The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, was one of a number of church leaders who addressed the ‘Black History Month Summit’ in Londonderry on Saturday 23rd October, 2021. The event – at the City Hotel in the city centre – was also attended by the Bishop of Derry, Dr Donal McKeown, and the chairperson of the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, Shaykh Dr Umar al Qadri.
The conference was organised by the North West Migrants’ Forum to draw attention to the remarkable, and often tragic, history of the African people; highlight some of the key issues facing our Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities; and celebrate the rich and varied culture of people of African descent living in Northern Ireland.
A distinguished cast of speakers addressed delegates, including: the Chairperson of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, Dominque Day; the author and academic, Professor Verene Shepherd, from the University of the West Indies; Patrick Corrigan, from Amnesty International; Dr Livingstone Thompson, Chairperson of the African and Caribbean support organisation; and the North West Migrants Forum’s Director of Programmes, Lilian Seenoi-Barr.
Among the politicians there to lend support were the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Graham Warke, the DUP Junior Minister, Gary Middleton, and councillors from different parties on the Council. Mr Middleton addressed the conference in person while his fellow Junior Minister, Declan Kearney of Sinn Féin, spoke to delegates virtually.
Bishop Andrew told delegates there was a question asked of Jesus in the New Testament – ‘Who is my neighbour?’ – to which Jesus gave the broadest possible answer. “Here we are as neighbours today,” Bishop Andrew said, “and I hope today’s a very significant day not just for us in the North West but across our region, across the island, as we celebrate Black History Month, as we celebrate the contribution that different people from different backgrounds, different races, different cultures [have made] – the richness that they bring to all that we do here in the city and beyond.”
Bishop Andrew told the conference that Senator George Mitchell – the American politician who chaired the peace talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement – said the Irish were very welcoming towards visitors but very suspicious of each other. “I think that was true 20 or so years ago,” the Bishop said, “but maybe our welcome towards visitors who are now ‘us’ – who are now part of ‘us’, are part of our community, who live with us as equals – maybe we’ve become suspicious rather than welcoming. Today is a day that helps us break down some of those divisions and helps us celebrate who we are as people made in the image of God. So, I’m thrilled to be part of today.”
Around 20 new faces turned up at Christ Church, Castlerock on Sunday 17th October, 2021 for an occasion that was something of a pet project for the local Rector.
Rev Chris MacBruithin had invited pet owners to come along to the parish’s first Pet Blessing Service. With a few minutes to go, the Rector wasn’t quite sure what kind of response his invitation might elicit but he needn’t have worried. The faithful – those on two feet and on four – justified his confidence in the idea and the Service proved a big hit with owners and pets alike.
Seven new trustees were commissioned to office for the Diocesan Mothers’ Union, this evening, in St Columba’s Church in Omagh. The women were commissioned by Bishop Andrew Forster during the branch’s annual Diocesan Service.
Restrictions introduced in churches to minimise the threat of COVID-19 meant the service went ahead without the usual pageantry that makes the annual service arguably the most colourful occasion in the diocesan calendar. However, former MU Worldwide President, Lady Eames, was in the congregation to lend her support.
The service was led by the Rector of Drumragh with Mountfield, Rev Graham Hare, assisted by the Rural Dean for the Omagh parishes, Rev Canon Robert Clarke, and the MU’s Diocesan Chaplain, Rev Canon Katie McAteer.
The women who were commissioned on Wednesday evening were Kathleen Finlay (Diocesan Secretary); Anne Smith (Action & Outreach Coordinator); Eva Wright (Worldwide Contact); Ivy Hartin and Averil Meehan (PROs); Janette Morrow (Indoor Members Contact); and Gladys Barnett (Prayer Circle Contact).
Addressing the socially-distanced congregation, Bishop Andrew said it was a joyful and important occasion. “These offices carry great responsibility for Mothers’ Union is a worldwide organisation whose members seek to express the Christian faith by the transformation of communities worldwide through the promotion of stable marriage, family life and the protection of children.”
