02.10.2024
Busy Dublin and Glendalough Synod Covers Wide Range of Business
Round up of Diocesan Synod 2024
Representatives of parishes throughout the dioceses gathered in Taney Parish Centre yesterday evening (Tuesday October 1) for Dublin and Glendalough’s Diocesan Synods.
Following the Synod Eucharist in the adjoining church, during which Archbishop Michael Jackson gave his address (read about it here) the business of Synods got underway with a series of elections.
Ruth Gyves (Rathmines with Harold’s Cross) was elected to the post of Dublin Lay Honorary Secretary. Archdeacon David Pierpoint was reelected as a clerical member of the Representative Church Body. The Revd Sean Hanily (Rathmichael) and John Aiken (Kings Hospital) were elected to the General Synod Board of Education. Philip Hendy was elected as a Diocesan Trustee for Glendalough. Members also agreed the transfer of the former school and schoolteacher’s residence at Whitechurch from the Diocesan Board of Education to the Representative Church Body.
Having just arrived in Dublin that day, members of Synod were introduced to Fr Yesu who will act as Anglican Chaplain at Trinity College Dublin until the end of December. Fr Yesu comes from the Church of North India and the Diocese of Chota Nagpur which has historic connections with the Dublin university, via New York. Fr Yesu said it was an honour and a delight to come to Dublin and looked forward to serving over the coming months.
Pioneer Ministry
There was exciting news on the development of Pioneer Ministry in Dublin and Glendalough. Members got a first look at a new video which will be released on Thursday featuring the first Pioneer Ministry project in the dioceses. The project is a partnership between the select vestry of St Mary’s Crumlin and St Catherine’s Church on Thomas Street. Led by Shane Maguire of St Catherine’s, the project will connect with new communities in the Crumlin area.
The Dublin project is happening against the backdrop of the launch of projects around the country which the director of Pioneer Ministry, the Revd Rob Jones (Rathmines with Harolds Cross) explained seek to cross cultural barriers and enable the Gospel to be shared afresh with people who are beyond the fringe of the church. He noted that three hubs or teams had been set up in the dioceses – Dublin North, Dublin South and Glendalough. They have been meeting over the past year to learn about and explore opportunities for pioneering.
Joe Kelly (Rathmines with Harolds Cross) of the Pioneer Ministry Council highlighted developments since Pioneer Ministry was launched in February 2023. He pointed out that each pioneer project was an initiative of the diocese where the project will take place. He also noted that the training of new pioneers is taking place in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, with Church Army in Sheffield as well as online. There are nine pioneers in training from various dioceses.
Archbishop Michael Jackson commended all involved in Pioneer Ministry in the Church of Ireland and in Dublin and Glendalough. He looked forward to more exciting projects and encouraged members to keep their eyes open for opportunities to build community locally.
Report of Diocesan Councils
The largest report for discussion at Synod is the report of Diocesan Councils. Proposing it, the Revd Cathy Hallissey (Powerscourt with Kilbride) highlighted the broad span and variety of business undertaken by Diocesan Councils over the past year. She commended members of councils for their dedication and participation in sharing skills and expertise. She spoke of the Church’s dedication to faith building from Children’s Ministry through primary and secondary schools and colleges and into adulthood with the encouragement of vocations to Lay Ministry and Ordination to the Priesthood.
She also commended the work of various groups within the dioceses in a year that witnessed the atrocities of war in the Holy Land and increasing unrest at home and in some regions against those seeking asylum. She spoke of the compassion shown in the hospital chaplains’ report and the importance of self–care and mental health awareness through the MindMatters initiative.
The report was seconded by Ruth Gyves who said it provided an opportunity to see all that was happening around our United Dioceses. She highlighted the life of the ministries to children, youth and young adults and thanked all who worked with children, youth and young adults as well as university chaplains.
As a Lay Minister she pointed out that lay ministry continued to play an important role in the dioceses covering services in parishes during vacancies, illness and holiday time. A new committee had been formed to ensure Lay Readers had a point of engagement and could avoid isolation. Ms Gyves also spoke of the importance of having a proper governance framework and highlighted the work done in this area by Diocesan Councils.
Speaking to the report, Canon William Deverell (Tallaght) recalled the director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute telling Synod that twice as many clergy would be retiring as entering ministry. He also recalled a colleague telling members about taking time out for being seriously ill. He said he had since heard that a number of other clergy were out due to illness. He also noted that not many clergy children were entering ministry. “I was really disturbed by what our colleague told us last year. It is a terrific privilege to serve God but I would ask that you would support your clergy,” he commented. He also expressed concern that Technical University Dublin would no longer have religious chaplains and would instead have secular chaplains from next year. He said that a lot of the student body, particularly people who are new to Ireland, value the religious chaplains.
The Revd Ruth Elmes commended all that had been done in the dioceses for youth and third level students and the unchurched. However, she noted that there was no reference in the book of reports to older people who had volunteered for the church in numerous ways throughout their lives. She outlined the many fears and worries facing the older generation at the moment and asked where the Church and diocesan involvement was.
Canon Tom O’Brien (Crinken and joint DDO) spoke of ministerial training. He said that ministry was a blessed job and that there was room in the Church for all who had a calling. He asked members to spread the word in their parishes and have conversations about vocations.
In a similar vein, the Revd David Bowles (Whitechurch and one of the chaplains at CITI) commended Canon Dr Maurice Elliott and all at the institute for the training they give ordinands. He encouraged anyone considering ordination to talk to their clergy. The Archbishop pointed out that there were currently seven Curates Assistant in the dioceses which was extremely good news.
Dean Dermot Dunne (Christ Church Cathedral) took to the rostrum to question the dioceses’ support for the Diocesan Cathedral. During his 16 years as Dean he said he had valued the continuous support of the United Dioceses in the life of the cathedral. However, he said he was shocked to receive an email from the diocesan office to say that the annual grant from the dioceses to the cathedral had been moved from committed expenditure to discretionary expenditure and telling him that the grant may not continue indefinitely in light of pressure on expenditure within the dioceses. He pointed out that the money received from the dioceses was not a grant but was payment for the stipend of the Dean. “The dioceses has recognised that the cathedral is the mother church of the dioceses and the Dean should be supported by the dioceses in payment of the stipend,” he said. “Is it the intention of the dioceses to disconnect from the cathedral?” With reference to dignitary payments referenced in the report, the Dean said they were paltry payments but were a symbol of support to the clergy on the Chapter of the cathedral in recognition of their work in keeping the cathedral going. In response the Archdeacon of Glendalough, the Ven Ross Styles, assured the Dean that the link between the dioceses and the cathedral would remain strong.
David White (Rathfarnham) commended the work of Church Music Dublin and in particular the Raymond Russell memorial recital. Chairperson of Church Music Dublin, the Revd Jack Kinkead (Wicklow) thanked David and outlined the work of the committee which in the last year had focused on training new organists and parish musicians among other things. He said a number of Living Worship events would take place in the coming months and there would be a workshop on Plainsong in November in St Pappin’s in Santry.
David Millar (Holy Trinity Killiney) regretted the disappearance of the Thinking Anew column from the Irish Times on Saturdays with no explanation and said it should have been noted in the communications and broadcasting report.
The Revd Sean Hanily (Rathmichael and Assistant Diocesan Registrar) reminded members of Synod that any alterations to the interior of a church required a faculty from the Archbishop.
Canon Lesley Robinson (Clontarf) paid tribute to Olive Good for her 19 and a half years of work as Diocesan Safeguarding Officer. She said Olive was wonderful in providing training and she had a deep knowledge of the area. Canon Robinson had been under the impression that Olive was a paid employee and was surprised to find she wasn’t. There was generous applause in honour of Olive’s contribution.
Canon William Deverell noted that the number of people choosing to get married in churches was shrinking. He understood that there were probably good legal reasons but he didn’t like the idea of God being restricted to churches. He knew many pastors of house churches who could marry people in hotels.
