A mixed bag for SEARCH this spring, with a view forward to May’s General Synod, in Ethne Harkness’ article exploring current reflections on the proper role of bishops, and a look back to the autumn, following the Bishop of Connor to the World Council of Churches Assembly in Busan. But undoubtedly the big event of the autumn was the election of the Revd Patricia Storey as Bishop of Meath and Kildare, after Dublin and Armagh, the most senior position in the Church of Ireland. “Call me Pat,” was her simple response as to how she was to be addressed, even if she had to accede to being called “Madam Bishop” on formal occasions. It’s a sign of her no-nonsense attitude that she has released an article she wrote about her vocation five years ago, until now unpublished, so that SEARCH readers can share some of her journey into Christian ministry and leadership in the Church of Ireland.
Another important matter for the May Synod, and also for June’s Methodist Conference, will be the vote to confirm that the Church of Ireland and the Methodist Church will from now on accept each other’s ministers. Warm thanks to Rev Barry Forde, as secretary of the C of I – Methodist Covenant Council, for his summing-up of the process and its resolution of the issues describing his personal experience of sharing ministry with his Methodist colleague.
Also in this issue, we have a report from Rev. Adrian Stringer and Dr Abby Day of a recent conference in Canterbury which addressed issues threatening to divide the Anglican Communion. This is complemented by a look at the source of divisions within Islam – a faith with probably as many “denominations” as Christianity and with two major traditions. Nearer home, Malcolm Macourt contributes a consideration of the “religious” element of Irish Censuses of Population of 2011, which show a decline of self-identifying Anglicans in the North and a corresponding rise, occasionally a dramatic one, in the South. Or do they?
And on a more general level, Noel Coghlan takes a questioning look at 21st century attitudes in Ireland, asking “Whatever happened to Civic Morality?”
This issue’s Book Reviews are the last to be provided by our editor of the past eight years, David Hutchinson Edgar. Warmest thanks to him from his diligent and reliable work and good wishes for his new endeavours in primary education. We welcome the Revd Stephen Farrell as Reviews editor for what we hope will be a long tenure.
Contents
It’s in my nature to lead - I can’t help it!
I was not brought up in church, yet I have been ordained now for eleven years; therein lies a story! Like everyone else in the church, and in Church of Ireland ministry, I have been, and still am on a journey. My particular journey has led me to ordination and to being a rector in a city centre church in Derry. I could never have imagined that we would be living as a family, very happily in Derry (where we had never been before my interview!), with Earl, ordained long before me, having started his own communications business. We can truly never know where life will bring us.
Episcopal arrangements – fit for the 21st century?
What is the remit of the Church of Ireland’s Commission on Episcopal Ministry and Structures? And what issues have been arising in the course of its work? In what follows I attempt to answer these questions, but, although I currently serve as chairman of the Commission, the views are strictly my own and should not be taken as indicating any conclusions of the Commission.
Better together – towards Methodist – C of I interchangeability of ministers
Reflecting on the impact of the Church of Ireland and Methodist Covenant of 2002, I am filled with much satisfaction with what has been achieved and grateful expectation of how much more there is to come. What has been achieved? Well, recent work should result in legislation to enable interchangeability of Methodist and C of I ministries at the General Synod and the Methodist Conference this year. The following reflections on the Covenant process and its future are sorted according to the three “hats” I wear – hats that seem to frame my relationship as an Anglican with the Methodist Church and the people who worship within it.
“WE GATHERED in the Republic of Korea at the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (30th October-8th November 2013). Coming from 345 member-Churches of the fellowship and from partner-organisations in the ecumenical movement, we joined in prayer, shared stories from our local communities and took to heart strong messages of agony and hope. We are thankful for the many engaging statements released. Our common pilgrimage traced the theme ‘God of life, lead us to justice and peace’.”
Speaking at the launch of the Court’s Service annual report for 2012, the Chief Justice, Ms Susan Denham, declared that, “Ethics in the board- room and in the governance of enterprises, rather than a constant eye on the needs of the shareholders, is the way forward to building trust in our economic sector”. Ms Justice Denham went on to suggest that “knowing what is the right thing to do in a situation, and then doing it, comes from exercising self awareness, personal integrity and often no small amount of courage”.
The 2011 Censuses – what do they tell us that is new?
Two Sundays during Lent 2011 were chosen by the census authorities for the Census: Sunday 27th March in Northern Ireland and Sunday 10th April in the Republic. A question on religion continues to be asked in Ireland, north and south, decade by decade ever since 1861. The most recent Censuses – before 2011 – were held in Northern Ireland in 2001 and in the Republic in 2006 and 2002. In 2011 both census schedules included a “box” labelled “Church of Ireland” for individuals to mark. The two census offices, the Republic’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), were busy during 2012 and 2013 publishing an immense amount of data from their respective censuses: some of that data referred to the questions on religion.
Structural Conflict and Engagement: a Canterbury Symposium on Anglicanism
Between 26th and 27th September 2013, in Canterbury, England, sixteen researchers interested in the sociology of religion gathered for a symposium on “Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Anglican Communion”. This article offers a brief overview of the papers presented at the Symposium according to the recurrent theme of how Anglicanism relates to material forms of social structure, either through engagement or through conflict.
There are many commonalities between Shi’i and Sunni Muslims and many would stress their unity. There are however differences in understanding and worship that identify the Shi’i particularity, which sadly has caused lethal rivalry between Shi’i and Sunni communities. Central to this is the interpretation of history and leadership within Islam. Here the place of the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali and the Shi’i Imams is central. In what follows, I gather together the popular narratives and history associated with both Shi’i and Sunni groups, as expressed and interpreted by the Islamic communities today.