The sermon was preached by the All-Ireland President of Mothers’ Union, June Butler MBE, who pointed out that it was Prisons Week for the Diocesan Mothers’ Union. Mrs Butler mentioned the “great plans” the branch had – as part of its outreach – to support the family centre at HMP Magilligan. She said she had gained some insight into the prison environment over the last 20 years, including during a case study in Edinburgh Prison (when she was “horrified” by the starkness and the “echoey noise”) and on visits to Hydebank, which she found much less austere.
Mrs Butler said Hydebank had since changed its name to Hydebank Wood College and was focusing on rehabilitating prisoners for release. “The focus,” she said, “is on helping prisoners not to re-offend, giving them skills not only to find employment but psychologically to cope with our changing world and the expectations outside prison walls.”
The experience had made Mrs Butler think about loss of liberty. There were many in the world today who were imprisoned – some physically as punishment, but sadly many more for political reasons.
“However, we mustn’t forget that many of us, and of our families and friends, may also be prisoners today. Prisoners do not have to be behind physical bars; confinement happens in many different ways but especially in our minds. It would be impossible to speak to you again, this September 2021, without mentioning COVID and the effect that it’s had on so many lives over the last 18 months. Many did – and many still do – feel imprisoned in their own homes. Mothers’ Union throughout Ireland has been doing so much to help those who were this type of prisoner. They couldn’t or didn’t feel safe being in their own home so Mothers’ Union members rose to the various challenges and did the shopping, collected medicines, made regular phone calls, sent cards, delivered goodies and small gifts – just to let them know they were not forgotten. And, of course, that’s still continuing.”
Mrs Butler also referred to those who felt lonely for reasons other than COVID. She said an MU working group – under Lady Eames – would be issuing guidance, shortly, for the lonely on for those who wanted to help the chronically lonely.
“And then there are those who are imprisoned in other ways – those who find difficulty getting head space to work out solution to what for others may be minor problems; those of us who may be imprisoned by our misconception of others; those who have real mental health issues; those who are in their personal prisons of addiction with drugs or alcohol; those who are confined by their traditions – especially in this country – and cannot see beyond the boundaries of their so-called religious background. And, of course, the areas in which Jacqui – your Diocesan President – has been working to such great effect to raise awareness about gender-based violence.”
There were dozens of references to prison in the Bible, Mrs Butler said – most notably in the case of St Paul – the “imprisoner” of Christians who came to describe himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Prison was often used as a metaphor for various forms of human distress, she said. But there was a repeated emphasis on God as a God who wanted to set the captive free and break the chains of bondage.
“It is the same God who is with all prisoners today, to help them endure their time away from family and friends, and consider their future. It is God who is in the hearts of those who are in the business of rebuilding lives and re-educating for a future beyond prison walls. And it’s that God who’s made a covenant with us that we will work to help others – guided by His Holy Spirit – but also, He is with anyone and everyone of us who may feel confined in our own personal prisons, and we must all learn to lean on and be guided by Him.”
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, has urged delegates at the Church of Ireland General Synod – and parishioners all across the Church of Ireland – to become missionary pioneers like St Columba, and take a message of peace to a fractured, fragile world.
Bishop Andrew was the preacher at the Service on the opening day of Synod. As was the case last year, the General Synod is meeting online because of COVID-19 restrictions, and Bishop Andrew’s sermon was delivered from St Augustine’s Church in Londonderry, which is built on the site of Saint Columba’s first monastery in the city.
This year, people have been celebrating the 1,500th anniversary of Columba’s birth and the saint’s missionary example was a recurring theme in Bishop Andrew’s address. In it, he said each one of us had a role to play in mission, “with prayer as our fuel, with a message of peace in a challenging world”.
Full text of Bishop Andrew’s sermon”
“Much as all of us would have loved to have been gathered today in St. Patrick’s cathedral in Armagh, I’m delighted to be able to share with you from St. Augustine’s Church, which sits on Derry’s walls right in the heart of our city.
