SEARCH Journal
Welcome!
Welcome to our SEARCH home page – and a quick rundown of what we at this Church of Ireland Journal aim to provide: a good mix of church and faith-related articles to stimulate discussion and fresh thinking in Ireland and beyond. We aim to ensure that our articles are as concise as the subject matter allows, attractively presented and accessible to non-specialists.. No dumbing-down here, but no space for “waffle” either! And jargon is banned, because SEARCH is for everybody.
As well as inviting articles from key figures in Ireland and around the world, as editor I welcome unsolicited submissions also. These can cover current issues in Church and society, reflections on faith and mission, biblical directives and challenges, historical and cultural themes, personal testimonies – and a few other things you might suggest. Contributors will not necessarily be Anglicans, or even Christians, but if Anglican we hope they will reflect the full breadth of our tradition.
Press Release
The Spring 2025 issue of SEARCH - a Church of Ireland Journal will be sent out to subscribers in mid-February, offering articles from near and far on the challenges of times: Trump and the American churches, peace-seeking in Ukraine, inspiration through the liturgy, the need for both meditation and service in today's church, and how to find healing for the broken and a lively faith for our children. Subscribers are kindly requested to renew their subscriptions (€22 or £19 p.a.), and new subscribers to initiate them, either on line through www.searchjournal.ireland.anglican.org, or by sending a cheque to Mr Michael Denton, 10 Dun Emer Drive, Dublin D16 F788.
For more details on this issue of SEARCH please see the editorial which follows:
HOW BEST to work and pray for healing for the conflicted and competing nations of the world looks even harder this year than last
- and praying for the churches and the life of faith is no easier; but at SEARCH we do what we can to help.
The two problems come together with a vengeance in the USA, where many now wonder whether the word “Christian” still means what it used to. Professor Randall Balmer is a TEC theologian who warmly supports Bishop Mariann Budde’s appeal to Trump for mercy on the disadvantaged people he has threatened. From an evangelical background himself, he ponders the elements of racism, sexism and victimhood infecting the religious Right. Like Bp. Budde, he urges support for “the least of these”, whom Christ commands us to serve.
No comment on the Middle East this time; instead we look to Ukraine, where there is inter-church activity on “Pathways to Peace”. We are grateful to Ihor Krasovskyi for describing them.
But whatever the need for prayer, the enabling of prayer itself is crucial. “Saying our prayers” as such is not enough; both heart and mind, not only lips, must be involved. To this end, Revd Dr Maggi Dawn considers how best clergy can enable real prayer in their congregations, giving a sense of divine presence in the liturgy. Denise Stobart takes her reflection further by exploring the spiritual enlightenment offered by music in worship. And Margaret Daly- Denton follows up with an account of an inter-church event in Dublin at which former Archbishop Rowan Williams spoke on “A Noisy World in Need of Meditation and Service.”
Another area requiring deep prayer is the universal need for healing, whether of individuals, communities or whole nations. The Ven. Ross Styles shares his experience of bringing God’s love to people in need through the Church’s Ministry of Healing, inviting wider participation and offering training in this area. Finally, looking to the rising generation and how to make faith exciting and meaningful for them, with or without Sunday Schools, Rachael Murphy reflects on ways forward in this important area.
Letters to the editor
We'd love to hear more from our SEARCH readers, to know what concerns you most deeply, and to give you the chance to share your thoughts with one another.
So please write us, either with a response to what you have read in the journal or a request for what you would like to read.
We'll start an occasional Letters Page if you do that.
Not more than 200 words at a time please, to editor@searchjournal.ireland.anglican.org
Thank you!
The Archbishop of Armagh writes:
I am grateful for this opportunity, as the SEARCH website is getting a makeover, to add a few words of encouragement to the editor, Canon Ginnie Kennerley, and all who write for and read the periodical.
No one will be unaware of the polarisation which has taken place in almost all public debate and in every sphere of life over the past ten or so years. The “wedge issue” has become a default weapon in the armoury of many politicians and social commentators and we in the Church have sometimes been tempted to conduct our business after the manner of the world around us. We have not always resisted that temptation.
The Church of Ireland is a small, familial body of believers striving to walk and witness together despite the many differences of geography, culture, and world view – not to mention temperament – that mark us out as individuals and communities. So, it is important that we have a periodical such as SEARCH, where the best that can be thought and written on theology, society and faith, from every perspective, has a central place in our corporate life.
I commend its work to you.
+ John Armagh