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Wall of Worry
The economic downturn has produced a wall of worry for people on this island. How can the Church of Ireland rise to the challenge of effectively responding to the needs that recession has produced? By: Earl Storey Co-author of The Extra Mile Things are tough out there. That was the simple analysis by a group of business friends sitting around the lunch table. Our conversation ranged from the general state of the economy to particular cases of hardship of which we were aware. These were some of the toughest times we could remember. It doesnt require too many statistics to prove that an economic downturn has overtaken all parts of this island. We are too aware of how much more difficult it is to do business and to make ends meet. Yes, things are tough out there, and sometimes they are tough for many a lot closer to home! The economic downturn is a global phenomenon. Yet it has some peculiar contributory factors in Ireland, both north and south. These give it a distinctly local flavour and taste that can be sour. The 1990s were remarkable times for the economy in the Republic of Ireland. With memories of tough times in the 1970s and 80s the years of the Celtic Tiger seemed like a welcome change. Austerity gave way to prosperity in the wake of foreign investment and a dramatic influx of immigration. Feel good and can do replaced a mood of constant financial anxiety. Unfortunately some of the foundations for the Irish economy were vulnerable to subsidence. A property boom fuelled by massive lending by the banks collapsed in the wake of the global credit crunch. The property boom was in fact a bubble. As it burst it lead to a banking system in crisis and a country on the edge. The most public manifestation of this was the 85 billion EU bailout required in late 2010. The Irish economy has had one of the deepest recessions in the Euro zone, shrinking by 10% in 2009. The impact on individuals and families is enormous,

with a level of household debt relative to disposable income that is one of the highest in the developed world at 190%. North of the border Northern Ireland also faces the consequences of recession. It has not had the same level of success in attracting inward foreign investment compared to the Republic. Thirty years of violence and civil strife did not heighten its attraction for the investor. To compete on a global scale it is going to have to show it is a good place to invest. With 30% of jobs coming from the public sector, as compared with 21% in the rest of the UK it is also going to have to find a way of boosting its private sector. Statistics, headline figures and global trends do not tell the human story behind an economic downturn. It is that cost more than any cold statistic that urgently presents the Church of Ireland at all levels with both a challenge and an opportunity for service. Nature of the Challenge Practical: If the most painful cost of recession is human then the most pressing needs are practical. A walk through most shopping centres and streets show the number of businesses that have not been able to survive. Economic slowdown and closed businesses mean higher rates of unemployment and debt. At 14% in the Republic and 8% in Northern Ireland a lot more people are going through the painful experience of job loss. The impact of job loss is significant and very personal. There are professional, financial and health implications for individuals and families. If the Church of Ireland at local or national level has a response to what is happening to the economy on this island then it needs to be one that meets the needs of real people. Spiritual: What do people believe in now? The pillars of society that people once looked to have been systematically knocked down in many cases after the Emperor was shown to have been wearing no clothes. At one time the Church was a pillar taken for granted. There are few who would argue this now. In the Tiger years the pillar of economic success seemed a better bet for many to

believe in. It was not a belief that many could have articulated but as something to give your life to it became the thing. That promise now seems empty. In an age when political parties have discovered the arts of PR and communication like never before something ironic has happened. Has there ever been a time when people are less likely to look to political elites as the pillars to keep the roof on society. Added to that is the severe knocking taken by one of our newer voices of authority. The controversy surrounding the Press, especially with regard to phone hacking, has dented our belief in the media. The recession poses a significant spiritual problem for the people both north and south. What are people to believe in? The pillars of society on this island have shown themselves seriously wanting. Yet as human beings we look to believe in something that is not only greater than ourselves but that is also true. Leadership: In an interview on leadership1 some years ago Jerry Greenfield, cofounder of Ben & Jerrys said One of the roles of leadership is to tell your own people the truth about the way things really are on the ground. He was at pains to emphasise he was talking about business and not about politics or religion. Nevertheless the principle of what he is saying can be applied to leadership in any context. The temptation for leadership is to be transfixed by the lure of power for its own sake or simply the desire to win. The temptation is to lose sight of the people that leadership is meant to serve and give priority to the institution or organisation the leaders works for. The greatest dangers are either to use your own people or to be afraid of them. In either case the people are ill served. Whatever the dynamics may be there is a growing sense of disappointment and disillusionment with leaders in most spheres of society, and this at a time when leadership has never been more necessary. Hope: To hope is to have a strong and confident expectation of the fulfilment of something good. The word has that sense of optimism about it, that things can be better in the future than they are now. The pressures of recession have eroded hope in people. Giving hope, the sense that things can be better in the future and 1 Interview with author 3