“Known locally as the ‘Wee Church on the Walls’, its modest size belies its huge significance in the Christian heritage of these islands. It was here that St. Columba built his first, and what was reputed to be his favourite, abbey and this church sits on the footprint of the original. From here Columba’s network of monasteries spread out across Ireland and eventually beyond, as centres of mission sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. This year we celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of Columba’s birth in Gartan in Donegal. Our celebrations have been more muted than we would have hoped for, but particularly in the North-West we celebrate both his example and his legacy.
“From the vantage point of this monastery, Columba would have looked out at a very different view than today. At that stage the hill of Derry was more or less an island, and he would have looked out over the oak forests that gave the city its name. The view was different, but Columba looked out at a people who knew the hardship and uncertainty of life. Disease and illness brought to them both physical weakness and fear. The tribal divisions were the sectarianism of the day that drove both conflict and division. It was a fragile and fractured world, and it was into that environment that Columba became a pioneering missionary with a confidence in the good news that he shared.
“I think the parallel is a clear one – we all know the fragility of living through this pandemic. And, unfortunately, the continued fracturing of our society, whether on sectarian, racial or economic lines is all too real. As we seek to play our part in rebuilding church, and indeed society, I believe Columba’s example can inspire and help us. Of course, all of us lament; we lament what we have lost, and we lament who we have lost. Of course, all of us are concerned. What will we be able to build back? What is left to build back? Will our young families appear again? Will the vulnerable feel safe meeting together? All of us have our concerns. And I’m sure the followers of Jesus did, as our gospel recalls, when he sends them out, the seventy-two, two by two. They would have had their concerns and their worries about what the next chapter held for them.
“Now it’s interesting to note that this passage from Luke’s gospel speaks of a larger group sent out on mission. It wasn’t just the twelve. I think it’s clear the task of rebuilding and renewing is not just for some of us, but for all of us. I’m sure you know the example of the Church being likened to a football match i.e. twenty-two people desperately needing a rest, watched by hundreds of people desperately needing some exercise. Jesus says the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. He still sends us out into a fragile, fractured world with good news, shown both by our words and in our deeds.
“Jesus also tells us what the fuel for his mission is, the fuel to keep going and to thrive no matter what the challenges are. ‘Ask’, he says. ‘Ask the Lord of the harvest’, or as other translations put it, ‘pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest’. The fuel for our mission, indeed, the fuel for our lives, the fuel for our rebuilding, recovery, renewal, has to be prayer. Throughout the pandemic I’ve been saying to people, pray like you’ve never prayed before.
“I’m convinced that every prayer matters, every prayer counts, and we need to keep praying. Because the reality of the challenges that face us are great. They were great for the seventy- two as well. Jesus says to them, “Go, I am sending you out like lambs amongst wolves”, which sounds pretty ominous, doesn’t it? Yet, the message we are compelled to share is vital for our fragile, fractured society. ‘When you enter a home’, says Jesus, ‘say peace be to this house’. The message of peace is a message of God’s peace in our lies, a message of God’s pardon for us, and a message of God’s purpose for today and for our future. We are called to be both messengers and vessels of God’s peace. Through our words, through our actions, through our very lives. To carry and share the peace of God that Jesus tells us some will welcome and sadly some will reject.
“I always think our parish structure gives us a great advantage; it’s almost Columban if we see our parishes as mission stations throughout our island to our fragile, fractured world. Each one of us has a role to play with prayer as our fuel, with a message of peace in a challenging world.
“In the Old Testament reading today from Nehemiah, after Ezra reads the book of the law to the people, there’s almost a feeling for them of being totally overwhelmed. They’re overwhelmed both by the task and the sense of responsibility. Nehemiah shares these words that speak to us in times that often seem overwhelming in this fragile, fractured world. He says, ‘This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is our strength’.
“May the joy of the Lord be your strength, may the joy of the Lord be our strength. Amen.”
The newest member of the Cathedral Chapter of St Columb, Rev Canon Colin Welsh, was installed formally on Thursday evening, 23rd September 2021, at a Service led by the Dean of Derry, Very Rev Raymond Stewart, and attended by two bishops – the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, and the retired Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, Rt Rev Ken Clarke.
