The Church of Ireland Diocese of Connor

• More in this Section:
• Overview
• Connor Diocese
  • Hospital Chaplains
  • University Chaplaincies
  • Cathedral Chapter
• Contact us
• Our Vision
• Who’s who
  • The Bishop of Connor – the Rt Rev George Davison
• Mission
• Connor Mothers’ Union
• Church Army – North Belfast Centre of Mission

Our Vision

Connor Diocesan Vision

“Engaging culture, equipping ministry, effecting change”

Vision is an interesting concept. On the one hand we’ve already been given a vision for what our lives and churches should look like. Jesus asks us to love God, love one another and to love our neighbour – the world around us. In that sense a diocese has no other ‘vision’ than living this out. On the other hand we can be tempted to create a vision that is simply reactive to meeting needs that get identified on the ground. We try and discern the key issues, problems even, and then construct a plan to address these.

Here in Connor Diocese we’ve been seeking to listen in both directions. Our ‘vision’ is nothing more than an articulation in our own diocesan context of what it means to love God, one another and our neighbour. Through listening to churches across the diocese we have discerned some key areas that cause us to struggle in carrying out the mission of God in our city, towns and villages. As a church we are not as engaged in our local communities as we should be. We are not equipped to carry out God’s mission as we should be. Even when we long to see change, we are often at something of a loss to understand how to make the changes necessary within ourselves, to be agents of change in the world around us.

Our own vision therefore is to help churches and communities to grow in three key areas:

• Engaging culture – knowing how to read and understand the world we live in, and then to live in it

To do this we need to be a church that

• Equips ministry – helping the people of God, ordained and lay, to grow as the body of Christ

With the hope of …

• Effecting change – seeing the transforming work of God work in us and then through us

Under the oversight of our Bishop, and through the work of the Diocesan Development Officer and his development team, this diocese seeks to

• Grow new communities of faith in areas of opportunity and need
• Grow and care for leaders in existing and new ministries
• Reach the missing generations in our culture, those disconnected or disaffected with church or faith
• Resource churches to bless, serve and challenge its local community
• Encourage every member of the church to see themselves as part of the mission of God
• Ensure that we retain and grow a global vision, partnering with agencies and churches across the world

There is a huge amount of work ahead of all of us. However, a key passage of scripture has underpinned this process, reminding us that we do not go forward in our own strength, and the obstacles ahead of us are neither immovable nor insurmountable..

To God, who by the power at work within us,
is able to do far more abundantly
than all we ask or think,
to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3: 20