Connecting Missions
Posted on 21. Mar, 2019, in Christian Values, Church of Ireland, Community, Gospel ValuesComments Off on Connecting Missions
David Tuohy with AB Michael Jackson
David Tuohy SJ is co-author with Maria Feeny of a recently published book on discipleship and the five ‘marks of mission’ within the Anglican communion. The book, Growing in the Image and Likeness of God, is a review of the Discipleship Project involving parishes in the Church of Ireland united dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.
David is an Ecumenical Canon in the Church of Ireland and has worked with Archbishop Michael Jackson and C of I members on educational projects. In 2015 he was asked by Archbishop Jackson to take part in his Come&C project (“come and see”). This involved facilitating parishioners in Dublin and Glendalough who had taken part in a survey on mission, commissioned by their Archbishop.
The groups focused on the gospel hallmark traits of ‘welcome, worship and witness’, according to David and he also outlines the projects undertaken in different parishes as part of the concrete work of discipleship. One parish got involved in cross-community work supporting families affected by addiction. A series of pilgrimages around Glendalough, organised by another parish, proved very successful at a number of levels, including the spiritual and ecological.
Another part of the whole process, according to David, was an ongoing, critical evaluation of what worked and what did not. In some cases he felt people needed more support in collaboration as well as more time and notice to support new projects.
When asked for his personal reflections on this work, David comments that he was really inspired by the fact that those involved came to a realisation that this was not just a parish or diocesan project, but that they were sharing in discipleship at a number of levels, particularly as part of the wider Anglican Communion. He explains more to Pat Coyle.