Down and Dromore at the Church21 Conference
Eight parishes from Down and Dromore were among twenty-five attending the recent Church21 Parish Development Conference in Dublin:
Seagoe
Hillsborough
Ballymacarrett Group
Gilnahirk
Lecale Group
Down Group
Bright Group
Dromara
Church21 is the Church of Ireland's Parish Development Programme - a 2 year process designed to help parishes formulate a vision, devise an action plan and put it into practice. The Conference comes at the halfway point of the process and had as its theme, Vision: What It Is, How To Get It, Share It And Implement It."
Bishop Harold attended on Friday evening to lend his support to the participating parishes and to catch the first couple of sessions. "I'm delighted that some of our parishes have engaged with the Church21 programme," he said. "The Conference is a great opportunity to be equipped and inspired for the journey ahead and to meet others facing many of the challenges we are facing."
The keynote speaker was Rev Ian Coffey, Director of Leadership Training at Moorlands College, and a previous contributor to Church 21 events. He asked churches to consider where they were on their church life-cycle, challenged any "survival mentality" and offered advice on managing change, setting priorities, anticipating hurdles and inspiring others to see a vision for churches through to completion. On Saturday evening the Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Rev Alan Harper, addressed the gathering, speaking about his vision for the Church of Ireland. The Conference also included a series of practical workshop and several opportunities to worship together in ways that were new to many of the participants.
Rev Nigel Kirkpatrick, Rector of Gilnahirk, brought 3 others from the parish and said that his team had found the weekend very helpful. "We have heard and learned a lot. The challenge now is going back to the parish and communicating everything that has inspired us this weekend."
