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WEDNESDAY'S NEWS
Heritage law threatens small Anglican communities Small Protestant communities are being faced with massive insurance premium increases due to recent heritage legislation in the Irish Republic, General Synod was told on Wednesday.
"While we, through the stewardship of our forebears and the outcome of history, are the trustees of many wonderful things, such trusteeship of heritage and property management are not the church's core activities. These cannot, therefore usurp the primary demands on our time, energy and resources," he said. The Synod heard from several speakers about the difficulties the Planning and Development Act (2000) had imposed, including Canon David Williams (Kinsale, Diocese of Cork) who was told he needed planning permission to erect a cross in one church, and of a Roman Catholic church nearby which was told to seek planning approval in order to move a Baptismal font….but they could introduce a second one if they wanted. He blamed the Irish National Trust (An Taisce) as the root of the problem. "An Taisce should be educated on liturgical conservation," he said. Dean Maurice Sirr of Limerick Cathedral said the State, in the application of the conservation rules, had let the Church down, while on the other hand the Dean of Waterford, Very Revd. Peter Barrett, said the Office of Public Works had done magnificent work in Christ Church Cathedral which had been the recipient of a very generous grant, in that city. Mr.Michael Webb of Glenageary Parish (Dublin) said if Guinness' Brewery in the city had to maintain their premises in the fashion of 100 years ago they would have been bankrupt long since. Bishop Colton warned that small faith communities do not have the resources to fulfil the current legislation and said a national funding scheme must be put in place for buildings regarded as genuine national heritage. "The end result may, I believe, be the closure of some churches, and far from the heritage being maintained some buildings will become jettisoned waste on the landscape. Worse still, it will undermine the administrative confidence and perhaps threaten the institutional existence of some minority communities." (report courtesy of Rev Gregg Ryan of the Church Times)
Representative Body Report - Debate The main issues dominating the debate on the RCB Report were:
See Houses
He was followed by the Dean of Armagh, the Very Reverend H Cassidy, who called on the RCB to take action in regard to the See House of Armagh, which he described as an inferior dwelling lacking adequate reception facilities for visitors. Rev WB Paine, Rural Dean of Tynan commented on the poor finishes in the See House, noting that some rooms were not square. In his response, Mr FW Rankin said that the matter was already in hand and an architect had already been appointed. Maintenance of Historic Churches and the effect on Christian communities. Despite the wonderful experience of co-operation with the Office of Public Works (Republic of Ireland) reported by Dean PF Barrett of Waterford, the overall feeling was one of disappointment with Governments in both jurisdictions in terms of funding the maintenance of historic buildings and in terms of recognising the need for such buildings to meet the liturgical needs of the future. Mr M Webb of Dublin drew the analogy of listing the Guinness building and making the organisation use the plant of 100 years ago. "They'd go bankrupt", he declared. Listing means that buildings get preserved in an undynamic way, he said.
Insurance The Right Rev MGStA Jackson, Bishop of Clogher spoke of "real trouble in rural areas of the Church of Ireland," as parishes try to pay increased insurance premiums. He warned of serious repercussions for parish structure, ministry and warned that many buildings will not be sustainable in the near future. He urged the Church to "stop hankering after a particular type of parochial past". This theme was taken up by The O'Donovan (Cork, Cloyne & Ross) who suggested that new church buildings represented a more pragmatic future than historic ones. Church Hymnal A number of speakers praised the work of the Braille Unit at Maghaberry Prison in bringing out a braille edition of the Church Hymnal. In his response, Mr Bob Sherwood, Chief Officer, thanked Rev JA Harron, Rector of Aghalee and Chaplain to the prison, for his personal contribution to this process. He said that a Draft Disability Strategy for the Church would be produced in coming months. Thanks were also rendered to Mrs Edith Maxwell who proof read the Braille version. Dr Peter Trimble (Down & Dromore) supported the development of the initiative in the future. (report by Ms Janet Maxwell - Director of Communications)
The Council for the Church Overseas Report Proposing the report of the Council for the Church Overseas - Mr James Myles (Connor Diocese), drew the attention of Synod to two aspects of the report.
Dean Maurice Sirr, in seconding the report, suggested the real purpose of Mission is to be challenged by the partner churches from overseas. "We need to re visit our idea of what the church is". The Bishop of Kilmore, Ken Clarke, reminded the Synod of what we can learn from the being part of the growing Anglican Communion. We are a communion of "Churches with shoes and without shoes" and we must wear our shoes with humility. The Bishop of Limerick, Michael Mayes, suggested that we could learn a great deal from our people who return from overseas. He particularly remembered Elizabeth Farrer and her work in India. A number of the speakers mentioned the forthcoming Power To Change Mission campaign to mobilise Christians to Share the Good News. At the end of this session, Mr S. Harper and Dr. P. Trimble were re-elected to the Council for the Church Overseas. (report by DAVID SEAMAN - DCO MEATH & Kildare)
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