Reporting on the Mission Subcommittee, its chairperson the Revd Rob Clements reminded members that the committee had taken on many of the roles and responsibilities previously held by the Council for Mission and the Committee for Social Action and acknowledged their commitment in the past. He said that the committee was currently looking at how a culture of mission could be fostered and developed in the dioceses. “It is the culture of mission from which our activities flow. If the culture of mission is not there the activities will not be fruitful,” he stated. During a recent sabbatical he visited a number of UK dioceses where work had been done on mission action planning – discerning what needed to be done to arrest decline and move to flourishing. He said there was a need to develop a mission plan for the dioceses that should outline our missional priorities. Diocesan Councils has been workshopping this and further consultation was needed, he said. He looked forward to engaging in a process throughout the dioceses in the coming year to discern the missional priorities.
G eoffrey McMaster (Newcastle–Lyons) commended the Shine a Light Campaign for Al Ahli Hospital in the Diocese of Jerusalem and said Dublin and Glendalough should be very proud of the support given to the campaign. He noted that Canon Don Binder, during his sermon in St George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem on Sunday, said that the hospital was still functioning which was good to hear.
The Revd Ken Rue (Narraghmore) questioned the delegation of powers in the dioceses. He said the mechanism of decision making took too long and a proposal from his parish took nine months to get through the process between the dioceses and the RCB. He called on Diocesan Councils and the RCB to form a working party to explore a pathway to smoother decision making. On the subject of dignitary payments he said he could not see why the dioceses would ask for vouched expenditure for dignitary payments if they had already determined what they were going to pay. His key concern was for the payments to archdeacons and he would expect that archdeacons would be paid more as they have more responsibilities. He questioned the decision of Diocesan Councils that trustees of a charity could not be paid for other services they carry out for the charity, apart from their roles as trustees (for which they cannot be paid). He asked councils to review the decision and scrap it. In response Canon Gillian Wharton (Booterstown and Mount Merrion) reported that the situation in Ireland regarding payments to trusteed differed from England and Wales and that trustees may not be paid by the body of which they are trustees. She said the position was that dignitary payments could not be paid to trustees of Diocesan Councils and they were exploring the matter carefully.
Augustine Ndulue (St George and St Thomas) reported that the select vestry had met and presented a report to the Archbishop with proposals. He said that one of the proposals was no longer on the table and the select vestry was looking at other proposals to see what their options are going forward.
Ministry of Healing
In St Mark’s gospel, Jesus sent out the 12, two by two, to share the Good News. And to heal. And that is what the Church’s Ministry of Healing seeks to continue to do, to pray for healing, explained the chairperson of the Diocesan Ministry of Healing, Archdeacon Ross Styles (Newcastle and Newtownmountkennedy with Calary). He told Synod members that he had received a call from a parishioner the previous evening thanking him for keeping a relative on their prayer list and telling him of the comfort it brought. This, he said, highlighted the value of the ministry.
He said that the last few years had been spent rebuilding and they had seen the growth of healer prayer services in Christ Church Cathedral they continued to encourage, facilitate and resource healing services in parishes across Dublin and Glendalough. While healing services have ceased for the moment in St Ann’s, services are thriving in Taney. He highlighted challenges in the area of healing prayer ministers and encouraged anyone who felt a calling to healing prayer ministry to speak to their rector or contact the committee.
“Our healing services offer us the opportunity to meet with people who each have their own need for healing, who are each at different stages of their own faith journey and my sincere thanks to the prayer ministers and clergy who make these services possible,” he said.
Archdeacon Styles noted the importance of online resources and outreach and pointed the the success of the online healer circle. He thanked Carol Casey for facilitating this. He thanked Stan Bloomer for coordinating the intercessors to maintain continuous prayer for those who are ill. Anyone interested in becoming an intercessor to contact the committee. He also thanked the committee and secretary Jeanne Salter and paid tribute to the work of the Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland’s Canon Lesley Robinson, Dr Catherine Smith and Lydia Monds.