that the present is not the last word on our situation, is one of the biggest challenges to be faced at present. It comes with the caveat that hope is not the same as selling a myth. The story is famously told of King Canute. He sat on his throne on the seashore; waves lapping round his feet, commanding the sea to retreat. It didnt! Unfairly King Canute has become a byword for failing to look reality in the face commanding the sea to retreat despite the evidence of wet feet suggesting otherwise. Apparently Canute had tired of his flattering courtiers declaring that he was "So great, he could command the tides of the sea to go back". Canute was fooled neither by the flattery nor the physics. He decided to prove a point and his own limitations. One day he had his throne carried to the seashore and sat on it as the tide came in, commanding the waves to advance no further. When they didn't, he had made his point. He was not all-powerful and the laws of physics would not obey him. Living in the realm of reality is always better and drier. Looking honestly at the way things really are on the ground and telling your own people the truth about how things are. That requires courage of organizations and leaders with integrity. What to Do? As noted, the nature of needs thrown up by our present economic circumstance varies greatly. Some are practical and others are more philosophical. In reality it will often be a combination of both that face us. The challenge for a Church of Ireland parish or the denomination is simple whatever we do lets do something! Rising to the challenge of action means being realistic about what we are good at and playing to those strengths. It also means, without trying to depress ourselves, that we honestly look at where our weaknesses are and addressing those so that we can be most effective.

First the not so good news Organisational Culture: The Church of Ireland is an organisation waiting for nothing to happen! When these words were uttered at a General Synod some years ago the laughter was not just at the wit of the speaker. It suggested that a profound and uncomfortable truth had just been spoken. Two values have helped characterise the Church of Ireland. One has been an overriding steady as she goes approach to church life. Infused in this is a belief that what is most important is that the boat of the Church of Ireland should not be rocked. This has permeated every level of church life. What becomes crucial is not innovation or risk taking but the preservation of the ethos of the institution of the Church of Ireland that becomes the thing. Alongside this unwritten value is another. It is best summed up as whatever you say say nothing. Smoothing over was more important than honest frank discussion. It resembles the family priding itself on not arguing in public, but where the effort of keeping up appearances becomes exhausting. The outworking of these two overwhelming values has an effect. It leads to a paralysis of thinking and risk taking within the Church at every level, and all this in a radically changed island. Of course the constant temptation to want to fit in. The danger of that being that if you do not say no to anything then your yes is of no value - a temptation to be resisted. Yet an organisation quite literally priding itself on steady as she goes and say nothing is vulnerable. Unspoken paralysis does not readily encourage dynamism or creativity. Now the good news Willing Volunteers: The trouble with good news is that it doesnt always make the headlines. We are all guilty of being more interested in the sensational bad news stories. However, there are countless untold stories of people volunteering their time and energy doing practical things that make our community a better place to live in. Church members also contribute to the work of volunteers from every part of our community.

Let us take the Church of Ireland diocese of Derry and Raphoe as an example. It encompasses much of the northwest. It has a combined membership of 32,563 people. The diocese conducted a survey in 2009 to build a picture of what sort of activity was taking place across the diocese. It emerged that a pool of 5790 volunteers helped to run church related activities across the diocese. Such a figure is not surprising given the commitment of church members in maintaining the life of their local church. What was interesting to note was that 2035 volunteers took part in activities that not only benefited the parish but also the wider community. The number of members who took part in activities held in church premises but run by outside agencies was 1751. This included everything from Community Associations, Age Concern to the Red Cross. The pattern is one replicated across every diocese. Volunteering your time - it is no more than seeking to be a good neighbour. Numbers do not capture the ordinary volunteer work that takes place from week to week in Church of Ireland churches the length and breadth of this island. These efforts are usually unheralded but their contribution to the wellbeing and health of local communities is real. The good news is that there is an appetite to respond to the challenges of this recession, and many examples of action being taken. Taney Parish is situated in the suburbs of Dublin. Its large modern Parish Centre is the base for an Employment Project. This is a place where anyone who has experienced redundancy, unemployment or is simply looking for a change can find help and advice. Recession Busters was a series of information evenings provided by Clogher Diocese, local Methodist and Presbyterian congregations and County Fermanagh Grand Orange Lodge in 2011. The then Bishop of Clogher Michael Jackson said, In these difficult economic times what we often need most is simple practical information and signposting to where we can get help and advice. That is what these evenings (were) designed to be about. At the end of June every year up to 5000 young people gather for this five-day Christian arts festival for young people. The festival is a residential event at The

