Intro to me & this blog

 Hey blog readers, 

I had toyed making this blog anonymous, but actually it's probably best that I don't because Ireland is a small place and the Church of Ireland is a smaller place altogether so ... I will put my name to this. 

I'm Robert Ferris, I'm a Northerner living and ministering in the South! ... In Cork to be precise!

This blog has been set up to direct my thoughts on all things pioneering. 

Pioneer Ministry - to be exact. 

It's possibly a term that some may be unfamiliar with 

others may have a mild reaction to and still others might have an adverse reaction to completely! 

I get all of the above. 

So, I'm the Rector of Carrigrohane Union of Parishes - on the fringes of Cork City - our parish encompasses - Rural, Urban, suburban and Village. 

I've been asked to be part of the Pioneer Ministry aspect of the Church of Ireland in this part of the country now for near on 10 years. 

This year the Church is thinking about this particularly and as such I'm launching this blog simply to help me grapple with some of the questions as they arise from this little corner of the world and also help resource colleagues who might be pioneering and also Pioneering  in their contexts.