Education
Positive developments and challenging times in education were highlighted in the report of the Diocesan Board of Education. Proposing the report, the Revd David White (Zion) highlighted the Patron’s Day for primary school principals and chairperson which had become a welcome part of a busy calendar. This year three excellent speakers explored key areas of leadership, developing links between schools and parishes and wellbeing for school leaders, he reported.
He also heralded the Diocesan Service for Primary Schools and Junior Schools which saw pupils and teachers from 38 schools fill Christ Church Cathedral last year.
The board was cognisant of the challenging times that schools were operating in at present, he stated. Filling posts and holding onto teachers was becoming more difficult with the rising cost of living, high rents and the difficulty in sourcing accommodation. He pointed to a recent OECD report which said that schools were not equally affected by teacher shortages and a number of countries offered allowances to teachers who teach in affected areas. “There will be those who will say there must be equity across the board and that all teachers must be paid the same. But the lived experience of teachers speaks of very real challenges which bring people to seek employment in areas outside these United Dioceses and even overseas,” he stated.
Turning to other areas, Mr White pointed out that the government was obliged to provide free primary education to all but in mid–September the High Court heard that the parents and guardians of more than 160 autistic children had been told there were no special needs facilities available for them. There were further difficulties in accessing bus transport.
He said the board wished to pay tribute to principals, teachers, boards of management, governors and ancillary staff for their hard work in keeping schools open, supporting and engaging students through the year.
He highlighted the Ralph Macklin fund which the board allocates towards school fees for pupils from the United Dioceses. This year the board had also allocated grants to assist schools completing small projects where the department could not provide funding. The board also provides funding to support students taking a Professional Master of Education who intend to teach RE or perform chaplaincy duties in a secondary school within the dioceses. There had been no applications this year, he stated.
The report was seconded by Peter McCrodden who reiterated that there was a discraceful paucity of teachers in the dioceses and there were also difficulties in recruiting principals.
Speaking to the report, Dr Ken Fennelly (Councils and Secretary to the General Synod Board of Education RI) said that the General Synod Board of Education had made strong representations to the department regarding increased costs to schools. In relation to patronage he noted that the department intended to survey all schools to see if the school community wanted to continue under its current patronage. Previously Church of Ireland schools had not been included in divestment discussions, he said. He hoped that communities of Church of Ireland schools would vote to continue under Church of Ireland patronage.
The Revd Scott Peoples (Lucan and Leixlip) highlighted the lack of secondary school places in West Dublin which was causing huge stress for students and their parents. He highlighted changes in enrolment policies which meant that many parents who were not in a position to pay for fee paying schools were left without places in mid–September. “West Dublin has a large and growing population… Existing schools are oversubscribed and this has led to radical rationalisation of admission policies. Church of Ireland pupils and those of reformed traditions are experiencing growing difficulties in accessing places outside fee paying schools. Many schools operated inclusive admission policies. There were formal and informal agreements. But such agreements have been shelved and there has been a reluctance of diocesan authorities to challenge this,” he stated noting there was no reference to this in the report. He said the solution was to follow the example in the Wicklow area and establish a second level school under Church of Ireland patronage for West Dublin and East Kildare. “The fee paying sector meets particular needs and should continue to have our support but the time has come to recognise that the financial burden is beyond the reach of many and should be addressed as a matter of urgency,” he concluded.
David Hutchinson Edgar (Tallaght) drew attention to the crisis of a lack of places for students with special education needs at second level. He said that students who have attended primary school with facilities for their children then find that there is no secondary school place available to meet their needs. He appealed to the board of education to look at the provision of secondary school places for those with complex educational needs.
Closing Remarks
The Revd John Tanner thanked Taney for the use of their premises and paid tribute to the parish team and all the volunteers who make the event run smoothly. Archdeacon Ross Styles thanked the Archbishop for leading members in worship, for his words in his address and for presiding over the business of Synod. Archbishop Jackson thanked members for working together to enable a large volume of business to be completed and thanked all who participated.
There are lots more photos on Facebook.