25.08.2022
St Bartholomew’s restoration gives hope and inspiration
The beautifully restored St Bartholomew’s Church in Ballsbridge is an inspiration and an incentive to current and future generations. So said Archbishop Michael Jackson who yesterday evening (Wednesday August 24) joined the Vicar and parishioners to celebrate the fruits of six years of painstaking restoration work on the interior and exterior of the unique Clyde Road church.
The Archbishop said that the restoration and redecoration inspired people afresh to take up the cause of St Bartholomew and express appreciation by witnessing to the spiritual energy in the church which is a place of prayer, liturgy, confession and absolution, community and friendship. “Not only does St Bartholomew’s inspire our wonder by its architectural and its aesthetic beauty; it also inspires our faith by the regularity of its worship and its holding faithfully to the fulness of expression of the Church of Ireland in being both Catholic and Reformed in the rhythms and in the cadences of its worship,” he said.
The restoration work took place between 2014 and 2020 and included re–leading, roof repairs, repair and conservation of stained glass windows, complete restoration of the stonework, clockface restoration, reinstatement of tower pinnacles, restoration and conservation of the sanctuary paintings and the restoration of the decorative scheme, among many other items. While the work was completed some time ago, the celebration and thanksgiving were delayed by the pandemic.
Canon Andrew McCroskery paid tribute to the members of the vestry and the fundraising committee for their bravery and enthusiasm in undertaking such an enormous project, which cost €2.3 million. In particular, he highlighted a generous donation from Dano and Iris O’Brien, and the continued support of the O’Brien family, which largely enabled the work along with fundraising and grant aid from a number of sources. “It was a tribute to the kind of person that Iris was that she wished their donation to remain anonymous in their lifetime,” Canon McCroskery stated. “Their years with us have passed although their legacy lives on. Without their gift and the continuing support of the O’Brien family, we could not have undertaken this work.” He also thanked all who worked so hard to ensure the restoration was completed to the highest standard.
In his sermon, Archbishop Jackson spoke of St Bartholomew’s vigorous missionary career and his subsequent martyrdom. He spoke of toxic workplaces (a recent survey highlighted that more than 70% of people would describe their workplace as toxic) and drew a parallel with the Gospel reading [St Luke 22: 24–30] in which the disciples was squabbling over status and hierarchy, as, he said, happens in many workplaces. He supposed St Bartholomew to have been present with the 12 when Jesus said ‘…For who is greater – the one who sits at table or the servant who waits on him? Surely the one who sits at table. Yet I am among you like a servant.’ [St Luke 22: 26–27].
“The toxic workplace – whether it be office, home or church – is here to stay. But what are we as today’s disciples going to do in order to redeem it and to reclaim it as a place of dynamic discipleship?” the Archbishop asked. “Emerging from Covid–19 Lockdown, we who are witnesses and martyrs, both to those times of terror and of loss and to Jesus Christ who continued to stand with us, we need to lead the way and show the way to others who are more lost and more lonely than we are. This church itself is an inspiration and an incentive to us in doing this because of its majesty and its colour.”
He added: “[This church’s] restoration and redecoration, painstakingly and professionally executed under the guidance and assurance of The Vicar and Professor Alistair Rowan, longstanding parishioner and devoted servant of this parish, inspire us afresh to take up the cause of Bartholomew and to express our appreciation by witnessing to the spiritual energy that resides within this place.”
Archbishop Jackson praised the generosity of those who made the restoration and redecoration possible and all who made the work happen – donors, designers, craftspeople, artists and all who maintained the work of God throughout the disruption.