Page 22 - The Church of Ireland Apologetic for Mission?
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“The church is the church only when it exists for others”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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• One member nominated by the Covenant partners in the Methodist Church in Ireland;
• One member nominated from among the students of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute;
• Up to four members co-opted.
An examination of the Council of Mission Reports, as received by General Synod, shows unambiguous reference to the place of mission within the Church of Ireland.
In the 2010 Book of Reports the Council notes the challenge of keeping a healthy balance between local and world mission issues. To that end the Council then began the process of devising a three- year theme based plan to include:
a. Rediscovering the Mission of God: a theological reflection on biblical principles relevant to world mission.
b. Relief, Development, Evangelism and Church Growth; presenting God’s call to holistic mission.
c. Educating the local church to help it become mission-minded.
d.Persecuted People: developing a Christian response to religious persecution across the world.
e. Developing the content of worship in the life of a local church to reflect the world church.
f. Effective Mission Agency-Parish relationships: supporting and being supported by the local church.
p435 2010 General Synod Book of Reports p436 Ibid
p342 2012 General Synod Book of Reports p361 2014 General Synod Book of Reports
p 366 2014 Book of Reports
g.Linking parish organisations to mission: at home and abroad.24
The Council also suggested a need for a joined-up view of mission in the Church, with “mission agencies, the Theological Institute and the dioceses having a key role in training and communication”.25
In the 2012 Book of Reports the Council states that “God’s mission is out of an overflow of love. Our part in it is in making that radical love known. It involves seeing God in the other and recognising that sometimes “I” am the “other”.26
The 2014 Book of Reports includes a Joint Statement from The Council for Mission, The Commission on Ministry as well as The Commission on Episcopal Ministry and Structures. It states
“... the desire to see the structures, administration and finances of the church shaped by a clear understanding of the mission of the church, particularly as it
is expressed in the statement from the House of Bishops in 2008 which set the aims of Growth, Unity and Service”.27
In the same year The Council for Mission, in reviewing its role, gave consideration to key themes within the areas of global mission, local mission and communication. It declared:
• The Great Commission involves a challenge to the Church at large and to each individual parish to be involved in mission at both local and global levels.
• We live in an increasingly global and changing world ...
• The global should impact the local
and vice versa. The commitment ought not to be just to projects but
to relationships. At the same time it’s not just about those who go on such (META) trips – they need to be the eyes into the culture so that the Church at home can learn.28


































































































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