The Service of Installation took place a full six months after Canon Welsh’s appointment because of the disruption caused by the pandemic. COVID restrictions were in place throughout the Service. The new canon and his wife, Anne, were welcomed to the cathedral by Dean Stewart. The Service was attended by family and friends of the Welshes; parishioners from Castledawson, where Canon Welsh is Rector; and well-wishers from elsewhere in the Maghera and Kilrea Rural Deanery, of which he is Rural Dean.
Bishop Clarke, who preached the sermon, congratulated the new canon and said he was glad to see that since the appointment Canon Welsh had remained trim and thin. “It can never be said of you what I’ve heard someone say: ‘The bigger the canon the bigger the bore.’ Those who knew the new canon knew that he had never been boring in his life, Bishop Clarke said.
“Do take this appointment as an encouragement and as recognition of how much you’re respected,” the preacher said, “not just in Castledawson but in the diocese and in the wider Church.”
Bishop Clarke said he could speak about Canon Welsh and his wife for a long time: about their lives, their character, their faith, their achievements. He could sing the new canon’s praises. “But you know and many of us know that whilst it is great to be made a canon, there are much greater priorities for the Church of God across the world in the year 2021 and in every generation, and that’s really the primary theme of our Old Testament reading this evening.”
The extract from the Book of Haggai [1: 1-8 and 2: 6-9] had “a powerful message to the Church today about priorities,” the preacher said. “Right at the heart of the message of Haggai is simply this: put first things first. And let’s be honest, sometimes we don’t always do that.
“It was written to people like us,” the bishop said, “who probably without exception said but we want to put God first, God must be first. The people in Haggai’s day – the people of God – did believe that. And I think many of us would verbally say the same; we say that in our forms of worship. But the reality was [that] what they said and how they lived didn’t match up: there wasn’t a consistency between what they said they believed, and how they behaved. They had drifted into a way of life where God’s priorities were no longer their priorities. They gave lip service to God but in fact they lived with other priorities.
“And God sent the prophet Haggai to help the people rediscover God’s priorities for them: to live lives in line with what God’s primary desires are. And I just wonder in parts of the Church today do we need to hear that same message?”
Bishop Clarke said he did not want to upset anyone but that he had no hesitation in saying that the Church of God, in every generation, was not primarily about titles, and trifles and position, and power, and status, and style. “The Church of God under God – and this is one of the things I find so exciting about the Church of God – we are called by God to be a new community, a different kind of people who make a difference in whichever part of the world we live – people who live Christ-shaped lives, Kingdom-shaped lives, and our lives have the aroma of Christ about us, so that people sense there’s something different about those people in Derry Cathedral; there’s something different about those people in Castledawson. ‘What is it?’ And they start asking questions. And they see a group of people in the Church of Jesus Christ who are like no other; they’re marked by acts of kindness; they have different values; and all of those things come from having the right priorities, which is what this message from Haggai is all about.
“If we – those of us who are ordained – if we are in ordained ministry, stuffed with selfish ambition, obsessed with being in the limelight, or pursuing a path of self-promotion, we need to hear what God says in His word. We need to hear the message of Haggai. We need to hear what Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians, Chapter 13, Verse 5: ‘Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise that Christ Jesus is in you?’”
Four times, the preacher said, in this very short Book of Haggai, the prophet said to the people, “Consider how you fared”. In other versions it said, “Give careful thought to your ways.” When was the last time we honestly before God gave careful thought to our ways, Bishop Clarke wondered, for our own personal lives and for the Church that we were part of? “How serious are we about capturing or re-capturing what God’s exciting priorities are for His Church in the year 2021?”
Through His prophet, God was calling His people back to put first things first. “Is this part of God’s message to the Church today? God wants us to recapture His vision, make His priorities our priorities.” In Canon Welsh and his wife Anne, we saw two people who were seeking to live out God’s call on their lives and be people who made a difference, Bishop Clarke said.
The preacher recalled the example of a former Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, William Alexander, who was ordained priest for the curacy of Templemore in 1847 – 174 years ago this week – and who sought to love God and love his neighbour. It was shortly after the Great Famine, and a terrible epidemic – a form of typhus – was affecting the slums of Derry particularly badly. The young curate’s duty took him day and night into houses “reeking with disease and infection”, ministering to parishioners’ bodily and spiritual needs. “In those days, doctors were few; there were no district nurses; little help from hospitals; no proper attention to sickness in the miserable and overcrowded workhouses. But this man visited these people.”
What was he doing, Bishop Clarke asked? “He was living out God’s priorities: loving his neighbour, caring for the sick, showing in his living the compassion of Christ; and I humbly suggest, that is one of the great needs in Ireland today, that you and I do the same. The Church has taken a knocking in recent years. Things will begin to change as we prioritise living out loving God and loving our neighbour, as we obey not only the great commandment but the great commission; and we go, and we share the Gospel, and we make disciples, and we baptise, and we teach. This is what changes lives, families, friendships, communities.”
One of the good things about having canons in the Church, the bishop suggested, was that it was a reminder of the Church’s wider role. “We’re not just parochial. A canon is a member of a Chapter with other clergy from other parishes, all part of the deanery family, the Cathedral family. And it’s an important reminder that the Church of Christ isn’t just local, it’s regional and it’s global.
“Colin, as you begin this new chapter in your life, serving the Chapter of this great Cathedral, know that God is with you, and He will never let you go. And His presence with you will give you and the Dean and the rest of the Chapter such strength and encouragement and inspiration.
Dean Stewart was assisted in Thursday’s Service by the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven. Robert Miller, and by the Diocesan Registrar, Rev Canon David Crooks. Music was provided by Dr Derek Collins and the Cathedral Choir.
Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops, and a leading Presbyterian clergyman, have called on the Irish Government to offer full and immediate redress to the thousands of people whose homes have been affected by the mica/pyrite crisis. Numerous family homes have been seriously damaged because defective building blocks were used in their construction. The church leaders said:
“Housing and homelessness are recognised as key political and social justice issues of our time. In this context, immediate action is needed to alleviate the mica/pyrite crisis which is affecting the health, well-being and safety of homeowners and their families. As church leaders, we are gravely concerned at the families’ plight. While many of our impacted citizens live on the periphery of our island, it is disturbing that their basic need for good housing also seems peripheral to the agenda of our political leaders. A number of us have had the opportunity to visit some of the affected homes and heard from campaigners. Our foremost concern now is getting support for these families.
“There appears to be a disparity in the way people in our region are being treated compared to those elsewhere. Homeowners in Leinster were awarded 100% redress for the pyrite problems there. The citizens of Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Tipperary, Clare and Limerick deserve no less. This is a matter of fairness, justice and compassion.
“There may come a time for assigning responsibility for what has happened. One thing is certain, though: the homeowners are not to blame.
“The cost of repairing the damage is beyond the means of most families. The mica/pyrite scandal is now a test of our compassion as a society and of the State’s resolve to help its most vulnerable. We must move quickly to end the anguish and uncertainty for all those affected by mica or pyrite in homes that they have bought or built.
“The affected homeowners need three guarantees of support:
– 100% redress from the government for homeowners;
– a 40-year, state-backed scheme, guaranteeing full redress in the event of future problems; and,
– the remedy of 100% redress made available to all those affected.
“We realise there will be significant costs involved, but the State has found resources in the past to rescue the banking sector and, more recently, to deal with the pandemic. The mica and pyrite families need our sympathy, our prayers and our help. They have our full support, as church leaders, in their pursuit of their three demands.”
From:
CHURCH OF IRELAND BISHOPS
Rt Rev Patrick Rooke, Church of Ireland Bishop of Tuam, Killala and Achonry
Rt Rev Dr Ferran Glenfield, Church of Ireland Bishop of Elphin
Rt Rev Andrew Forster, Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry and Raphoe
ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS
Bishop John Fleming, Bishop of Killala
Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop of Derry
Bishop Kevin Doran, Bishop of Elphin
Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ, Bishop of Raphoe
Bishop Paul Dempsey, Bishop of Achonry
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Rev Keith Hibbert, Moderator of Derry & Donegal Presbytery
(Acknowledgement: the indoor photo below was taken by Joe Dunne).
