Page 58 - The Church of Ireland Apologetic for Mission?

2.
• Supportinmissionbywayofexamples, resources and encouragement.
• Equippingandencouraging.
Spiritual renewal at local level was identified as key to the mission of the Church. One comment from the groups put this very simply, “We cannot give away what we do not have”.
Structures fit for purpose
The comment of one interviewee suggested “... an underlying mood for General Synod and denominational structures to be more focused, efficient and goal-driven”.
Jaci Maraschin, a Brazilian theologian, says, “one of the characteristic and fundamental missionary tasks of the Church is to examine and review its structures to see that they continue to remain suitable for mission”.80 The same Anglican Consultative Council report that cites him goes on to say:
The 1988 Lambeth Conference continues a process of self-criticism begun in the Mission Issues and Strategy Advisory Group, when it
called on the Communion to “shift
to a dynamic missionary emphasis going beyond care and nurture to proclamation and service”. The Conference went on to acknowledge that such a call presents a challenge to congregational and diocesan structures and to existing patterns of worship and ministry. In other words, if the Church
is to fulfill the missionary mandate, it must make sure that its structures and procedures are not inimical to mission.81
One interviewee also suggested that for structural change to happen “... (there) needs to be enough senior leaders saying our systems are not fit for purpose”. Reports from key bodies within the Church of Ireland are certainly suggesting change is needed.
p 9 Towards Dynamic Mission: Renewing the Church for mission
p 10 Towards Dynamic Mission: Renewing the Church for Mission
p 351 General Synod of the Church of Ireland: Book of Reports: 2013 p 361 General Synod of the Church of Ireland: Book of Reports: 2013
Initsreporttothe2013GeneralSynodthe Council for Mission stated, “The Council
is keen to explore ways that those central Church committees relating to mission can more effectively and imaginatively work together and is encouraged that the matter is under consideration by the Honorary Secretaries”.82
At the 2014 General Synod a Joint Statement from The Council for Mission, The Commission on Ministry and The Commission on Episcopal Ministry and Structures noted “... 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”.83
Some challenges for the Church of Ireland to address include:
a. To move away from Boards and Committees being representative bodies to being active ones, balancing this with the need for appropriate competencies and skills to be present.
b. To ensure that boards and committees have a clear remit and a system of reporting that is not only based on recording talk, but based on articulating:
• Objectives
• Action against objectives • Outcomes
c. To acknowledge that if bodies are given a clear remit, and are expected to report on their success in achieving it, then they need to be properly resourced. This is done in the recognition that:
• Serious pieces of work need to be resourced.
• For significant issues to be progressed they need to be championed.
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