Kings Hall in Belfast, with most people camping or caravanning. There are also a great many day-visitors. Summer Madness is one of those mountaintop experiences for young people. Five days of contemporary worship, Bible teaching, seminars. and fun! For many young people it is one of the most significant times in the year to encourage their Christian faith. So what was the vision? It was an idea that started in the mind of a Church of Ireland minister called Adrian McCartney. It was that these young people could do something positive in the city either during the festival or straight after it. They would have an opportunity to respond to their mountaintop experience of Summer Madness by spending time serving others. Teams of young people went out into parts of Belfast and volunteered their time to others. They did everything from litter picking, gardening and cleaning up graffiti. It was a practical way of expressing their faith by serving others. This new programme of service became known as Streetreach. In the space of five years over 2500 young people have taken part, volunteering their time to serve local communities. There are now many stories of young people, on their own initiative, continuing to run Streetreach type programmes finding ways to serve local communities. These few stories of people going the extra mile to do something positive in the community are but an example of the volunteering for practical action taking place throughout the Church of Ireland. There are many willing hands that want to do something. Strength to the Table: A senior cleric was once asked to identify some of the strengths that the Church of Ireland could bring to a process of serving the community. Almost immediately he relied Networks and confidence. Notwithstanding any weaknesses already identified these are two strong qualities to bring to any table, whether locally or otherwise. Board of Social Theology and Action: Twenty-nine years ago I attended my first Church committee meeting. The memory is of unfocused vaguely dull discussion about things that had little apparent relevance and less potential for meaningful

action. Following that experience I resolved never to sit on such a committee again, and for the best part of twenty-five years that is was what I did. The newly created Board for Social Theology and Action is one of the most creative initiatives taken by the Church of Ireland. Created in 2010 The new Board, specially recruited, has been established to provide a practical response to the Churchs ministry within the community by raising awareness of social issues; offering help dealing with parish-community outreach; and providing comment and research. As a Statement of Intent it is the right thing at the right time. If it works to a strategic plan of action it could be an very important catalyst for good in the Church of Ireland. Conclusion In the film As Good As It Gets Jack Nicholson plays the role of Melvin Udall, a successful but abrasive New York novelist. Nicolson brilliantly plays the part of a man who not only has a difficult personality, he also has a problem. His problem is that he is desperately in love with Carol, the waitress who reluctantly serves him every day in a Manhattan diner. The film plays around the theme of Melvin Udall, Nicholsons character, trying to form a relationship with Carol, but being almost fatally hampered by his personality. As the story moves towards it climax it seems as though angst-ridden Melvin is only going to succeed in driving Carol away. Desperately looking for advice he turns to Simon Bishop, a young artist neighbour with whom he has often had a stormy friendship. Not finding what he hears in any way helpful he reaches the point of exasperation. His words say it all. If you're gonna give me hope you got to do better than you're doing. I mean if you can't be at least mildly interesting then shut the hell up! I mean I'm drowning here, and you're describing the water! Perhaps not spoken in a way that sits easily with the public world of Church, but nevertheless expressing a powerful need. Melvin Udall is looking for three things from his young artist friend. More than anything he is looking for hope in the midst of all his struggles. He is also looking for Simon to say something that will

actually engage him, that will somehow succeed in capturing his attention despite all the distraction caused by his angst. Most of all, when he is in his place of greatest need something more is required than for someone to state the obvious describing the water to a drowning man! What three things does the Church of Ireland need to do in the face of the recession? It needs to constantly highlight the human cost of economic downturn. The cost is not just in Euro and Pounds, it is in the impact on ordinary lives. It also needs to be willing to speak prophetically, and in doing so to be prepared to speak truth to power. Whatever the deficiencies of speaking into the circumstances that got us here there is an opportunity now. What were the values and practices that helped create our present situation and who is being asked to bear, or not bear, a disproportionate cost? But what of the final thing that the Church of Ireland can do what might that be? A Pope was asked what the symbol of his papacy was going to be. He gave an unusual answer. The symbol would be a towel. He was harking back to Jesus example at The Last Supper when He took up a towel and humbly served the disciples by washing their feet. The towel is a powerful symbol of service. These are new times for the Church on this island. Its place is no longer taken for granted in our communities. There is a temptation for churches and Christians to give up. Perhaps, rather than throwing in the towel, it is time for us to pick it up. The Extra Mile The Extra Mile aims to help church members see where volunteering their time and energy to meet the practical needs of others fits into what the church is meant to be about. It also looks at some of the practical questions a church should ask itself when wanting to engage in community work.

The Extra Mile is available free of charge in eBook format at www.derry.anglican.org or at The Diocesan Office, London Street in Londonderry. It was funded by the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Volunteering Project through the Department for Social Development and the Department for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs. Rev Earl Storey has served as a Rector on both sides of the border. Formerly Director of the Church of Ireland Hard Gospel Project he now runs Topstorey Communications www.topstorey.org, which specialises in PR, community development, reconciliation and leadership training. He serves as Diocesan Communications Officer for the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. Rev Robert Miller currently serves as Rector of the Grouped parishes of Christ Church, Culmore, Muff & St Peters in the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe. Robert has been involved in ministry amongst young people at parish, diocesan, and denominational level. He currently serves on the diocesan strategic review team in Derry and Raphoe Diocese and is committed to developing the local churches it engages with its community.

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