKinley, Church of Ireland chaplain in DCU, on the spirituality of reconciliation. In the evening Fr Peter McVerry will bring perspectives on social and economic challenges for ministry.
On Thursday morning the group will visit Glendalough where they will learn about the Glendalough Camino project from the Revd Brian O’Reilly who will also lead them on a guided prayer pilgrimage through the monastic site. On Thursday evening they will attend Choral Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral.