Bishop of Cork on church and state issues; New Secretary General for the Mission to Seafarers; Ballybeen GB girl featured on ‘Story of a Lifetime’; ICC 90th Annual Meeting; Dean of Belfast visits Focolare movement in Rome
Bishop of Cork on church and state issues
Addressing the congregation at the annual Civic Service in Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral, Cork, the Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, said that Saint Patrick’s Day – a festival which is at one and the same time a national day and a religious event – ‘confronts us all annually with questions about the place of religion in our society.’ Referring to issues of our day Bishop Colton said that, as a relatively young democracy, ‘we have some major Church-State growing-up and disentangling to do; and religious groups have to get used to what it means to be religious in a secular society.”
Bishop Colton said: I cannot help but feeling – especially as I witness, and am personally engaged, in Church-State dialogue, in the field of education especially, in the care of the elderly, and in the voluntary charitable sector; and as we all take part in on-going vigorous debate about all sorts of issues, including the proposed abortion legislation, marriage equality rights, and the affording of protection to Lesbian and Gay people in a religious workplace, to name some examples – I cannot help but feeling that we have some major Church-State growing-up and disentangling to do.
The State has the challenge of accommodating, in a secular way, in its legislation, within the Rule of Law, outlooks which take account of the new diversity, religious and non-religious. Religious groups, churches, particularly churches that have been used to exerting major influence (including, in spite of its size, the Church of Ireland) have to get used to what it means to be religious, and to work out our faith, in a secular society.
A secular State does not mean that there is no place for religion or dialogue with a religious viewpoint. Separation of Church and State does not mean that religious people have nothing to say or should say nothing.
See earlier post on CNI today for full text
New Secretary General for the Mission to Seafarers
The Revd Andrew Wright has taken up his new post as Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers. Revd Wright has joined the Mission from Fishermen’s Mission, where he was chaplain and director of operations.
Robert Woods CBE, Chairman of The Mission to Seafarers said: “Andrew has developed considerable insights into seafaring issues and has built strong personal relationships across the maritime charity sector. He will provide the essential inspirational, strategic leadership to our mission chaplaincy teams which offer welfare support in over 250 ports in 71 countries around the world, and oversee our international HQ in London.”
Revd Wright’s appointment follows the sudden, tragic death of the Mission’s previous Secretary General, the Revd Tom Heffer, in 2012.
On his first day, Revd Wright said: “It is exciting and daunting to be taking on the role of Secretary General to this worldwide Mission. In doing so I am conscious of my distinguished predecessors, and especially of Tom. I am determined to take his work forward and to continue to focus on the provision of professional welfare services for seafarers in areas of greatest need.
“I hope to be faithful to the past, ensuring that we remain rooted in what has driven and sustained us all these years. At the same time, I am committed to ensuring that we do not stand still, that we do not get cosy and that we take wing, energetically and creatively, into ensuring that our service, our ministry, remains dynamic, focused and relevant.
“Ours is a remarkable and privileged work amongst a fantastic group of people, so often forgotten and sadly now so hidden from the public imagination. Within that lie all the issues we know so well: isolation; danger; exhaustion; family worry; fears of many kinds; and, sometimes, real nastiness.
“Bringing light in darkness will continue to involve us with justice issues of all kinds. This must happen both at the macro level, in our work with governments and institutions, and at the micro level in our work with individual ships and seafarers in ports.
“I look forward enormously to working with you all.”
Revd Wright was ordained at Liverpool Cathedral in 1984. He spent years working in urban areas of significant deprivation in Liverpool, Carlisle and Wigan before becoming chaplain, head of religious studies and housemaster for 16 years at St Edward’s School in Oxford. He joined Fishermen’s Mission in 2007 as chaplain and director of operations, and has now taken up his new role as Secretary General of The Mission to Seafarers.
Ballybeen GB girl featured on ‘Story of a Lifetime’
Stephen Nolan meets people who have gone on a remarkable journey and reveals the events that have changed their lives.
In last week’s programme he spends time with Leah Batchelor, a 21–year–old student who survived locked–in syndrome after having a stroke. Leah is a member of St Mary’s, Ballybeen GB and last summer she took part in a Bible camp project in Durban, South Africa.
