09.09.2020
Alistair Doyle – ‘I felt God wanted me to do something’
Alistair Doyle will be ordained a Deacon by the Archbishop on Sunday September 20 in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. God’s call continues to be answered in the midst of a global pandemic and while the number of people who can be in the cathedral on the day will be restricted, the Service of Ordination will be livestreamed on the cathedral’s webcam for all to watch (link at the bottom of the page). Alistair will serve as a Deacon in Kilternan Parish. Here he writes about his call to ordination.
I am delighted that I will be serving as deacon in Kilternan parish, having spent a Summer placement there in 2019 with Rob Clements, his very experienced ministry team and enthusiastic congregation. I have felt a very real sense of God’s blessing on the work that is taking place there, what a joy it is to see people growing in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Kilternan is a unique place, a parish with rural heritage, now embracing fast developing and growing suburbanisation, blessed with the people and the resources to meet the challenges of this time, to cater for and serve the needs of its local community.
I grew up in Cabinteely and have been a lifelong parishioner of St. Matthias’ Church, Killiney/Ballybrack. I have served in several roles within the life of the parish there, and these roles have changed as my call to ministry developed, moving from warden and vestry positions to Messy Church leader and then Diocesan Lay Reader.
Throughout my life I have always felt that the Lord had a plan for me and that each stage of my life was preparation for what He had in store for me, confident that the Lord would move when the time was right. My sense of God calling me to ordained ministry started with a feeling of sadness that the church I worshipped in now was not as it was in my youth. I felt moved by the Spirit that God wanted me to do something about it. I have been extremely fortunate that God placed William Olhausen as rector in St. Matthias’. William, nudged, challenged, and stretched me, affording me a great degree of latitude in exploring ministry, with freedom to fail, he provided a safety net for me and cheered me on. He encouraged me to explore my faith and discern God’s call on my life, he provided the opportunities and experiences that affirmed that ‘this is it!’, this is what God wants me to do.
Work life before training for ordained ministry included 13 years in the United Kingdom working for the grocery retailer ASDA as a Human Resources Manager, when I returned to Ireland, I worked with my brother running a small business.
I am married to Cecilia, we live in Cabinteely with our family Richard (31), Chloe (29) and Toby (12). We are really going to miss our church family at St. Matthias’, the friends and relationships we have there and the House of God, a building that holds so many memories of all major life events. We look forward though to being part of the church family of Kilternan, a place where we already have connections, a sense of belonging and a great opportunity to extend the kingdom.
In Philippians 4:4 Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!”, I rejoice in the Lord and in sharing God’s message of unconditional and eternal love, with great gladness.
You can watch the Service of Ordination of Deacons on the Christ Church Cathedral webcam on Sunday September 20 at 11am: https://christchurchcathedral.ie/worship/video-stream-1/