28.10.2025
Mission the Focus of Busy Dublin and Glendalough Synods
Members of Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Synods were given a warm welcome to the King’s Hospital School in Palmerstown last Tuesday evening (September 21) for their annual meeting which was held in the school as part of its 350th anniversary celebrations.
Following the Synod Service in the school chapel, during which Archbishop Michael Jackson gave his Presidential Address which you can read here, members were welcomed by the Headmaster Mark Wallace who paid tribute to the team who facilitated the meeting and to the students who helped out by greeting and guiding members and later helping to serve the dinner which was sponsored by the school board.
The business of Synods got underway with a reading of Scripture and prayer by the Archdeacon of Glendalough, the Ven Ross Styles. The Archbishop then welcomed members and informed them of the deaths of three clergy who had served in the dioceses since the last Synod: the Revd Mark Wilson, the Revd Robert Deane and the Revd William Marshall. They were remembered in prayer. He then announced that the 2025/26 Diocesan Cycle of Prayer, which starts on Advent Sunday, was available and thanked Canon Mark Gardner for compiling it each year. Diocesan Chancellor Ciaran Toland SC was appointed as Assessor for the session.
There were a number of elections. Ruth Gyves was elected as a lay member of the Representative Church Body for three years. Robert Neill was elected as a Lay Diocesan Trustee for the Diocese of Glendalough. The Revd Niall Stratford was elected as a Clerical Member of the Diocesan Court for Glendalough.
Members of Synods agreed to the transfer of All Saints National School, Blackrock, which is currently vested in the Diocesan Board of Education, to the Representative Church Body.
Pioneer Ministry
The Revd Rob Jones (Rathmines with Harold’s Cross), Director of Pioneer Ministry for the Church of Ireland, updated members on the latest developments in Pioneer Ministry. A video presentation outlined the development of new Pioneer Ministry Hubs, the appointment of a Pioneer Ministry advocate in each diocese, last November’s Pioneer Ministry gathering, and Pioneer Ministry training.
In Dublin and Glendalough, Mr Jones said, the Pioneer Ministry advocate is the Revd Scott Evans who is facilitating three pioneer hubs whose members meet to share learning and support the dioceses. There are two Pioneer Ministers – Shane Maguire in Crumlin and Aaron Halliwell in Crinken. Both are involved in the three year part time training course. He said they are praying for more opportunities especially in areas that may be struggling but have potential for growth outside the parish system.
He encouraged those who want to know more about Pioneer Ministry to attend this year’s gathering in Mullingar on November 22 to sign up. More information is available on their website www.pioneerministry.org/.
Greetings from CMSI
CMSI’s Partnership Coordinator, Roger Thompson, gave a lively and heartening presentation about the work of the Christian mission organisation. He asked members to what extent their parishes were engaging with the Church globally.
He highlighted a project in the Kayole Settlement in Nairobi, Kenya which is supported by CMSI. With the help of CMSI partners the project supports a school and has introduced free school meals which means that children stay longer in school. Mr Thompson said that the Girls Friendly Society has been involved with this project for the last five years and in May last year, GFS’s Myra Moody (Donoughmore, Donard and Dunlavin) and the Revd Conor O’Reilly (Athy) welcomed a group to worship at the GFS Diocesan Service. He urged members to pray for mission in their parishes.
Mission Planning for Dublin and Glendalough
Chairperson of the Mission Sub Committee of Diocesan Councils, the Revd Rob Clements (Kilternan) highlighted the work of the committee on putting together a Mission Plan for Dublin and Glendalough which will outline and develop the church’s vision for the future and the practical steps needed to achieve these goals.
“A mission plan dares to imagine a better tomorrow and refuses to be fixated on the problems of the past. A mission plan is there to help us a diocese grow spiritually and numerically, and it provides us with a tool by which we can align our activities and best use our resources,” Mr Clements explained.
He added that good mission planning begins with prayerful discernment and he thanked the Archbishop for highlighting the 2025 Prayer Movement in his Presidential Address. He urged anyone who had not signed up to do so at https://dublin.anglican.org/ministries/mission/
He noted that fruitful mission planning emerges from listening and said that the Mission Sub Committee had engaged in a series of consultations around the United Dioceses. That process continued at Synods as members divided into break–out groups to add their voices to the process. They were asked to consider the question ‘If all your prayers were answered, what would our church be like in five years’ time?’ The comments of the members were gathered by facilitators and will be considered as part of mission planning for the dioceses.
Report of Diocesan Councils
“Risk is part of discipleship”, members of Synods were told by the proposer of the Report of Diocesan Councils. In his speech, Canon Paul Arbuthnot, Dean of Residence at TCD, encouraged members “to take risks, to be bold, and to be courageous for the sake of God’s Kingdom”.
In sharing the work of Diocesan Councils over the past year, Canon Arbuthnot said one of the tasks of councils is to navigate the ocean of governance. This he said had taken up a lot of councils’ time and energy. Councils operate under the umbrella of the Charities Act, he said acknowledging that good governance is essential although it has the potential to stifle the missio dei.
Balancing risk without stifling the creativity which comes as a gift from the Holy Spirit is the tightrope on which the Diocesan Councils walk, he stated. He said that Diocesan Councils had worked dutifully in its capacity as “a midwife of mission” through protecting and securing the mission of God, through expansion and by strengthening relationships within the mission.
He highlighted three areas of the councils’ work – the Who Cares for the Carers? project which supports clergy wellbeing; support for Pioneer Ministry projects; and the strengthening of ecumenical partnerships with various Orthodox churches. He also highlighted the Shine a Light Appeal for the Diocese of Jerusalem which saw €252,214.49 being sent to the Diocese of Jerusalem. He noted that the appeal remains live and it is the dioceses’ intention to contribute to Al Ahli Hospital as part of the regeneration and revitalisation of Gaza.
The report was seconded by Philip Hendy (Narraghmore).
Speaking to the report, Canon Gillian Wharton (Booterstown and Mount Merrion with Carysfort) outlined a further project of Councils to provide supervision, spiritual direction or counselling for the clergy of the dioceses. She said this would be an ongoing support for clergy to accompany them on their journey of ministry and it is hoped that they would avail of this once a quarter. Canon Wharton said clergy would receive letters detailing how to avail of the programme in the coming days.
Lyndon MacCann (Councils and Chair of the Audit and Risk Sub Committee) thanked the members of the committee for all the work they had put into compiling the risk register for the dioceses. He described it as a living document which is subject to ongoing and continuous review.
Julie McKinley (St George and St Thomas’s) commended the 2025 Prayer Movement and in particular its vision to see every parish in the dioceses flourish as communities of faith. She highlighted positive developments in her own parish since its resumption in 2023, chief among them the parish secretary Augustine Ndulue’s commencement of studies for ordination at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. The parish has also appointed a part time administrative coordinator and they have been working with the Methodist congregation of Dublin Central Mission hosting coffee and prayer mornings midweek. “All of this is the culmination of dedicated prayer to see this parish flourish as a community of faith, just as the 2025 Prayer Movement commends,” she commented.
Report of the Diocesan Board of Education
Proposing the Report of the Diocesan Board of Education, John Aiken who represents The King’s Hospital on Synods, welcomed members to the school as it celebrates 350 years of Christian education under the auspices of the Church of Ireland in Dublin.
He outline a number of changes in the area of education, pointing to the continued roll out of the Primary Curriculum Framework, the continued development through OIDE of the Maths curriculum, and other initiatives such as updated Additional Education guidelines.
Mr Aiken said financial constraints are exacerbated by a lack of a clear grants schedule and subsequent follow on for budgeting within schools. Increased grants, timely communicated, could reduce the need for fervent fundraising and voluntary contributions, he suggested. Teacher shortages are worsening, he said, with the cost of living and working in Dublin remaining a huge challenge, especially to young teachers entering the profession. Improvements in the appointment process for primary school boards of management would help create better jobs certainty and stability in the primary sector, he stated.
While noting positive development in secondary schools with an increased focus on wellbeing and education reform, he said that Senior Cycle redevelopment had raised concerns over marking schemes for revised courses and project overload for students.
The board contributed €31,000 towards various primary school small development projects in the past year and he reminded parishes and school to consider applying to the board for assistance. He outlined a number of grants awarded to assist with school fees for students in secondary education in the dioceses. Also, for the first time in many years, the board awarded a grant to a person training in the area of third level chaplaincy, he announced.
Mr Aiken commended the organisers of Patron’s Day last March and of last October’s Diocesan Service of Primary and Junior Schools in Christ Church Cathedral. In thanking his fellow board members, he conveyed the gratitude of the entire board to secretary and accounting officer, Christine Richardson who has announced her intention to retire this year.
Speaking to the report, Canon Professor Anne Lodge (Christ Church Cathedral) turned a spotlight on the difficulty in hiring and keeping teachers in primary and post primary schools. This, she said, created problems for school leaders and was damaging for children. It also had an impact on student teachers because the Teaching Council does not allow student teachers train in a classroom with newly qualified teachers and the majority of teachers in Dublin are newly qualified, she stated. She added that it was almost impossible to source teachers for technical areas such as woodwork and home economics. Prof Lodge cited the housing issue as the cause for the problem, and while members of synod could not fix that, she urged them to ask their public representatives to consider a system similar to that which operates in London to house those working in essential services.
Church’s Ministry of Healing
Proposing the report of the Church’s Ministry for Healing, Archdeacon Ross Styles (Newcastle and Newtownmountkennedy with Calary) highlighted the ancient ministry which the diocesan committee has been aiming to grow over the last few years. He said it was their aim to grow the healing ministry in parishes, and they had seen growth in recent times. He urged anyone who felt a calling to the healing ministry to get in touch with the committee and said it was a privilege to be part of such a ministry. Archdeacon Styles said healing comes in many forms – spiritual, physical and mental – and very often people speak of a sense of calm.
He thanked all the clergy who made healing services possible in parishes. Online, he said Carol Casey’s service for prayer and centring continued to grow and all were welcome to join the zoom call on the second Monday of each month. He thanked Stan Bloomer for coordinating the prayer intercessors who provide continuous prayer for those who are ill. He encouraged anyone who would like to be an intercessor to contact Stan. He thanked Jean Salter and the committee for their hard work and also CMH:I for their support. Next year’s Quiet Day will take place in Whitechurch, he announced.
Closing Words
Drawing Synod to a close for 2025, Archbishop Michael Jackson thanked King’s Hospital for their generous hosting, the students for their assistance and the board for funding the wonderful meal. He thanked those at the ‘top table’ and all who worked with him throughout the year.
He said there was always plenty for which to pray but in light of the work carried out during the evening he prayed for the diocesan prayer and mission initiative, for all who need and give healing and for a world in need of healing, for all involved in education, and for the chaplaincies and parishes of the dioceses.
