04.12.2019
New Book of Essays Highlights Strength and Diversity of All–Ireland Church – Archbishop of Dublin
Do contemporary members of the Church of Ireland see themselves reflected in the strapline of Disestablishment: ‘free to shape our own future’? This was the question asked by Archbishop Michael Jackson at the Belfast launch of a new book of essays marking the 150th anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.
The line comes from the title deeds of Disestablishment in 1869 but has been adopted by the Church of Ireland for this year of commemoration. Archbishop Jackson said that the book: ‘Irish Anglicanism 1969–2019: Essays to Mark the 150th Anniversary of the Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland’, goes a long way to draw together what the church has done with this freedom over the last 50 years.
Edited by Kenneth Milne and Paul Harron, the book was launched by the Archbishop in Belfast yesterday evening (December 3). It was launched in Dublin by Archbishop Richard Clarke in November.
Speaking at the launch, Archbishop Jackson paid tribute to the constancy of the Church of Ireland and the spoke of the lessons learned on the need to build a partnership as a Church of all Ireland. He cited a quote from architect Michael Whitely in one of the essays: ‘Poor design will hinder the expression and development of ministry rather than encourage it.’
“While it refers directly to church buildings,” the Archbishop observed, “It has a wider reference and resonance about how we shape our approach to ecclesiastical and civic life, how we construct and sustain ministry – lay and ordained, female and male – in a complex and competitive world. This has to be done carefully and beautifully to the glory of God and with the wise discernment of signs of the Kingdom of God here and now. Many people think we just need to turn up in church but more is expected and more is asked of us. We stand on the inheritance of tradition; we look to the dynamic of engagement; we hold custodianship of the seedlings of the future of the Church of Ireland, in whatsoever ways it will express itself next. Over the last fifty years we have learned, often the hard way, that we need to build partnership as a Church of all Ireland.”
He continued by pointing out that the Church of Ireland is in a minority in both the political jurisdictions on the island, acknowledging that this is set within a numerical reality of a majority in Northern Ireland as opposed to a minority in the Republic of Ireland. “It is voiced in the generally good humoured tension that expresses itself in our regular synodical gatherings and in our decision making bodies. I am all for good humour, by the way! Michael Whitely’s reminder, nonetheless, that poor design will hinder both expression and development is a wake–up call for the future–proofing of who we are and what we do – for God, for our communities and for ourselves,” he stated.
Archbishop Jackson recalled the recent sermon of the Archbishop of Canterbury in St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin during which he described the Church of Ireland as “a bridge church” and a “church without borders”. He suggested that in the recent past members had paid scant attention to both of these and added that the book of essays added to the picture, showing the Church of Ireland as a reflective, reforming and outgoing church.
Speaking personally of living the larger part of his life within the Church of Ireland in Northern Ireland, he put on record his own gratitude to the Church. He paid tribute to the constancy of the Church of Ireland during the time of The Troubles and in times of peace in keeping decency and civility alive. Now working in Dublin & Glendalough he said the Church of Ireland was “differently recognizable and recognizably different”.
Returning to the book the Archbishop said: “This is an all–Ireland volume. It is the richer for this in every way. The interplay of North and South, of East and West, is a positive elasticity. It is often tense but all the tougher for it, in a world where making the case for a religious interpretation of life at its best, outside of the church, is now more and more difficult. However, this reality ought not to encourage or entitle church people to go deeper and deeper into their cave of comfort. We are entering a new era of dialogue in which giving an account of our faith in the public realm, in deed and in word, is the vocation of every member of the Church of Ireland whether in the home or in the workplace, in the pulpit or in the pew, in the sanctuary or in the supermarket. If much of the last century of Disestablished Church of Ireland life has been characterized – as many have argued – by our keeping our heads down, this will not suffice for this century in which we stand at the mid–point. And this is why the volume of today is so important. It gives an account of us for anyone to read and for anyone to criticize and for anyone to use as an invitation to come and see: come and see what? Come and see Jesus Christ like one of the very first disciples in the Gospel of St John”.
‘Irish Anglicanism 1969 – 2019’, co–edited by Kenneth Milne and Paul Harron, is published by Four Courts Press. The book features 20 essays ranging across themes as broad as youth work, art and architecture, education, liturgy, the Irish language and music. It is available now both in shops and online at www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2019/irish–anglicanism costing €35.00/£30.00.
You can read the text of Archbishop Jackson’s speech in full here.