Retired clergy finish 2025 programme

Friday November 28th 2025

The Ven John Scott thanks the Rev Cameron Mack for his presentation to the Retired Clergy Association meeting in St Anne’s Cathedral on November 20. Photo by the Rev Clifford Skillen.

By the Rev Clifford Skillen

The Retired Clergy Association (NI) held its final meeting of the year in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast, on November 20, when the guest speaker was the Rev Cameron Mack, Dean’s Curate in St Anne’s and the recently-appointed Connor Diocesan Liturgical Officer.

Members were welcomed by the Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev Stephen Forde, following which the RCA (NI)’s chairperson, the Rt Rev Patrick Rooke, celebrated Holy Communion in the Chapel of Unity, assisted by Canon Raymond Fox who read the Epistle and led the intercessions.

After a short break for light refreshments, Cameron began by outlining both his personal experiences of training for ministry and his experiences to date in St Anne’s.

He felt that the culture and ministry of the Church of Ireland were changing, in that more and more people and potential future clergy were now coming into the Church from a much wider range of denominations and backgrounds, bringing with them their own personal cultures, outlooks, views and experiences.

He believed that seeking to integrate all these into the culture and structures of the Church, together with its traditional roots, spiritual resources and worshipping communities, presented the Church with one of its most pressing and important present-day challenges.

Returning to his own personal experience, Cameron recalled that he was originally introduced to the Church of Ireland through contact with the Chaplaincy Centre in Queen’s University Belfast, eventually coming to ‘fall in love’ with the liturgy and the richness of the language of the Book of Common Prayer and discovering the ‘profound spiritual resources of the Church of Ireland,’ all of which, he said, had ‘something important to offer.’

Members then split into three discussion groups to consider some of the points which Cameron had raised in his talk, also drawing on their past personal experiences of ministry and parish life.

Bishop Rooke thanked Cameron for giving members ‘a lot to talk and think about,’ and the honorary treasurer, the Ven John Scott, presented him with a token of members’ appreciation.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Following the talk, members held their annual general meeting which was chaired by Bishop Rooke. He reviewed the association’s activities throughout 2025 and introduced the honorary secretary, Canon Jim Campbell, and the honorary treasurer who outlined next year’s proposed programme and the association’s statement of accounts respectively.

The following were appointed and elected to the committee and to the offices indicated for the incoming year:

Chairperson: the Rt Rev Patrick Rooke; Honorary Secretary: Canon Jim Campbell; Honorary Assistant Secretary: the Ven Donald McLean; Honorary Treasurer: the Ven John Scott; Honorary Assistant Treasurer: the RevBobbie Moore; Committee members: the Rev Brian Cadden, the Rev Mercia Flanagan; Canon Raymond Fox; Canon Walter Laverty; and the Rt Rev Trevor Williams.

The Rev Clifford Skillen will continue as Communications Officer, though he stood down from the committee after 16 years.

Before the meeting closed, members warmly congratulated Bishop Edward Darling who would soon celebrate the 40^th anniversary of his consecration to the episcopate.