SEARCH Journal

Autumn 2020

THE CHALLENGES of the continuing pandemic dominate almost every article in this issue, from Archbishop McDowell’s call for repentance and a re-thinking of our vocation to Christopher Shiell’s exposition of the lack of climate-friendly church heating and what is needed to achieve it.

Summer 2020

THE COVID 19 emergency has taken over every aspect of our lives since mid-March – personal, commercial, educational and, in the church, spiritual, sacramental and relational. Can live-streamed or recorded worship and pastoral visiting by telephone fill parishioners’ needs? While it seems impossible, this is all we have for now. The larger question of how this will affect the church of the future will be considered at a later date. For now, Robin Eames offers his thoughts on the crisis, while Aonghus Mayes and Daniel Nuzum write on how they have been meeting the challenge in parish and hospital chaplaincy respectively. But there are deeper questions than these.

Summer 2020

Spring 2020

WITH the Lambeth Conference coming up this summer and anxieties about the coherence of the Anglican Communion on the rise, some respectful and good-humoured dialogue is called for, along with a modicum of self-criticism. An attempt to model this is offered by the first two contributors of this issue, Patrick Comerford and David Huss, sharing and comparing different views of what it means to be both ‘conservative’ and ‘evangelical’. Readers are invited to ponder and respond - and Earl Storey’s reflection on the Hard Gospel project of 2005 - 2009, which follows, may help them to do so.

Autumn 2019

HOW is God prompting us to develop the ordained and lay ministry of the Church of Ireland today? What does God want for our future? Could death and resurrection be in the plan somewhere? This was indeed suggested at the Spring 2019 Colloquium that gave rise to the summer issue of SEARCH.

Summer 2019

WHAT is the Spirit saying to the Church? The question was constantly repeated at this year’s ‘Developing Ministry’ Colloquium. Less heard were the questions: And are we listening? And if so, what are we doing about it?