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster, was in south Donegal, on Sunday afternoon, for a Service of Confirmation for young people from the Donegal, Killymard, Lough Eske and Laghey Group of Parishes.
For many months, churches in the Diocese of Raphoe had been prevented from proceeding with Confirmation Services because of Covid restrictions imposed by the Irish government. These were relaxed a week ago, precipitating a surge in services. The service, in Christ Church, Lough Eske, was the seventh of eight confirmations the Bishop has officiated at this week – all but one of them in County Donegal. He confirmed young people at three different services on Sunday alone, and was assisted at two of them by the Rector of the Donegal Group, Archdeacon David Huss.
The Bishop told the five confirmands at Sunday afternoon’s service that the bible reading included the most important question that anyone would ever be asked. “It’s a question for each one of us, and it’s a question that Jesus posed to the disciples as follows, and he simply said this: ‘Who do you say I am?’ [Mark 8 v 29]
“Did they think he was just a wise teacher, or a miracle worker, or a really nice man or whatever? ‘Who do you say that I am?’ And Peter – one of the followers – gives the answer. In Matthew’s version of the story he says, ‘You are Christ, the son of the living God.’ And that answer for us is actually the answer that our hearts and our lips need to give to Jesus: that he’s the son of God; that he loves us; that he came into the world for us; that he forgives us our sins. There’s no answer more important than him in our lives.”
In his sermon, Bishop Andrew explained to the young people what the rite of confirmation would require of them. “This afternoon, for our candidates, I have questions for you that I’ll ask of you, and those questions – whenever we distil them down – are not that far from the question that Jesus asked Peter: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ It’s the most important question in the world, and the answer is the most important answer in the world.”
Bishop Andrew told the confirmands and their families that the things that mattered in life, and the things that made a difference, were faith, love and hope. “It’s about faith in God, it’s about having the love of God in our hearts and it’s about knowing his hope in our lives in the world. Faith, hope and love. What changes us? It’s faith. What makes a difference in our lives? It’s love. And what will help us live in the future? It’s hope.”
This week’s Confirmation Services – in both jurisdictions – complied with local Covid regulations and Church of Ireland guidance, requiring family groups to sit in ‘bubbles’, alternate pews to be cordoned off, and face coverings to be worn in church.
The Rev Alan McCracken came face to face with his new parishioners for the first time as Bishop’s Curate of the Parishes of Moville Upper and Lower, Donagh, Cloncha and Culdaff, at a Service of Welcome and Introduction led by the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Andrew Forster.
The Rural Dean for Inishowen and Diocesan Registrar, Rev Canon David Crooks, provoked laughter from the congregation in St Columb’s Church in Moville when he described the Rathcoole man as the most northerly priest in the diocese, “so probably the closest to God”.
Rev McCracken was joined in church on Saturday 11th September, 2021 by his wife, Karen, his mother Rita, and members of the wider family for a Service attended by clergy from the local Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches.
In his sermon, Bishop Andrew reminded the new curate, that he had asked him – at his ordination, on Wednesday evening last – a series of questions. “I said, ‘Will you…Will you…Will you?’ And some of the questions were ‘Will you expound the scriptures? Will you be diligent in prayer? Will you fashion your life upholding the way of Christ? Will you be faithful in visiting the sick and caring for the flock? Will you promote unity, peace and love?
“Now, whenever we read those questions,” Bishop Andrew said, “and whenever clergy see those questions, year in, year out as we attend ordinations, for me they lay an onerous burden upon us, because one day we all realise that it’s not, ‘Will you? Will you? Will you?’ that will be asked us, but one day God will ask, ‘Did you? Did you? Did you? The onerous task of ministry is placed upon you as a priest in the Church of God and now as Bishop’s Curate of this Group of Parishes.
“Sometimes I ask myself what is it, ultimately, that our parishioners want from us? And there could be lots of answers to that, actually. But, ultimately I think we can distil that down to three things. I think there are three things that ultimately the people of God want to see in the life of the shepherds of God, and it’s these three things – it’s very simple: number one, that you love the Lord; number two, that you love the people; and number three, that you love the place. Yes, there’ll be lots of different things that will be asked of you; yes, there’ll be lots of different opinions on what the Bishop’s Curate should be like, but ultimately, I think. it comes down to those three things: that we love the Lord, love the people, love the place.”
