The synods of the eight administrative districts of Irish Methodism meet twice a year - in autumn and in spring.
The autumn meetings have a very flexible agenda which allows for in-depth discussion of important issues concerning the life of the church. This year the conference, which met in Cork last June, asked that time be given to consideration of a report on the church's ministry, ordained and lay.
The synods met during the last two weeks and discussions revolved around the issues of vocation, training and the nature of ministry itself.
As was to be expected, there was general agreement between all of the synods, but some of them laid emphasis on different aspects of the subject.
The Midlands and Southern district made the point that vocation does not always come in the form of an inward urge, but is sometimes a thoughtful response to the circumstances of the individual and things which other people are saying.
The encouragement of vocation is important, and the Portadown district referred to a need for people who could identify gifts in others which could be used in ministry.
This synod invited some of its members to speak about their own vocations, indicating the differing ways in which they had heard the call. In both synods it was recognised that everyone had a role in the encouragement of vocation in others. Vocation is authenticated by the whole church acting through its courts, in which both ministers and laity participate.
Both the Dublin and North-West synods emphasised the importance of local preachers - the lay men and women whom the church accredits to a role in leading worship.
Dublin called for a raising of their profile, regretting that many regard them as "stop-gaps" when a circuit minister is away.
The point was made in more than one synod that if somebody was recognised as having a calling, the church should enable them to exercise that calling.
The North-West synod also queried the advisability of one individual serving as district superintendent and circuit superintendent at the same time, suggesting that the former should be a separated appointment. The district superintendent is not only responsible for the oversight of the work in his or her area, but is also a pastor pastorum, supporting the other ministers there.
The church has been developing forms of team ministry, using ordained and lay people to blend their different gifts into a concerted ministry, and the Midlands and Southern synod called for a wider recognition of this model, which enriches the circuits by making available a greater range of skills.
This was also implied by a comment in the Down district that sometimes more is expected of ministers than one individual can deliver.
Tomorrow morning the president of the church, the Rev Roy Cooper, will be the special preacher at the morning service in Cullybackey church, and on Wednesday he will pay a visit to Monaghan Collegiate School.
On the morning of Sunday, October 30th, he will preach at the 150th Anniversary Service of the Omagh Church.
The morning service to be broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 tomorrow will be led by the Rev Daphne Twinem and members of the Methodist churches of the Fivemiletown circuit on the borders of Tyrone and Fermanagh.