WHERE WE ARE GOING? HOW TO BE CHURCH TODAY.

 

SWOT analysis

 

Strengths: Has begun to leave behind the divisions of the past. High church vs Low church, liberal vs conservative, catholic vs evangelical, modernist vs fundamentalist.

 

Has developed Modern liturgies - Service of theWord. Flexible liturgy  - rather than slavishly following the book. Towards a new Book of Common Prayer 2004.

 

Has become more ecumenical. We pray each week for our Roman Catholic neighbours who are bereaved. Has framed a draft Covenant with the Methodist Church. Some parishes have made their Harvest and Christmas Carol services ecumenical occasions.

 

Has begun to distance itself from the Orange Order. The Orange Order claims to defend traditional Protestant and unionist values. The Church of Ireland contains people of all political opinions and should not be aligned with one particular viewpoint. I make a point of praying for both heads of state in each jurisdiction once a year on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s day.

 

The Parsons Freehold gives independence from the congregation. Weekly Communion. Open Table.

 

Weaknesses:  A tendency to divide at every opportunity.  [If you want to have a row join a church] Can focus on religious nit picking. Every man his own pope. Emphasises individualism rather than community.  Used to suffer from religious superiority.  The goldfish bowl is too small. In some places the church has become the personal fiefdom of one or two individuals. Clergy are not sufficiently accountable for their workload.  There are no support mechanisms for the clergy.

 

There is a narrow northern fundamentalist protestantism which manifests itself as sectarian and anti-catholic. [Cardinal O'Fiaiach made the distinction that while northern protestants were anti-catholic, northern catholics were not anti-protestant but anti-british.] The scourge of sectarianism lies just below the surface of middle class respectability in many parishes. In 2002 when asked if theirs was a church where inter-church couples would feel at home, one group of select vestry members in a “nice” parish replied that they mixed with their Catholic neighbours at the golf club. “We don’t exactly invite our Catholic neighbours for their tea. If Roman Catholics were to come to our church, there are some members of our congregation who would not be in church the following week.” Such attitudes display a remarkable ignorance of the demands of the gospel on the part of some apparently weekly church goers. 

 

Opportunities: The bible is a book to live by, not to quote texts from.

A Decade of Evangelism - So what? 

Ecumenical cooperation.

We do have a crowd if we do things together.

Ministry and Mission - empowering the laity.

Adult christian education.

Could be more appreciative of the Irish language. 15 hymns as gaelige in new hymnal.

 

[Before annual elections one year the Bishop sent a circular encouraging select vestries to have a gender balance and to include under 25s.  In response one vestry appointed men to the four offices and appointed women as their deputies!]

 

Threats: The Local group of parishes is in terminal decline. Mixed marriages. Secularisation. Newcomers. Any change. Most congregations subscribe to the status quo.