The Church Of Ireland General Synod 1999

The Annual Report of this Board incorporates those of the Broadcasting, Internet and Literature Committees.

The Bishop of Meath and Kildare (Chairman)
Ven RG Hoey
Mr G Bradley
Mr AD Fleck
Mr RH Sherwood
Dr R Refaussé
Rev Canon Professor J Bartlett
Rev Dr A McCormack
Rev AF Abernethy
Rev M Carey
Mr P Comerford
Rev M Graham
Very Rev NN Lynas (resigned January 1999)
Rev Canon KA Kearon (resigned January 1999)
Mr M Larmour (until January 1999)
Mrs E Gibson Harries, Press Officer (Secretary)

Dr K Milne (Chairman)
Rev CNR Halliday
Ms R Buchanan
Mr AD Fleck
Mr D Meredith
Rev Canon WP Colton
Rev AF Abernethy
Rev AJ Forster
Rev FJ McDowell
Rev Dr AW McCormack (Honorary Secretary)
Mrs E Gibson Harries (Press Officer)

The Bishop of Kilmore (Chairman)
Rev Canon MC Kennedy
Rev Canon JAB Mayne
Rev B Treacy, OP
Mr S O’Boyle
Dr R Refaussé (Honorary Secretary)
Mrs E Gibson Harries (Press Officer)

Ven RG Hoey (Chairman)
Rev Canon KA Kearon
Mr RH Sherwood
Rev M Graham (Co-ordinator)
Mr M Larmour
Mr C Took
Mrs E Gibson Harries (Press Officer)

• The Press Office issued fifty-six Press Releases in 1998. It should be noted that this does not reflect the number of issues and briefings the Press Office dealt with during the year.
• The Board is pleased with the spread and use of the Email and Internet systems within the church. The Church of Ireland Website has had four to five hundred hits per week in the last twelve months.
• During 1998 discussion at both Board and Standing Committee level and indeed within the Role of the Church Committee, as to who speaks on behalf of the Church of Ireland and what material can be released on to the Website and Internet. The Press Office needs access to statements and reports made by individual members and boards who speak on their own behalf at that time, but whose background and experience add to the debate on given subjects.
• A support group for the Press Officer has been established to provide advice and back-up when immediate response is necessary.
• Although somewhat behind schedule at the beginning of 1999, the Board is overseeing the production of a video on ‘Faith and Belief’ as a resource for church groups and others.
• A group from the Board are reviewing the layout and presentation of the Church of Ireland Directory. Changes will be made in time for the year 2000 edition.
• A day long meeting was held in June 1998 to take extra time to explore both the work of the Press Office and the Board. Communications are acknowledged to be central to any organisation, especially a church whose mandate is to spread the good news in an increasingly secular world. As part of internal communications, the Press Office, as well as the Literature and Broadcasting Committees, gave presentations to General Synod in 1998 emphasising the pressure on immediate accurate responses to the media.

The year has proved a busy one for the Committee and, through its course, the Committee has met both in Dublin and in Belfast.

The Committee was delighted to welcome the Revd John McDowell to membership.

At the General Synod in May 1998 the discussion document ‘Digital Broadcasting’ was launched. Adrian Moynes, Special Assistant to the Director General RTE, introduced the topic and copies of the document were sent to all serving clergy for comment. A number of replies was received and this has added materially to the Committee’s review procedure. The Committee has developed a team to take the issues raised in the document to diocesan synods in 1999 to further the twin processes of information and consultation within the Church of Ireland. It is hoped that the outcome of Committee reflection on the issue of digitalisation will be a position paper on the socio-cultural consequences of the technological revolution now occurring in the broadcast landscape.

The preparation of clergy and laity to participate in the many opportunities presented by the contemporary broadcast culture has continued to exercise the Committee. A new training structure has been devised which places the business of training on a more regular professional footing with a syllabus responsive both to the needs of discrete groupings (eg clergy in their first two years after ordination) and to the needs of contemporary religious programme-makers. It is hoped that the new configuration will be operative towards the end of calendar year 1999.

The Committee continues to appreciate the work of the many members of the Church of Ireland involved in local broadcasting and hopes that the new configuration will also act as a stimulus to the development of this field. The Committee continues to contribute to the 3R syndication service which provides religious material for local stations.

The Committee continues to appreciate the standard and regularity of broadcast Church services on RTE.

