Our meeting with the Bishops of the Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales is one of the better events in the calendar. A slight Celtic vagueness means that I a not quite sure whether it happens every two or every three years. But it happens – this time at Portmarnock just to the north of Dublin. It was also enlivened by the presence of the Irish football team so I kept meeting a bearded Roy Keane in the corridor.
So what did we do? We had a look at Ministry Training – we are all in transition on that one. Also at issues of faith and identity – particularly in the light of our Referendum, And we looked at patterns of ministry
It always surprises me that there is relatively little contact between these churches. We’ve seen a small amount of movement among clergy – myself included. But I suspect that we each measure ourselves off against the establishment weight of the Church of England – rather than against one another,
That’s a pity because there is much that we share – relatively modest size and the challenges which go with that; disestablishment and not-establishment; complex history around faith and identity. We are all sufficiently fleet of foot to be attempting some brave steps in mission and growth.
I came away hopeful ….