31.05.2021
Christ Church Welcomes Worshipers Back for Patronal Service
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, opened its doors to members of its congregation yesterday (Sunday May 30) for the first time since Christmas. The cathedral reopened for public worship for its Patronal Festival on Trinity Sunday.
The service traditionally honours the contribution of the Friends of Christ Church Cathedral. While there could be no celebratory lunch this year, the Friends were able to gather outside in the beautiful cathedral garth in warm sunshine before their annual general meeting.
The guest preacher for the service was the Revd Dr Sahr Yambasu, President Designate of the Methodist Church in Ireland. In his sermon he looked at the concept of the Trinity from the point of view of relationship. He contended that if you do not know where you are going, you should know where you came from. Then if you get lost you can go back where you came from and retrace your steps. Applying that wisdom to the Church, he appealed to people to know where they came from.
He outlined three stories which pointed to where our journeys began: from Genesis in which people are created in the image of God; John 1:14 which talks about the Word becoming flesh; and John 20 which details the gift of the Holy Spirit and the power of forgiveness. Dr Yambasu said that all of these stories pointed to the importance of relationship and observed that nothing exists in isolation.
The Trinity, he suggested was not so much about who God is – that God is good, God is Jesus and God is the Holy Spirit. But rather, he said, the Trinity is about relationship. “The Trinity shows us how to recognise the Kingdom of God in the world… The Trinity tells us about a life in relationship with God,” he explained.
