Preaching in St Nicholas Collegiate Church in Galway at a Eucharist for members of the Church of Ireland General Synod, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill will say that the crisis in the Anglican Communion “can be viewed positively.” His comments come in the lead up to the 14th Lambeth Conference when he, for the third time and the Archbishop of Armagh and the other Bishops of the Church of Ireland will travel to Canterbury England for a once a decade conference of worldwide Anglican Bishops.

The full text of the Archbishop’s Sermon follows this press release please click here.

Speaking on the broad topic of unity in diversity, the Archbishop will say “In the Church of Ireland, we have set a great store by the fact that we have been able to remain one in times of deep political division, and in spite of the fact that our ministry, North and South, is in a very different context.  This is something that must not be taken for granted.”

Turning to the forthcoming Lambeth Conference (16 July – 4 August) which will bring together the Bishops of the Anglican Communion he will say that the crisis that Anglicanism faces has “enabled us to discover more of what it means to wrestle with the recognition of diversity and the call to unity which is of the very nature of the Church” adding “To settle too easily for one at the expense of the other is to miss something of the challenge of the Gospel.” Continuing he will say “Members of other Christian World Communions have commented that the issues that we are facing as Anglicans are there for all Christians, even if below the surface, and it may well be our vocation to pioneer a way forward. Indeed it is only together that Churches today can really make a difference and seize the opportunities for service and mission that are there.”

Concluding the Archbishop will say “The Church of Ireland, side by side with other churches on this island, has a task to fulfil – opportunities to be grasped – and grasped when they present themselves.  The call of the Scriptures through which God speaks to us as we worship reminds us of the priority of abiding in Christ, growing through worship and prayer. We are to express the urgency of being called together to unity whilst maintaining the richness of diversity.   We are to proclaim the joyful hope that is at the heart of our entire ministry, lay and ordained – to bring good news, to offer a mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.”

The General Synod of the Church of Ireland continues until Thursday 15 May. During proceedings tomorrow (Wednesday 14 May) the Synod will be addressed by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

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Lambeth Conference:

The Lambeth Conference is a once a decade conference of the Diocesan Bishops of the Anglican Communion. The 2008 Conference (the 14th) will take place from 16 July to 4 August. The conference is likely to be dominated by the debate over the role of scripture and authority in the Communion arising from divisions over the consecration of an openly gay man in a relationship, the Rt Revd Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the United States.
 

One of the most poignant moments for me in the Gospels was when Jesus looked down possibly from the Mount of Olives on that great city of Jerusalem and was moved to tears. "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”(Luke 19:42)  In these few words, we glimpse something of the tragedy that arises from a lost opportunity.  There is a moment when something could be achieved, but the moment is quickly lost. 

As we think of the life and ministry of the church, whether in parish or diocese, we will without much problem identify those times when opportunities were seized and progress achieved, and also those times when we failed to recognise a task to be undertaken, a new direction to be embarked upon.    

It is a special joy as members of the General Synod from all over Ireland as we enjoy the hospitality of the church in the dioceses of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.  It is an added personal joy for me as I spent half of my years as a bishop in this diocese among people and clergy who were remarkably open to facing change and the challenge of new opportunities.

Each year in the life of God’s people brings new questions to be addressed, and new possibilities for service, so long as we are really in touch with the changing world.  On our own island, in this Republic and in Northern Ireland, change is the theme of virtually every description of our island home.

The context of each of the three Scripture readings at this Eucharist is quite different, and yet each can teach us something vital about being awake to fresh opportunities for service in an ever-changing situation.

The Gospel at this Eucharist is drawn from the final discourse of Christ with the disciples. The Lord spells out very explicitly the implications of discipleship when he is no longer physically present. The picture is drawn of life lived at the very heart of the Holy Trinity: 

“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23),

“The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

It is very clear that the disciples of Jesus were only going to be effective in the world when they remained very close to God – steeped in the message of Jesus – sharing the very life of Jesus through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  There is sometimes a disjointedness in our Christian belonging.  A false dichotomy is established between Christian action and Christian praying – or between on the one hand involvement in the secular and on the other worship and spirituality.   It is as we allow such a division to develop that two dangers present themselves – the first is that some retreat into the safety of pietism, and the second that some begin to see the church’s contribution in terms of a commercial enterprise, however good its objects. 

