18.09.2023
“Your role is one of humble service” – Ordination of Deacons in Dublin and Glendalough
Two newly ordained Deacons have been encouraged to use the skills they already possess as they embark on their new ministry. The Revd Caroline Brennan and the Revd Mathew McCauley were ordained to the Diaconate yesterday (Sunday September 17) in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Their ordination was celebrated by Archbishop Michael Jackson and the service was sung by the Cathedral Choir. Caroline and Mathew were joined by their families and friends as well as the Rectors of Monkstown and Irishtown and Donnybrook where they will serve as Intern Deacons for the coming year. The Rectors of Taney and Rathmichael, where Caroline and Mathew were parishioners were also present.
The preacher was the Revd Nigel Waugh, who co–led the pre–ordination retreat. Quoting Ernest Hemingway in The Old Man and the Sea, “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.” Mr Waugh suggested that there was a certain similarity between the quest of Hemingway’s character, Santiago,and the one on which Caroline and Mathew were about to embark.
“Is there any job quite as varied as the one to which you are now called? To celebrate with those who celebrate and to cry with those who cry, often in the same day. To manage, to lead, to be an expert in the Education Act of 2011, the Safeguarding Trust regulations, to be comfortable with children yet not too familiar, patient with the elderly, to be friendly yet confidential with other’s issues and concerns, familiar with drains and rooves, a good driver, timekeeper, be available yet have time for family, in a job with no clocking off time, or overtime, or even a decent job description. Not to mention the awesome tasks of celebrating the holy mysteries and expounding scripture. You need talents and skills, many of which you probably feel you do not yet have,” he commented.
He recalled that when he offered himself for selection some 50 years ago, he expected that he might get a phone call saying that he was not suitable and did not have the necessary skills and talents. He was still expecting that phone call, he added.
He pointed out that for many who are called, or feel that they are called, their first reaction is ‘Why me? There are surely better people than me?’ The response of Moses was: Who am I? Who are you? They won’t believe me. I am not a good speaker. Here am I Lord, … please send someone else, he said adding that Hosea, Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah had similar reactions.
“To be called by God is a strange idea. Not many people have an audible call. Some have a strong idea and speak with confidence that God has called them to this or that. Others have a much more hesitant sense of what is happening… I have always taken great comfort in the fact that the service of ordination does not demand that we have heard the call of God but rather that we believe in our heart that God has called us. The answer is not, God has called me but rather ‘I believe God has called me’. And to the various questions that you will be asked, the answer is ‘by the help of God I will’,” the preacher observed.
Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea reflected on all the things he did not have but realized that he had his experience and his resolution and his tricks. Mr Waugh pointed out that both people being ordained came with a wealth of experience, Caroline as a barrister and Mathew as a psychologist.
“Both of you have already embodied the spirit of service and compassion that is at the heart of the diaconate. This is rich experience indeed and it will be invaluable in all the encounters, both difficult and mundane, that you will make in parish life,” he said adding: “As deacons, your role is one of humble service, ministering to the needs of the Church and the wider community. You will be called to wash the feet of others, not with water alone, but with love, compassion, and empathy.”
You can read the sermon in full here.
