The Church of Ireland has appointed Ms Rachael Murphy as its Children and Families Development Officer. Ms Murphy has worked in the youth and children’s sector for the past 27 years; in this role, which is a three-year appointment, she will be responsible for raising the profile of children and families ministry, training, supporting and developing resources.

Welcoming her appointment, Bishop George Davison remarked: “On behalf of the Church of Ireland Board for Ministry with Children and Families, I’m delighted to welcome Rachael Murphy to the role of Development Officer.  Her warm personality and wealth of experience will be great assets as we seek to develop the work of this new Board to resource and support the Church in its ministry with children and families.”

Rachael says: “I am both humbled and excited by the appointment in equal measure, as it brings together my love for children’s ministry and my passion to see families equipped and empowered.

“The past two years in particular have seen our families and children’s ministry come under great strain; it has required the Church to look for new and innovative ways to engage. As the saying goes ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and there have been some fantastic ideas and programmes that have come forward during this time, so it is exciting now to see how the Church can further develop this vital ministry for God’s glory.

“There are so many amazing, dedicated and talented people who have been working tirelessly for God through this period and long before, reaching out to children and their families. It is my hope to raise the profile of this amazing ministry, to highlight the huge impact it has on church life and to support those who have given, and continue to give, so much of their time, skills and energy across the island of Ireland.”

Find out more about Children and Families Ministry at www.ireland.anglican.org/CFM or on our social media channels – Facebook at @churchofirelandchildrensministry and Instagram @coficfm

Congratulations to Canon Ian Horner and Canon Ruth West who were installed as Prebendaries of St Fethlimidh’s Cathedral last Sunday night (23^rd January 2022). Canon Ruth (from the Florencecourt Group of Parishes ) will serve as Prebendary of Drumlease and Canon Ian (from the Bailieborough Group of Parishes) will serve as Prebendary of Annnagh. The service was presided over by Bishop Ferran Glenfield and led by Dean Nigel Crossey. The Very Reverend Arfon Williams, Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Mary and St. John, Sligo acted as Registrar.

The address at the service was given by the Archdeacon of Kilmore, the Ven. Craig McCauley who preached from 1^st Corinthians chapter 12 and Luke chapter 4. In his sermon, he drew the congregation’s attention to the obvious fact that we are community of different people with different gifts, different talents and different backgrounds but are all part of a greater and more important whole. Whether, like Jesus, we are rejected or not we each have a vital part to play in proclaiming the good news of the risen Lord Jesus. He concluded his sermon with this prayer from an old hymn:

Day by day, dear Lord, of these three things I pray; to see thee more clearly, to love thee more dearly, to follow thee more nearly, day by day. Amen

We thank God for the newly installed Canons and pray that they may know God’s presence as they begin this new phase of their ministry.

Pictured above are the Chapter of Kilmore Cathedral: Canon Ian Horner, Canon Mark Lidwell, Archdeacon Craig McCauley, Bishop Ferran Glenfield, Dean Nigel Crossey, Canon Ruth West.

As our teenagers and young adults look forward to a new year of youth ministry, the Church of Ireland Youth Department’s Young Leaders in Ministry Fund is once again open for applications.  The fund is open to young people aged between 15 and 25 years who can demonstrate a current involvement in the Church of Ireland.  It seeks to support training and development courses, mission teams, leadership opportunities and placements that can be shown to:

• significantly develop the faith of the young adult applicant;

• grow the skills of the applicant especially, but not confined to, leadership skills; and

• be of significant use to the ministry of the Church of Ireland in the 12 months following the completion of the opportunity.

The next closing date is Monday, 31st January 2022, and application forms (in PDF format) can be downloaded at this link (https://www.ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/news/Press/2022/Young-Leaders-Application-Form-2022.pdf).

Please send all completed applications by post to: Young Leaders in Ministry Fund, CIYD, Church of Ireland House, 61–67 Donegall Street, Belfast, BT1 2QH, or by email to [email protected]

For any further information or questions please email [email protected]

January looks both ways, backwards to the old year and forward to the new year.

Another year opens, covered with the Covid cloud which is proving hard to lift.

We are weary of Covid and want it consigned to the pages of history. It is difficult to plan anything with any degree of certainty. All we can do is watch and wait. The words watch and wait are often used by the psalmist in the Bible. They are there at the centre of Psalm 130,

“ I wait for the Lord,
my soul waits and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord,
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning”.

