Focus on the diocese
From our New Year Celebrations to to this season of focussed mission, we look at a selection of diocesan initiatives and events in 2015.
On January 1, Bishop Harold led the diocese into a Year of Mission following our New Year’s Eve Celebration in St Anne’s Cathedral. The same day, the ‘For you’ mission logo began to appear outside our parishes as churches displayed their mission banners for the first time. The message was, and is, that the church does not primarily exist for itself or, like a club, for its members – it exists to transform the world, and especially the community in which it is set, for Jesus Christ.
In the build–up to 2015, the bishop set our parishes the aim of becoming outward–focused places of hope and transformation for others, particularly in relation to children, church and community.
Quantifying the success of a year of mission at parish level was always going to be a challenge but our churches have been stimulated to think and act in new ways – some large and some small – and we see this as an ongoing process.
As we go to press, several parishes have already had a focussed time of mission, and at least 20 others have planned weeks or weekends of outreach this autumn. These will typically involve a series of special events and an invited speaker gifted in sharing the gospel.
Historic Visit
One of the highlights of the year has been the historic visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Justin Welby, when he joined our St Patrick’s Day celebrations. It was the first such visit in 50 years. The Archbishop joined the pilgrimage from Saul, launching the AMICUM Report along the way, before preaching on the theme of reconciliation in Down Cathedral.
At the same service, the Down and Dromore Year of Mission Choir, ‘Kerygma’, made their debut. The choir most recently performed at the Bible Week but we will be able to enjoy them at length when they are in concert in St Anne’s Cathedral on Saturday 7 November (more details on the website).
Diocesan Evangelists
Following the completion of a 2 year training course we are very much looking forward to the commissioning of our first batch of Diocesan Evangelists. In January, 9 men and women will be released to serve in the diocese and there are 7 more evangelists training in the second intake.
The course is distance learning based and accredited by St John’s College, Nottingham, with the practical elements facilitated by ‘Through Faith Missions’. It requires approximately 8–10 hours work per week as well as a number of training weekends.
The application deadline for the third intake is Friday 30 October 2015, so please consult the website or contact the office if you would like to find out more.
Jigsaw Sunday School Curriculum
Our children’s work is growing and Diocesan Children’s Officer, Julie Currie, has just launched a brand new Sunday School curriculum called ‘Jigsaw – Connecting God’s Big Picture’. The programme has been 18 months in development and has been adopted by 28 parishes around the diocese. Available free to Down and Dromore parishes, the Jigsaw programme contains all the material needed for leaders to run a full year of Sunday School and can be used across a variety of church contexts.“Jigsaw is the result of a lot of research and we have tried to build in the best aspects of other programmes we looked at,” says Julie. “We’re aiming to produce a 6 year curriculum in two 3–year cycles repeated from a slightly different angle, so that by the time our kids leave primary school they are well grounded in the Bible. The material uses teaching, memory verses, prayers and activities that will make up the bigger picture of God’s love and His plan for our lives.”
This is the pilot year and Julie is very much collaborating with the Sunday Schools who are giving feedback via Facebook and Pinterest, such as this comment after week two:
“We started last week with an introduction to the programme and today had our first full blown Sunday school. We really enjoyed using the materials and I loved the fact it was all planned already. Thank you so much for devising this all for busy leaders”
If you would like more information about using Jigsaw with your Sunday School then please contact Julie in the diocesan office.
Summer Camps
The Youth, Children and Families Department also ran 3 highly successful camps at the Kilbroney Centre in the summer, including the brand new J.A.M Camp (Jesus and Me) for children aged 9–11 years.
The camps involved 107 campers and 37 different leaders engaged in a variety of activities all designed to grow faith, teach new things and build self–esteem. It is particularly exciting to see a new generation trained as former campers return to participate as young leaders.
Bishop Harold says, “I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Kilbroney Centre for one of the Summer Adventure Camps. It was, of course, packed with young people and superb leaders, sharing fun and faith together. This has to be one of the most exciting, growing and strategic things we do as a diocese – especially in the Year of Mission.”
With growth in mind, we hope to offer 4 camps in summer 2016, with places becoming available in the New Year.
An article by our Diocesan Communications Officer, Annette McGrath, which first appeared in the Church of Ireland Gazette on 25 September 2015.