The Clogher Diocese of the Church of Ireland has a higher church attendance figure than the average across Ireland and more of these worshippers are younger people, a major church census has revealed.

The Bishop of Clogher, the Right Rev. John McDowell told the Diocesan Synod how a church census took place across Ireland last November for the first time to get the size and pattern of church attendance.

While the average Sunday church attendance across Ireland is around 58,000 people or 15 per cent of those claiming to be Church of Ireland, the figure in Clogher is higher at 23 per cent.

Bishop McDowell commented: “However we don’t know whether they are the same 58,000 people or whether many more people come to Church but only once a fortnight or once a month. About 13 per cent of the Church of Ireland is at worship in the Diocese of Clogher on any given Sunday.” The figures also showed that 57 per cent of Church of Ireland members were women and 43 per cent men.

The census also showed the attendance at some key times of the church calendar; Christmas and Easter.

Across the whole Church of Ireland there were 108,000 people were in Church on Christmas Eve or 29 per cent of the membership and on Easter Day 76,000 or 20 per cent of the Church population.

Bishop McDowell commented: “Does it mean that we are less a people of the Cross and Resurrection and more a people of the cosy comforts of the Service of Nine lessons and Carols - which would be a very significant factor in our spiritual make-up and not necessarily a good one; or is it just that more of us go off on Easter Holidays outside Ireland over the Easter weekend?” The full statistics showed that across the Church of Ireland there were 3,700 baptisms, 2,300 confirmations, 1,300 weddings and 3,500 funerals leading the Bishop to comment that at least in theory their replacement rate wasn’t too bad!

Overall he said: “Just one or two further observations about the Diocese of Clogher figures. We undoubtedly have a slightly higher proportion of people in Church than the average, which comes as no surprise to me although it may do to you. In addition my hunch after my first year in Clogher that we have a higher proportion of younger people in Church than in other areas seems to be borne out by the statistics. However as with every other dioceses, and I expect every other Christian tradition, we are weakest in the 14-30 year old age group losing 50 per cent or even more after Confirmation age.

“So, what do we make of all of this? The first thing to note is that now the Church as a whole has a numerical baseline on which it can draw to make some judgements about the future. Secondly the figures for our own diocese and parishes show that while everything is not necessarily rosy in the garden, we have a very good and faithful foundation on which to build. But it will not be there forever and we need to build on the foundation now before it is swept away.” The Bishop said they have already begun committing further resources into youth and children’s ministry and after Diocesan Youth Officer, Johnny Phenix facilitated the establishment of the Wells Project, the next phase of his work will concentrate on a project called “Streams” to encourage ways of engaging young people of post-Confirmation age.