21.09.2020
‘Boldly go where no one has gone before’ – Deacons urged to be fearless in strange times
In a city quietened by new Covid restrictions, two deacons began a new chapter in their lives yesterday (Sunday September 20). The Revd Alistair Doyle and the Revd Leonard Madden were ordained to the diaconate by Archbishop Michael Jackson in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
The cathedral was closed to the public and the congregation of three included the deacons’ wives Cecilia and Catherine, and Alistair and Cecilia’s son Toby. Apart from the Archbishop, clergy present included Dean Dermot Dunne, Archdeacon Neal O’Raw (who preached), Archdeacon David Pierpoint, the Revd Abigail Sines, the Revd Dr William Olhausen and the Revd Kalmer Keskula.
Archdeacon O’Raw acknowledged that Alistair and Leonard found themselves being ordained to the diaconate during very strange times. He said he had been trying to picture what it must be like for them to being this new chapter in these challenging times “not only for us as human beings, but also as a living, breathing, organic church”.
He suggested that they stood on the cusp of their new futures like the Spanish explorer, Cortez, who on the peak in Darien saw a land of opportunity laid out at his feet.
The readings [Isaiah 6: 1–8; Romans 12: 1–12 and Mark 10: 35 –45] gave a flavour of where Alistair and Leonard could be in their walk with God, the Archdeacon said.
“The gifts and talents of Alistair and Leonard, whether they be in leadership,
in teaching, in ministry; will be subsumed into the Body of Christ, enriching it, promoting it, and in the vision of God in his temple in the Book of Isaiah, will become part of God’s glory, which fills the earth,” he explained.
Like Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, the preacher suggested that Alistair and Leonard’s ongoing mission was to explore new worlds, seek out new life and boldly go where no one has gone before.
“For Alistair and Leonard, this vision could be to approach their parish placements as an opportunity to explore new avenues of faith expression. To be fearless in approaching other worship communities, to learn from them, and to bring that learning and introduce it into their own expression of faith, enhancing and enriching their journey with God,” he said.
He urged the parishes of Kilternan and Blessington, where Alistair and Leonard will spend their deacon year, to allow their clergy to explore and to grow in the faith.
You can read the full text of the Archdeacon of Glendalough’s sermon here.
