Irish Times Notes
Church of Ireland Notes from ‘The Irish Times’
General Synod Meets in Wexford
The General Synod will be held next Friday and Saturday in White’s Hotel, Wexford with Day 3 taking place remotely on the evening of Tuesday 16t May and the evening of Thursday 18 May if required. This will be the first occasion for the Synod to meet in Wexford.
The General Synod is primarily a church parliament and so a number of bills which, if passed will amend aspects of the Church’s Constitution will be debated. These relate to the administration of vestries, the Board of St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, interchangeability of clergy with the Methodist Church, clergy pensions and charity regulation matters.
As always the Synod will consider the annual reports of the Standing Committee and the Representative Church Body and their various councils and sub–committees. These reports which are subsequently published in the Journal of the General Synod are an invaluable conspectus of church life and witness.
However, important as the debates and the reports are, undoubtedly for many the principal reason for attending General Synod is collegiality. As more administrative activity is conducted on–line the enduring significance of face to face contact cannot be overestimated. And so the meetings in a quite comer, the casual encounters, and the sociability in bars, restaurants and cafés are vital if the Church is to retain a human face.
The Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd John McDowell, will present the Sovereign’s Orb at the Coronation Service of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Westminster Abbey today (Saturday). The invitation to take part in the Coronation Service was made on behalf of the King and Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury on account of Archbishop McDowell’s position as Archbishop of Armagh, the most senior Anglican Bishop in the Church of Ireland and also ‘in recognition of the great service you have given warmly and wholeheartedly to your Province, the Church, and The Communion, as well as your significant contributions to public life’.
The Primate’s role in the coronation involves receiving the Sovereign’s Orb from the Dean of Westminster and taking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury who places it in the King’s hand, with the words: ‘Receive this Orb, set under the Cross, and remember always the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.’
The Primate will also be preaching at St George’s, Hanover Square, tomorrow (Sunday).
The Church of St John the Evangelist, Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4, will celebrate its Patronal Festival of St John the Evangelist before the Latin Gate, at a Solemn Eucharist on Sunday 7th May at 11am.
As part of the Church of Ireland’s MindMatters project, which seeks to encourage and support positive mental health, there will be a Walk of Wellbeing – a gentle guided walk with a focus on friendship and mindfulness – tomorrow (Sunday). The Revd Ruth Noble, Rector of Crumlin and Chapelizod, will lead a walk in the Phoenix Park (meet at the Papal Cross) from 3pm to 5pm.
On Monday evening at 6pm the new series of organ recitals will continue in Christ Church cathedral, Dublin. The recitalist will be David Adams from the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Musici Ireland will play the first concert of Music in Calary’s 2023 series at 8pm on Thursday in Calary parish church, Co. Wicklow. The concert begins at 8pm sharp. For more information or to book tickets, which are €18 and €15 for concessions, please ring John at (01) 2818146 or email derekneilson11@gmail.com
Published in the Friday edition of The Irish Times