The Most Revd. Robert Eames, Archbishop of Armagh, reflecting on the future of the Church of Ireland in today’s very different Ireland and on current events in the worldwide Anglican Communion was addressing members of the Society in Agherton Parish Church, Portstewart.

Ireland he said, both North and South, had changed beyond recognition.  In the South the Celtic Tiger has made some very wealthy indeed but has left so many remaining in the grip of poverty and deprivation.  Sectarianism has truly come of age.  While the South now looks towards Europe the North still looks to Britain.  Thirty years of mayhem and civil strife has left an enduring bitter memory.  The vacuum left by the violence has not so far been filled by normal politics resulting in large areas under paramilitary control, extortion, racketeering, drugs and prostitution.  There are parishes in peaceful, satisfied and well to do areas but there are many others blighted with poverty and crime.

Turning to Ministry, the Archbishop remarked that in the years immediately following the Second World War, many men put themselves forward for ordination and so meeting the Ministry needs of parishes throughout Ireland.  Today these men have reached the age of retirement and the Church has not foreseen or planned for this eventuality. 

Attempts to catch up have compelled an examination of Ministry with emphasis now on the Ministry of the Laity, the Ministry of the People.  However, in rural Ireland, North and South, there is an acute shortage of ordained clergy and a need to amalgamate churches into single parishes often against local opposition.  But Laymen and Laywomen, taking more responsibility for their church, often have a better entry into aspects of civic life than ordained clergy.