Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Former Archbishop of Armagh and Church of Ireland Primate of All-Ireland, The Rt Revd Dr Robin Eames, received Tipperary International Peace Award this afternoon in Tipperary Town saying that he did so in the names of parochial clergy of the Church of Ireland and the clergy of all the denominations on the island.

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USPG is both the oldest and the newest mission agency in the Church of Ireland, having been here for 300 years and yet having been re-formed as USPG Ireland. The new Irish organisation will have more autonomy to work with church partners and government agencies, to help develop links between the Church of Ireland, both North and South, and the world church.

USPG is one of the major Anglican mission agencies with 300 years experience in world mission. Working in partnership with Anglican and United churches in more than 50 countries, USPG seeks to enable people to grow spiritually, to thrive physically and to have a voice in an unjust world.

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The House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland, meeting today in Dublin, appointed the Reverend Canon Alan Abernethy as the new Bishop of Connor to succeed the Most Reverend Alan Harper, who was elected Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in January 2007.

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Following the announcement by Armagh City Council this week that former Archbishop, the Rt Reverend The Lord Eames and his wife, Lady Eames are to become the first individuals to be awarded the Freedom of Armagh City, Archbishop Alan Harper issued the following response:

‘It gives me particular pleasure to welcome the action of Armagh City Council in awarding the Freedom of the City of Armagh to my distinguished predecessor, Lord Eames and to his wife, Christine.

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Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland

The Easter message of the triumph of life over death and hope over despair is reinforced for all of us in Ireland this year. We may not have put behind us all of the legacy of a troubled past, but so much has happened that promises new beginnings and a future liberated from the chains of the past, that we are surely right to celebrate with additional joy and conviction.

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The announcements from the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and the President of Sinn Féin represent an important and welcome development in the search for a stable future for Northern Ireland.

Along with many others, our Churches have long encouraged local politicians to work towards a devolved government for Northern Ireland and we trust that this is now to be realised.

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I want to speak of the single most important issue for all of us here, in this island of Ireland, today. I want to speak of forgiveness and reconciliation

I begin - and I shall end – with these words:

I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and for anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to anyone who begs from you; and, if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

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The Most Reverend Alan Harper will be enthroned as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland on Friday, 16th March 2007 at 2.30 p.m. in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.

The Service will be attended by a large number of senior members of the Church of Ireland including members of the House of Bishops, the Deans and Chapters of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh and St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, St Saviour, Connor in Lisburn Cathedral and the Dean and some members of St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. There will also be a large number of public representatives from the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Senior Church representatives of other Christian denominations will be present joining with representatives of the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Churches in Britain.

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As part of its on-going commitment to continuing adult education and in response to requests for a series of lectures about the larger issues of today Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, has arranged a lecture series for Monday evenings in Lent with each lecture beginning at 8 pm.

On Monday 26 February Professor John Kelsey, Florida State University, will speak on ‘Christianity, Islam and the political future’ and he will be followed on 5 March by Professor Sean Freyne from Trinity College, Dublin, who will discuss ‘The person of Jesus Christ and Christian belief today’. On 12 March ‘Belief and Science’ will be the topic of Professor William Reville from UCC while on 19 March Professor John May, Irish School of Ecumenics will speak on ‘Is tolerance enough? From multiculturalism to interreligious dialogue’ The final lecture, on 26 March, will be given by Professor Nigel Biggar, Professor of Theology and Ethics in TCD and a Canon of Christ Church., who will speak on ’Contemporary medical ethics and Christian concerns.'

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When those who came first to the Stable at Bethlehem saw with their own eyes the miracle of Christ's birth they believed - but then they moved on.

This Christmas people of faith see the miracle of the Stable, the birth of Christ and the wonder of it all. They hear again the story and they gaze again at the scene of the Stable. They worship and adore.

But then we have to move on.

We move on in our family life, our everyday life, our relationships and we take up again our hopes and fears for the future. The difference is that we take the miracle of Christ's birth with us. And it makes all the difference.

Not only on a personal level do we gaze and hear and move on - but as a community also. The message of love and hope at Bethlehem says it all - but life goes on. The real test is the difference we feel because of Bethlehem. Can we take that love and hope into 2007 for this whole community? Can we take the real meaning of the Christmas story into how this community moves ahead in the new year? In personal terms as well as in the wider society Bethlehem of old can still spread its eternal message for us all.

Once more the possibilities of progress and stability for this whole community beckons us forward. If we can translate the hopes of the Stable into new trust, new possibilities and new hope then as we leave the Stable there is a real and genuine reason to look forward to a brighter future for all of us.

From the Church of Ireland

We wish to express grave concern at aspects of the process by which legislation, including highly controversial legislation in the social and educational field, is brought into law in Northern Ireland.