Currently on BBC I-player at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01r7wg7/Story_of_a_Lifetime_Leah_Batchelor/
ICC 90th Annual Meeting
The 90th Annual Meeting of the Irish Council of Churches to be held in Derry – Londonderry on Thursday 21 March.
Registration begins at 9.30am and the day will end at 4.30pm.
Dean of Belfast visits Focolare movement in Rome
The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann, travelled to Rome this month along with his wife Helen at the invitation of Dr Maria Voce, President of the Focolare movement. We flew into Rome on Monday March 4 in lovely warm sunshine and spent that day sightseeing.
On Tuesday, having visited St Peter’s Basilica and viewed the preparations for the election of the Pope we walked the short distance to the Anglican Centre in Rome. It was founded in 1966, following the landmark meeting between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.
“The Anglican Centre has become both a focus for creative encounter between Anglicans and Roman Catholics and a major resource for Anglicans of very varied background and conviction. It is a vital gift to the Communion and to the whole ecumenical enterprise.” +Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury.
We were welcomed by Canon David Richardson, the Director of the Centre and we shared in a service of Holy Communion, followed by lunch at which we presented Canon Richardson and his wife Margie with a St Brigid’s Cross made of Irish bog oak. The Centre is used for conferences and runs various courses and has an important ministry of hospitality and prayer.
On Wednesday came the meeting around which the whole journey to Rome was built: A visit to the centre of the worldwide Focolare movement. This is sited in the hills south of Rome in Frascati (it is also an important wine growing region). As the train wound its way up the track, so the weather became increasingly awful; the rain fell in great sheets of water and we dashed from place to place. The welcome was very warm and we had a translator from Tipparary – Jenny – who had been a member of the Focolare for many years. We saw most of the complex and had a meeting for an hour with Maria Voce, the head of the Focolare movement. She had spoken in St Anne’s Cathedral last June, appealing for unity amongst all Christians and on Focolare principles to live one’s life for the other person, sharing all one has and recognising in God not only truth and justice and love, but also beauty. We spoke of Christ forsaken on the Cross, a meeting place of great significance in Focolare spirituality, where oneness with the pain and loneliness of many in the world is to be found.
On Thursday we travelled by high speed train (250 km per hour) to Loppiano, a village in Tuscany where the whole community lives on Focolare principles and everyone, man, woman and child, meets each evening in Church after work to sing and pray and share the Eucharist together. Recently they have established a small University and there are small units within the village that teach those who wish to become a Focolarine about their way of life. There are cultural centres, artistic units and a wonderful pottery. Here we shared experiences and spoke to many people who were temporally or permanently sharing the community life of this place. Whilst everything was in Italian, we were always helped by a translator.
We didn’t need a translator for a meal that night though, as we were entertained by Sally McAllister who left the New Lodge in the early 1970’s to become a Focolarine. For more than 20 years she was secretary to Cardinal Basil Hume, the Archbishop of Westminster. Needless to say, we had plenty of Belfast chat!
On Friday morning near Loppiano we visited the business park of the Focolare. This is worked on principles that go well beyond a co–operative. They describe it as ‘The Economy of Communion.’ Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare movement 70 years ago described it in this way:
“I thought that we could bring about among our people businesses, in a way to engage the capacities and resources of everybody in order to produce in the same time wealth in favour of those who are in need. Their management should have to be entrusted to competent people capable of making them function effectively in order to gain profits.
These have freely to be put into common. Partially these profits have to be used for the same aims of the first Christian community: to help the poor and to provide what they need for their living until they have found work. Another has to be used to develop structures of formation for new men/women, that means for the formation of people who are animated by love, able to live what we call the culture of giving. A last part certainly has to be used to increase the company.” (Chiara Lubich)
This philosophy has produced a most amazing effect on a range of businesses, working together, supporting one another, making money and supporting the poor and all in need.
The fact that this whole community from business park to University, from farms to its places of hospitality, works on the principle of selfless giving is inspirational.
Helen and I were accompanied to Italy by a member of the NI Focolare, Renate Komorek, who translated for us and helped us in every way. We met Fr Brendan Leahy in Rome too.
Fr Leahy is to be ordained RC Bishop of Limerick on April 14 this year and is another member of the Focolare in Ireland.