Verses 5 and 6

The words watch and wait in this Psalm add up to hope. And hope is connected in the Psalm with the image of watchmen, waiting through the night for the dawn. They know the dawn comes, there is no doubt about that. The psalmist’s and the Christian’s watching and waiting is based on the conviction that God is at work behind the scenes. Covid will pass, God will do it in his way and in his time. In the meantime, we watch, wait and pray for the post-Covid dawn to come.

In earlier announcements online, you will have read details of appointments to our two cathedrals: Kilmore and Sligo. Last year, the Diocesan Council, the Diocesan Synod and the Standing Committee of the General Synod backed a proposal to create two separate archdeacons for Elphin and Ardagh which had been joined together in 1929. The thinking behind the proposal was threefold: First, Geographical. It has always been difficult for one archdeacon to cover the ground that makes up Elphin and Ardagh: Sligo, Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford and part of Westmeath. Second, Historical. Our diocese is made up of three historic dioceses which have been in existence since the 12^th Century and joined together in 1841. Third, Administration. In the past decade the number of clergy, lay pastors and parish groups and mission centres in the diocese has increased and administration has increased accordingly. Clergy, lay pastors, evangelists and parishes need good administration and resources to work effectively. Hence the need for two archdeacons in Elphin and Ardagh, alongside one in Kilmore.

Canon Patrick Bamber will become the Archdeacon of Elphin. He will oversee an archdeaconry consisting of Sligo Cathedral, Drumcliffe, Cloonclare, Calry, The Sligo Centre of Mission, Ballisodare, Riverstown and Boyle. Canon Hazel Hicks will be the Archdeacon of Ardagh. She will administer the archdeaconry made up of Ardagh, Longford, Roscommon, South Leitrim, Arva and Edgewothstown and Longford Methodist. Archdeacon Craig will continue to serve the archdeaconry of Kilmore consisting of Kilmore, Cavan, Virginia, Bailieborough, Drumgoon, Drung, Annagh, KIldrumferton, Kildallon, Killeshandra, Swanlinbar, Kinawley and Killesher. Do pray for Archdeacon Patrick and Archdeacon Hazel as they take up their new positions, joining Archdeacon Craig in these key roles in the diocese.  I do believe that these three archdeaconaries will become recovery vehicles for parishes and diocese in the post Covid landscape. And we have much to recover.

Towards the end of last year, we lost two people and a parish community.

Kathleen Richey, widow of Canon Robin Richey who was Diocesan Secretary from 1972 to 1998, was described as a ”force of nature.” She was deeply involved in her community of Blacklion and her parish Killinagh and was laid to rest in her native Fermanagh. Donald Walker from Lissadell , who was rooted in North Sligo, also died. A quiet and humble soul, Donald was one of the longest serving Diocesan Lay Readers until his retirement a few years ago. The few remaining parishioners of Aughavas, near Mohill, decided that their church should close. So there was a very fitting final service in the church which was deconsecrated.

People pass and we mourn their loss, church buildings, too, have their day and become places of memory. People and places matter to us and to God. In this New Year, I commend you to his love and care.

+ Ferran

Christmas comes in packages. Courier companies deliver packages to our doors. Some people book a hotel package for Christmas Day. Christmas parcels are wrapped in seasonal paper to be opened on the big day. Christmas comes in packages.

St. Luke packages the first Christmas story for us in his Gospel. He wants us to see, first, the coming of God to the world he created. Christ came at the time when Caesar Augustus ruled much of the known world. But for Luke the Roman Empire was only the backcloth to Christ’s coming. Jesus, not Caesar was the main man.

Secondly, Luke points to how God came to earth. He came in humility. Born to peasant parents in a rural backwater in Palestine. Born and nursed in a feeding trough in a bare stable. No pomp and circumstance in Luke’s story of the coming of Christ into the world.

Next, Luke highlights the announcement of Christ’s arrival. An angel is the herald. The news is good, the promised one is to be born in Bethlehem. He will deliver, for he comes as Saviour, what the world needs. He is for all, people then and people now, people like you and me.

Lastly, Luke sets before us the reaction to the coming of Jesus. Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night were the first to hear the news. Their response was immediate, they hurried down to Bethlehem, their clue was the feeding trough, just as the angel had said. Mary’s response was more reflective; she pondered all these things in her heart. The wonder of it all.

Luke’s package of the first Christmas story has been described as the most beautiful
gift ever given. Do take time to unwrap the gift of God and to receive Jesus with great
joy and wonder this Christmas.

I do hope and pray that we will be able to celebrate Christmas in our homes and in our churches with family, friends and strangers. May you have happy and blessed Christmas.

+ Ferran