The Committee facilitated the attendance of the Revd Christopher Halliday at part of the Lambeth Conference where he made a programme for RTE. The Revd Dr Alan McCormack, the Honorary Secretary, also travelled to Canterbury where he co-ordinated some radio interviews for RTE.

The Revd Christopher Halliday attended the June CACLB Conference as a representative of the Committee.

The Internet Committee (formerly the Internet Advisory Group – IAG) of the Central Communications Board is the committee which deals with this new and exciting area of communications. Its membership at present comprises Archdeacon Raymond Hoey (Chairman), Canon Kenneth Kearon, Mr Robert Sherwood (Chief Officer), Revd Michael Graham, Mr Mark Larmour and Mr Christopher Took. Archdeacon Hoey and Canon Kearon are web site authenticators who have been given the responsibility of monitoring and approving future changes to the Church of Ireland web site.

The Internet Committee has just gone through a period of reorganisation. Mr Mark Larmour, Internet Co-ordinator and prime mover in this whole area of communication, relinquished this role in October 1998 following his appointment to the Northern Ireland Office. Thankfully he remains a member of the Internet Committee.

The Reverend Michael Graham, Rector of Drogheda and Ardee Unions, Diocese of Armagh, was appointed to the position by the Central Communications Board in November of 1998.

1998 was a year of consolidation of the Internet activities of the Church of Ireland. The Central Communications Board appointed the Internet Advisory Group to handle the development and maintenance of an official web site for the church. This web site was launched in October 1997 and since then it has received many visitors from around the world, averaging some 400-500 "hits" per week on its home page.

During the General Synod in May 1998, a highly successful "Internet Café" was run by our Internet Service Providers, Ireland Online, in the refreshment area beneath the Synod meeting hall. Many members of synod took the opportunity to visit the stand and to become more aware of the potential of the Internet for their parishes. Many expressed astonishment that the Church of Ireland was so active in this area.

Since then the Internet Co-ordinators have visited several Diocesan Synods with display stands and material, once again showing the potential of the Internet to this wider audience.

During the year 11 of the 12 Diocesan Communications Officers (DCOs) were equipped with email capability. This facilitates the rapid flow of information to and from the Dioceses and the Press Office.

Also, several more parishes now have a "web presence" with their own web sites giving information about the parishes and their activities.

Plans for 1999 might include:

• a major overhaul of the Church of Ireland web site using professional design expertise to give an even fuller picture of the Church;
• training for DCOs and Diocesan Secretaries on the use of email for regular church correspondence;
• a network of people able to provide some level of support and expertise in their local area will be established, with the Internet Co-ordinator providing central backup as required;
• dioceses will be encouraged to avail of the services of the Internet Committee in the provision of awareness seminars/demonstrations for eg synods, clerical unions/ societies etc;
• more parishes to be encouraged to open their own web sites;
• educational material/links to be provided for schools
• affiliated church bodies (eg mission societies, adoption society) to be encouraged and supported in their use of the web;
• upgrade of technology and training in the press office to allow more direct use of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Two members of the Committee resigned in the course of the past year. The Bishop of Down and Dromore was unable to continue because of increasing episcopal responsibilities and Mr Robin Montgomery elected to leave the Committee after retiring from his bookselling business. Both members brought valuable insights and practical experience of publishing to the work of the Committee and they will be missed. It was decided not to nominate new members to the Committee until the results of the consultation on the future of publication in the Church of Ireland were known.

Grants from the General Synod Royalties Fund were recommended to support the publication of the new Church Hymnal; to assist the publication of a guide to the Church Hymnal, to be written by the Bishop of Limerick; to finance the printing and distribution of copies of a proposed experimental form of baptismal service which had been approved by the House of Bishops; and to subvent the publication, by APCK, of a book of essays, edited by the Dean of Raphoe, to mark the millennium.

The Committee continued to meet with the various publishing interests in the Church of Ireland to share information on forthcoming publishing projects, and provided a stand at the General Synod as part of a day devoted to communications.

A submission was made by CHL Consultants who had been retained by the Standing Committee to examine the publication needs of the Church of Ireland. The Committee reiterated its belief that the appointment of a Publications Officer was essential and expressed the view that the Committee might have a role as a support body for such an officer.

Return to Standing Committee Report 1999

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61 - 67 Donegall Street
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