01.11.2021
New Rector welcomed to Taney Parish in Dublin
Parishioners of Taney gave a warm welcome to their new Rector on Friday evening (October 29). The Revd Nigel Pierpoint was instituted as Incumbent by Archbishop Michael Jackson in Christ Church, Taney. Parishioners, family and friends joined the service both in church and online for what the Archbishop termed “a momentous occasion in the life of Taney parish”.
It is not often that an Archdeacon gets to both present the Incumbent and preach at the Service of Institution. But as the Archdeacon of Dublin, the Ven David Pierpoint, is the new Rector’s brother, he had the honour of doing both. Nigel was also joined in the church by his wife Anne and their children Claire and Stephen.
In his sermon, Archdeacon Pierpoint observed that he had known Nigel for all of his life but was not going to give a glowing biography as it would embarrass them both. However, he said he had seen Nigel at work in ministry in good times and bad and said he thought the nominators had chosen well, although he could be biased. “Nigel will undertake whatever task is ahead of him with energy, commitment and enthusiasm and I wish him well as he is instituted Rector of Taney,” he said.
He said the reading from Hebrews [5: 1–10] was a job description for every high priest in the days of ancient Israel. The high priest was chosen to perform various functions, among them to serve as mediator between the people and God. The Archdeacon said that there was always a danger that a Rector could forget their role and come to believe they were something special. “We are never to forget that we are to be servants of the servants of God,” he stated. “The Rector is not to be above himself but is to deal gently with those whom he is called to serve.
Turning to the Gospel reading [John 1: 35–42] he said that Matthew and John seemed to be at odds about the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. However, both speak of Jesus’s ability to recruit disciples. He said Jesus was a catalyst and his personality, message and dynamism attracted people to drop everything and follow him.
“There was no interview or presentation of qualifications, no job analysis […] No one today would think this would work. But Jesus knew the kind of people he was looking for and when he saw them he singled them out and made the decision to disciple them. He seemed to be a great judge of character,” he said. “It is not easy to become a new Rector. It is even less easy to be a new Rector in the parish in which you served as Curate. But there is the potential to grow.” He added that Nigel was God’s chosen servant in Taney.
Speeches congratulating the new Rector took place directly after the service. Welcoming Nigel on behalf of the parishioners was People’s Church Warden Ian Geoffroy who assured him of the continuing support of parishioners.
Archbishop Jackson spoke of the Rector’s instinct to befriend people and to enable people to be with God. He wished him well in his new ministry and thanked his brother, the Archdeacon, for all he did for the diocese as well as for preaching. He thanked the Curate, the Revd Christopher West who is taking up a new role in St Macartin’s Cathedral in Enniskillen. He described Taney as a dynamic and busy parish with two churches at the heart of its activity.
Taking his turn at the microphone, the new Rector thanked everyone who had been involved in the service and the nominators for nominating him as well as those who help run the parish. “It is an honour and a privilege to be Rector of Taney… I will give it 110% to be with you all,” he commented adding special thanks to his wife Anne for her support, noting that she had not married a clergyman but she had supported him throughout his ministry.
Born in Santry and the youngest of three boys, Nigel grew up in the Church of Ireland tradition as a chorister in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. He is married to Anne and they have two children, Claire and Stephen, as well as son–in–law Andy and two grandchildren Henry and Nora. Anne works in Rathdown School as registrar.
Nigel was licenced as a Lay Reader for Dublin and Glendalough in 1995. He commenced training in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute in 2013. He was ordained Deacon in 2015 and Priested in 2016. He has served in Taney since his ordination to the Diaconate.
