The report of the Representative Church Body (RCB) was received by the General Synod of the Church of Ireland today.  This report covers the main activities of the various committees of the RCB during the year, which includes the management of investments, the administration of trusts and deeds of covenant, the payment of stipends and pensions, property and legal transactions and the support of the core work of the Church as a whole.

Committees of the RCB
• Executive Committee
• Allocations Committee
• Investments Committee
• Property Committee
• Stipends Committee
• Library and Archives Committee
• Legal Advisory Committee
• Audit Committee
• Historic Churches Advisory Committee

The capital funds held in trust by the RCB decreased in value by 11.8 per cent to €662 million for the year ended 31st December 2007 after a difficult year on the financial markets. However, revenue grew by 8.5 per cent and the amount allocated to central Church activities for 2008 is 7.1 per cent higher than in 2007, bringing the Allocations budget above €6 million.

Proposing the report to the General Synod, the Chair of the Executive Committee, Mr Sydney Gamble (Derry) told General Synod members that “The report of the Representative Church Body this year is being delivered to Synod in a climate of economic uncertainty.”

In response to concerns expressed during previous meetings of the General Synod about the ethics of the Church of Ireland’s investment portfolio, Mr Gamble informed members that “the Investment Committee of the R.B., acting in accordance with the clear wishes of Synod last year, has got rid of our holdings in tobacco companies.”

Mr Gamble also encouraged members of the General Synod to explore new avenues for sustaining the Church’s investment funds.

“Perhaps members of General Synod should contemplate some radical changes to the way in which the assets of the Church are employed.”

“May I draw a sort of parallel with certain fairly radical solutions to pension funding being adopted by other schemes.  Marks and Spencer for example have set about transferring large parts of its property portfolio into a partnership with its own pension fund. Marks and Spencer then lease the stores back from the partnership thus providing funding for the pension scheme” he said.

“We require to think ‘outside the box’.  Have we got the appetite to review or alter existing trusts to allow a better use of shared assets?”

Mr Gamble also updated members of the General Synod on the Ministry Formation Project, a project to restructure the theological training of clergy.

“I should let you know that at the request of the House of Bishops the concept of situating in Dublin on a single site the functions of Clergy Training, the Library and the Administration of Central Church is currently being explored by the RB. The views of various stakeholders have been obtained. Possibilities are now being explored but this exercise is still at a very early stage” he explained.

Speaking on the same matter, the Ven. Philip Patterson (Down) expressed his view that “the important thing in such a venture is that the ‘new ship’ should not be spoilt for a ha’peworth of tar.  It may well be that the General Fund cannot bear the full cost of the project.  The bishops may have to come to General Synod to ask for an assessment on the wider church to meet the full cost.  We should not shrink away from such action.”

The President of the General Synod and the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Alan Harper, then invited members of the General Synod to comment upon the report.

The Revd Craig McCauley (Kilmore) commended the RCB and Mr Gamble for highlighting the prominent role that lay people play in sustaining the funds required for the Church’s ministry.

“We should recognise the contribution that many, many people make so that we can enjoy the security and support of our stipends and pensions” he said.

Referring to the Allocation provisions detailed in the report, the Revd Ted Woods (Dublin) expressed his view that insufficient funding was being provided for children’s ministry.

“Why do we invest in the second storey of youth ministry without first investing in the first storey of children’s ministry? We fail to invest anything in the 12-year span of children’s ministry. Why are we so blind? Are we going to wait until the situation is desperate before we do anything about it?” he asked.

Miss Mavis Gibbons (Connor) agreed with the Revd Ted Woods. 

“Today we have less and less children in churches. Children will not come to church if their parent’s won’t. Is our worship relevant to children? We need to lead from the top and to lead from the front” she said.

Addressing the points raised during the debate, the Revd Canon John McCullagh (Dublin) informed members of the General Synod that the Board of Education (Northern Ireland) was in fact providing for a Children’s Ministry Officer, and that the Sunday School Society position that was being closed had only been opened as a pilot project, and he said that ongoing consideration was being given to the question of how to provide support to children.

The investments held for all funds by the RCB were declared to be consistent with the RCB’s investment policy by the Investment Committee, which conducted a Socially Responsible Investment review.

The report was accepted by the General Synod.