Those who retreat into a religious ghetto and those who have swallowed the secular agenda are each vulnerable to missing the opportunities that God would have us grasp, and we can hear the words of the Lord –“…but now they are hidden from your eyes”.  It may well be the case that the particular structures and division of responsibilities that emerged in this Church at Disestablishment almost one hundred and forty years ago have intensified the potential for disjointedness in our response to the Gospel imperatives.  Worship and spirituality must lie at the heart of all that we are and all that we do.

The Epistle set for this Eucharist comes from one of the earliest parts of the New Testament – Paul’s correspondence with the Church in Corinth.  This was a church in a very challenging and missionary situation, but also a church beset with its own internal problems.  Paul’s call to that Church is very clear.  It is a call to recognise diversity and it is a call to strive for unity: 

“There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (I Corinthians 12: 4-6),

“Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in the one Spirit we were all baptised into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:12-13).

In the Church of Ireland, we have set a great store by the fact that we have been able to remain one in times of deep political division, and in spite of the fact that our ministry, North and South, is in a very different context.  This is something that must not be taken for granted.  We must ensure that differing theological emphases and differing ethical judgements are not allowed to become matters for division. 

The communion of Churches to which we belong – the Anglican Communion – has been going through a very difficult few years, during which divisive things have been done by those on all sides.  It is easy to blame our lack of very formal structures to deal with a time of crisis – but this is of course part of what it is to belong to a communion of autonomous churches.  Nevertheless we are working on an Anglican Covenant which will spell out something of the implications of being both autonomous as churches, and being in communion with each other.  

A crisis such as that which Anglicanism faces in the lead-up to the Lambeth Conference of Bishops this summer can be viewed positively.  It has enabled us to discover more of what it means to wrestle with the recognition of diversity and the call to unity which is of the very nature of the Church – “all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”   It is in holding together what are indeed two imperatives – the recognition of diversity and the call to unity – that we can be effective in mission. To settle too easily for one at the expense of the other is to miss something of the challenge of the Gospel.       Members of other Christian World Communions have commented that the issues that we are facing as Anglicans are there for all Christians, even if below the surface, and it may well be our vocation to pioneer a way forward.    Indeed it is only together that Churches today can really make a difference and seize the opportunities for service and mission that are there.

I would hope that it would be our prayer at this time for the Communion to which we belong that we would recognize “the things that make for peace!” before “they are hidden from our eyes.”

It was from the third and last part of the Isaiah prophecy that our first reading this evening came.  It is the passage that St.Luke tells us was used by Jesus as a blueprint for his own ministry (Luke 4:18.19): 

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…..”(Isaiah 61:1)  

It is a blueprint that is full of hope providing for those who mourn “a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit” (Isaiah 61:3). The vision is of the recovery of “the devastations of many generations” (Isaiah 61:4).

This passage is full of hope and indeed joy.  It is little wonder that it is the passage that Luke tells us that Jesus read as the pattern for his own ministry.  The ministry of Jesus was marked again and again by his attentiveness to the Father through those long nights in prayer, and through his love of the Scriptures, but also by his attentiveness to the cries of a hurting and broken world.  He heard what others scarcely noticed; he noticed what others would ignore.  There was no situation beyond the scope of that Good News which he proclaimed and which he lived, and for which he died and was raised.  This is the hope and joy that must mark our lives as Christians and as a Church in mission.     Jesus missed no opportunities, and he wept for those who did and warned them that “now they are hidden from your eyes.”

The Church of Ireland, side by side with other churches on this island, has a task to fulfil – opportunities to be grasped – and grasped when they present themselves.  The call of the Scriptures through which God speaks to us as we worship reminds us of the priority of abiding in Christ, growing through worship and prayer. We are to express the urgency of being called together to unity whilst maintaining the richness of diversity.   We are to proclaim the joyful hope that is at the heart of our entire ministry, lay and ordained – to bring good news, to offer a mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.