Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in Dublin & Glendalough Parishes
But the Lord looks on the heart: Parts 1 and 2. By the Revd Prof Anne Lodge.
The Revd Prof Anne Lodge has written two reports on cultural diversity in parishes in the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.
But the Lord looks on the heart: Report of a 2020 study of cultural and ethnic diversity in the parishes of the United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough is based on a survey which was carried out in Summer 2020, against the backdrop of heightened awareness of racism across the globe. The survey was issued to incumbents in the United Dioceses of Dublin & Glendalough.
The resulting report by the Revd Prof Anne Lodge examines cultural and ethnic diversity in parishes across the dioceses and explores ways of ensuring that all aspects of life in our parishes reflect the diversity of their congregations, drawing fully on the shared gifts that the blessing of parish diversity brings.
The report highlights experiences of parishes and contains a number of recommendations for parishes and for the dioceses.
You can download ‘But the Lord looks on the heart’ here.
The Lord Looks on the Heart, Part 2: International Voices from the Church of Ireland parishes of Dublin & Glendalough buids on the first report. It features the thoughts and contributions of people of 14 different nationalities attending six Church of Ireland parishes in the dioceses.
The report gives voice to people from international backgrounds who have found themselves at home in Church of Ireland parishes. It focuses on how they came to join their parishes and what made them stay. In doing this, it provides insights into what constitutes a welcome and what newcomers to parishes value as well as what encourages them to stay. It also highlights a number of things for parishes to consider in building connections with parishioners and communities.
Another aspect is outreach from parishes to people living in direct provision and emergency accommodation centres supporting individuals with no expectation of seeing them in church on Sundays but because it is a “biblical imperative”. All this is looked at through the lens of the Book of Ruth and the four key characters: Ruth, Naomi, Boaz and Oprah.
You can download ‘But the Lord Looks on the Heart: Part 2’ here.
You can read about the launch of Part 2 here.
You can watch Prof Lodge’s presentation about the report at Diocesan Synods in October 2020 here: