At the Dublin and Glendalough Synod, Archbishop Jackson updated members on a partnership recently formed between the Diocesan Council and its counterpart in Connor.
The Archbishop also acknowledged the work of the various diocesan boards and committees:
The Book of Reports for these Diocesan Synods provides good reading for anyone who picks it up. It gives a clear and expanding picture of groups of people who are prepared to think imaginatively, to engage critically with issues and attitudes and to plan for the future in ways which are missional. All of this has repercussions for the life of the church as an institution and its people as individuals, if only we seize it. I really do want to see this grow and flourish and I want it to happen with a properly thought-through missional intention.
I want the Boards and Commissions to engage actively with those who in other spheres do similar work: ecumenically and in civil society. Networks and partnerships are what make the world today what it is and we, within the church, need this sort of collaboration if we are to be part of bringing to those whom God already loves the finest and the best of the experiences and expectations of the Kingdom. It is not enough to talk of God and not to do God’s work; it is not enough to do God’s work and fail to talk of God.
Once again, every individual here can do this. I want to applaud the creativity and the energy of so many people and I want more and more people in our dioceses to be part of this experience. We are uniquely placed to do so, with a broad range of urban, suburban and rural presence and engagement. I have already seen strong evidence of this, as I have found myself in various parts of the dioceses at many different types of event.
There is always scope for the sharing of the experiences, for the integration of practice and for the cross-fertilization of ideas. The wheel must turn but it does not always require re-invention. It does nonetheless need a sense of movement and direction.
At their last Meeting, the Diocesan Councils have responded unanimously and enthusiastically to a Dublin-Belfast Partnership between us in these two dioceses and the diocese of Connor. It will centre on our coming to know one another better in a church which can all too readily foster and develop emphases which can accentuate difference rather than embracing difference.
It will develop around partnership in mission and the discernment of signs of the Kingdom of God in two capital cities. It will share engagement at a sustained level with broad sectors of wider society.
And it will be fun.
The Diocesan Council of Connor and Bishop Abernethy are fully behind this and have also embraced this project enthusiastically.
We will all hear a great deal more about it in the months ahead.