Editorial
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.
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 off ering 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.
An ‘In Retrospect’ and a fine crop of book reviews completes this issue. Happy reading!
THE RESPONSE of American religious leaders to the election of Donald Trump on November 5 has been somewhat subdued. Although the popular vote was relatively close—a difference of fewer than 3 million out of nearly 154 million votes cast—Trump won the Electoral College vote handily, 312 to 226.
THE RANGE of skills a person needs to learn in the years between becoming an ordinand and running a parish is extensive, and there can be few members of the clergy who, new to the ministry, have not asked themselves why they never learned this or that in college.
THEOLOGIANS have investigated various methods for engaging with music, often within the framework of a theology of culture. Music as a cultural material introduces unique considerations to theology. This article offers an analysis of some, though not all, of the theological approaches to music that connect to liturgical theology.
ON 28 TO 29 SEPTEMBER 2024, I attended the second annual Dermot Lane Seminar that took place in the Church of the Ascension in the Parish of Balally in South Dublin. The venue and the initiative for the event were Roman Catholic, but this was an unmistakably ecumenical occasion. The keynote Speaker was former Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams. Moreover, members and leaders of other Christian traditions in the area were not just invited; they were active participants in the planning, hosting and presentation of the seminar, with the Revd Jane Burns, curate at Taney, chairing one of the sessions.
THE FULL-SCALE Russian invasion has transformed Ukraine’s religious landscape, accelerating the shift toward spiritual independence and unification while highlighting the resilience of religious communities in the face of aggression. Yet the war has also exacerbated existing divisions and heightened the politicisation of religion, creating long-term challenges for interfaith relations and national unity.
AS RECTOR of Newcastle and Newtownmountkennedy with Calary, in County Wicklow, and Archdeacon of Glendalough, I have also for the past six years had the honour of being the chair and chaplain of the Church’s Ministry of Healing committee in the united dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.
“WE HAVE NO CHILDREN OR YOUNG FAMILIES.” Since taking on my current role as Children and Families Development Officer three years ago, this sentence has haunted me. It’s a sentence that ends in a full stop that carries such a sense of finality it almost bursts into the physical.
THERE were giants in the land in those days. When I was ordained (along with John Paterson) in 1963 we discovered that, unusually, we were going as two deacons to the one parish and that Archdeacon Cooke was to be our rector.
