Archbishop calls for a mission audit. How does the church itself measure up?


The Archbishop of Armagh has challenged us to do an ‘audit’ against the Five Marks of Mission, but how does the Church of Ireland measure up?

I was very pleased to read that the Archbishop’s presidential address at Armagh Diocesan Synod was about the Five Marks of Mission. They are an important statement on person evangelism – for they came out of an Anglican Consultative Council on personal evangelism in 1984 – and they demonstrate that holistic, integrated missions is key in the Anglican Communion.

The Five Marks of Mission are:
  1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
  2. To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
  3. To respond to human need by loving service
  4. To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation
  5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation.
The archbishop outlined each one in turn. He said proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom is not about handing people a package, but rather encouraging them to join us on a journey. Teaching, Baptising and nurturing are essentials that need care, thoughtfulness, energy, encouragement and space for God to work in peoples’ lives.

His speech took a more pointed tone when speaking about the third and forth marks of mission. He said to care about the needs of others and do all in our power to speak and act against injustice are not optional extras. 
“They are precisely what our Lord was talking about in Matthew 25 with his parable of the separation at the judgement between those who cared about the suffering of others and those who did not.” 
He highlighted society's support of unjust regimes, arms sales, slave labour, and refusing refugees as key issues.

On the fifth mark of mission I was very pleased to hear Archbishop say this, 
“Care of the creation and our responsibility for it was something that became very real to me in Lusaka, where I heard of formerly inhabited islands in the dioceses of the southern Pacific that have disappeared beneath the ocean because of global warming.” 
He encourages parishioners to act in simple ways for future and present generations.

But how does the Church of Ireland itself measure up to his call for an audit? How should it act in regards to climate justice and global warming? The Bishops' Appeal does and excellent job but it is where the church's money is invested that raises questions.

Currently the Church of Ireland has millions of pounds invested in the fossil fuel industry – directly contributing to carbon pollution that causes global warming.  Yesterday the UN Food and Agriculture released a report saying climate change could tip up to 122 million people into poverty by 2035. The report said,
"Climate change is already affecting agriculture and food security. Without urgent action, millions more people will be at risk of hunger and poverty."
How can the church give aid to those who are suffering from climate change, but invest in an industry that contributes to the cause of the problem?

The Church of Ireland does not invest in arms sales, or tobacco companies, but it is still content to reap the profits from fossil fuels - an industry that, according to the World Health Organisation, is as bad as tobacco smoking. Is this ethical?

The call for an audit of the 5 Marks of Mission is welcome. I hope we will see progress on climate justice and unethical investments from the Church of Ireland itself.












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Care for Creation - new growth in Ireland

Image
It is been quite a year for Care for Creation in Irish Churches, perhaps it could even be called a season of new growth. And it all came about because of two teenage girls speaking passionately. Tori and Isobella from Mullingar Parish in county Meath spoke for a few minutes at the Irish Churches Creation Care conference and captured the hearts of the audience and explained what creation care is all about.  You can see the moment below, Their project Lighten Our Darkness by Numbers is a youth-led response to climate change. They are educating church goers, engaging communities, building bridges to businesses, and enhancing biodiversity in church graveyards.   This short talk from the girls had a deep impact on the Archbishop of Armagh, and he spoke about it at his presidential address in General Synod.  Archbishop John McDowell said, We need to do what that group of young people from Westmeath are doing. That is, to work on ways of inspiring and equipping parishes t...
Read more

Speech to General Synod 2022

Image
Photo from Stephen Spillane The support from the RCB to parishes, dioceses and cathedrals during the Covid-19 emergency was most welcome. It helped us worship in difficult at times. May I suggest we use this model of support to respond to other emergencies too. The World Health Organisation said in October last year that, “the single biggest health threat facing humanity” is Climate change. We must take decisive action. I want to thank the RCB for leading the way by divesting and supporting the Creation Care Conference in April.  But it is also up to every diocese, every parish, and every one of us to take action. We need a grassroots movement to transform our churches and our lives for a sustainable future. And church leaders, you might need to sow some fresh seed to help the grass roots grow. I think the RCB can support this movement by responding to the Climate Emergency, just as it did with Covid. For example, How many of you clergy have lived in a cold and draf...
Read more

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland to vote on fossil fuel divestment

Image
  Photo by  Lukasz Szmigiel  on  Unsplash There have been a number of very positive statements from the PCI in the last few months on climate change, and today there is an opportunity for action to stop funding fossil fuels. The church's decision to support The Climate Sundays initiative is really positive. The moderator is encouraging congregations across Ireland to set aside one Sunday in October as `Climate Sunday' to focus on God's creation and humanity's responsibility to be good stewards of it. Rev Dr David Bruce also produced a Climate Conversation video to outline briefly some of the theological reasons why Christians should take climate change seriously and care for creation. This is all very welcome. Another key moment will be today, Tuesday 5th October, when the General Assembly will vote on a motion to divest from fossil fuels. It aims to fully divest from fossil fuel production companies that it holds - that's £5m in BP, Shell and Total - and to engag...
Read more