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The commissioning of Diocesan Pastoral Assistants (DPA's) is a new initiative spearheaded by the Church of Ireland's Diocese of Clogher to address the growing problem resulting from the general shortage of clergy, a challenge shared throughout many dioceses and denominations. Seven people, drawn from the ranks of ordinary church members, have been trained and authorised to assist in particular parishes across the diocese.

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Liverpool FC Community Department is to make a return visit to Belfast this summer to join a Church of Ireland youth initiative in the Upper Shankill area. Running from Thursday 17-Saturday 19 August, some 300 youngsters are expected to attend a three-day soccer school and life skills programme.

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The Very Revd Michael Burrows, Dean of Cork, was consecrated the next Bishop of Cashel and Ossory in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin on Monday 3 July at 2.30pm.

The Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill, speaking ahead of the consecration said, "It will be a great joy and privilege for me to ordain Michael Burrows to the Episcopate on July 3rd. From my own point of view, his election as bishop of my own former diocese brought me great pleasure, and the fact that our respective fathers served together as priests in Dublin diocese is an added personal link.

"Michael brings to his new ministry a wealth of pastoral, international and ecumenical experience, and is well known for both his clear and compelling preaching gifts as well as for his scholarship. My prayer is that he and Claire and the family will be very happy in Cashel and Ossory, as they make their home in Kilkenny."

Dean Michael Burrows said, "I look forward with both excitement and trepidation to the ministry which lies ahead of me. However the warm welcoming words from throughout Cashel and Ossory and the assurance of constant prayers have been most heartening.

"In respect of the consecration itself it will be somehow appropriate to be ordained bishop in my native city of Dublin, and in the cathedral which was a constant part of my journey of faith in younger years. I am most grateful to the Archbishop for his encouraging words and to the Dean of Christ Church who has prepared a liturgy which I am sure will make a deep impression upon us all."

The See of Cashel and Ossory became vacant after the resignation of Bishop Peter Barrett in January 2006.

Following a night of intense discussion during which senior Church personnel attempted to broker a resolution between the asylum seekers and the authorities, we regret to say that these talks have reached an impasse again. We had arrived at a set of proposals which were acceptable to the asylum seekers and which we felt offered a fair and equitable way forward for all parties. Unfortunately, this view was not shared by the Department of Justice. In an attempt to find a way forward, the Church has offered a Church official to act as an independent observer at further interviews. Regrettably, this too is rejected by the Department of Justice. 

We fully accept the Department's position on due process but a mechanism must be found to enable the return of the asylum seekers to this process.

We have now been instructed by the Department of Justice to withdraw from all negotiations as it has placed this matter solely in the control of An Garda Siochana whose responsibility it is now to deal with this matter.

Notwithstanding the failure of these talks we renew our appeal to the asylum seekers to respect this holy place, to desist from their protest and leave quietly and with dignity.

Notes to editors:

The above text has been read to the asylum seekers and also given to media present.

Further information visit: website: www.ireland.anglican.org

St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh Sunday 25 December 2005

Christmas Day 2005

'The real significance of the Christian Christmas lies behind the scene at Bethlehem. Though we are familiar with the scene in the Stable we have to go behind it to fully understand what had happened. God had intervened in this world. The simplicity of the Stable provokes, questions and challenges us. It points us to the real meaning of life and experience - and it compels us all to see the dilemmas of life in a new light.

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When those who came first to the Stable at Bethlehem saw with their own eyes the miracle of Christ's birth they believed - but then they moved on ...

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The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, the Most Revd Dr Robin Eames, has today (Sunday 18 December) met officers and soldiers from every county in Northern Ireland and also from the Republic of Ireland, as part of his three-day pastoral visit to the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment currently serving in Iraq.

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From the Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Duffy and Anglican Bishop Michael Jackson

Macartan, patron saint of Clogher, is our invitation this Christmas to celebrate our common inheritance and to look to the future together. We receive from the past in order to give to the future. The coming year, 2006, marks the fifteen hundredth anniversary of Macartan - an occasion to recalls his links with Patrick and the coming of the Christian faith to our diocese, an occasion also to combine thanksgiving for the past with hopefilled expectation for the future.

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Archbishop Robin Eames addressed the Friends of the Salvation Army N.I. in Hillsborough Castle, Co Down.

A Call for Debate on our Future

"The Salvation Army is often the cutting-edge of society's social conscience. Its consistent, organised and transparent work takes it to places and in ways the institutionalised social conscience fails to reach. Its work for the most vulnerable of our society is the true embodiment of the Christian response for 'the cup of cold water' for the thirsty respectable society often passes on the other side of the road.

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