[Church of Ireland] The Eighth Provincial Secretaries Conference is currently drawing to a close in Dublin. The conference of Provincial Secretaries from across the Anglican Communion is an informal meeting organised to assist them in their professional development and to strengthen bonds across the Communion. The last such conference was held in Mexico in 2011.

The 2015 conference in Dublin has been taking Reconciliation as its theme – a key element of the work and priorities of the host province of the Church of Ireland and one of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s personal priorities for ministry. Archbishop Justin Welby attended the conference Tuesday, the 1st September to lead a session and a Bible Study and meet with delegates over lunch.

The Archbishop of Dublin, The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, opened the conference by leading a Bible Study last Friday and the Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, hosted an evening meal in Dublin and gave an overview of the history of the Church of Ireland on Monday evening.

During the conference, delegates have given and received reports from each province, including a welcome and introduction to the life and work of the Church of Ireland from Mr Adrian Clements, Secretary General of the Representative Church Body of the Church of Ireland, heard from various representatives from the Anglican Communion Office on practical and missional issues and [yesterday] received a presentation on the theme of Reconciliation from the Bishop of Derry & Raphoe, The Rt Revd Ken Good.