Addressing his congregation for the first time as their Bishop’s Curate, Rev McCracken said he was there in Moville, Greencastle, Carndonagh, Culdaff and Malin to build and to grow the Church.
“Whenever the opportunity came for myself and Karen to come and visit the lovely people in the Inishowen peninsula,” Rev McCracken said, “we came up with an open mind – coming from north Belfast – but we came up with God in our hearts, and we came to see the people, and we came for the people.”
The new minister thanked the local community for getting the rectory ready for him and his wife, and for making them feel so welcome. He said he looked forward to getting to know them all individually, and looked forward to preaching to them. “That’s what I’m here to do. I’m here to build. I’m here to grow. I’m here to build God’s kingdom in this place and in these parishes and – with the help of all you people – I will succeed.”
There were speeches of welcome, from the Archdeacon of Raphoe, Ven. David Huss; the Parish Priest of Moville, Fr Patrick O’Hagan; the Rector of Ballynure and Ballyeaston (Ballyclare), Rev Johnny Campbell-Smyth (who was Alan’s training rector); Rev Philip Poots of Moville Presbyterian Church; and Rev John Montgomery of the Methodist Church in Moville. There was an apology from the Archdeacon of Derry, Ven. Robert Miller Miller, who was unable to be at Saturday’s Service, but who will supervise Rev McCracken as part of the latter’s training.
Bishop Andrew and Canon Crooks thanked the Rev Mervyn Peoples and the four parish readers for sustaining worship in the various churches during the two-year vacancy which followed the departure of Rev Suzanne Cousins to the Diocese of Armagh. Both men expressed regret that Church Warden David McKinlay – a stalwart of Moville Parish – was unable to be there because of ill health. George Mills, from St Buadan’s Church in Culdaff, welcomed her successor, assuring Rev McCracken that the hard work of parishioners had meant he now had five churches that were economically sound. “During the vacancy,” Mr Mills said, “we were incredibly well looked after. We had a vacancy and Covid, and we still never missed one scheduled service.”
The onerousness of their new ministry was brought home to the Rev Andrea Cotter and Rev Alan McCracken during their Service of Ordination as priests in All Saints, Clooney on Wednesday evening, 8th September, 2021. “Your ministry will be one of joy as well as of responsibility,” Bishop Andrew Forster told them, “of happiness as well as of diligence. Yet remember in your heart that if it should come about that the Church, or any of its members, is hurt or hindered by reason of your neglect, your fault will be great and God’s judgement will follow.”
The new curates came to the Diocese of Derry and Raphoe by way of the Diocese of Connor, where they completed training as intern deacons. Rev Cotter, who completed her internship in the Parish of Skerry, Rathcavan and Newtowncrommelin, has been appointed Curate Assistant of All Saints Parish, Clooney, where she will serve with Rev David McBeth.
Rev McCracken undertook his training in the United Parish of Ballynure and Ballyeaston, and he will be to the Moville Group of Parishes, at a service on Saturday afternoon.
Bishop Andrew extended “the warmest of welcomes” to Andrea and her husband Richard, and Alan and his wife Karen. He said all in the diocese looked forward to seeing what plans God had for the new priests’ lives and ministries. The Bishop said he was sure that both couples would enjoy the support and prayers of their new congregations.
If the seriousness of priesthood sounded daunting, Rev Cotter and Rev McCracken were assured by Ven. Robert Miller, in his sermon, that God wasn’t sending them out without equipping them for the task. “In John’s Gospel, which we heard read this evening, we read the words, ‘God is sending you’. And I wonder as a child were you ever sent to run a message for your parents, or were you ever sent to the school office by the teacher to collect something? I’m sure you were, unless you had a very privileged existence. And if so, you probably were greeted with the words: ‘Who sent you?’ Or you may have announced yourself with the words, ‘My mum has sent me to collect.’ But ‘Who sent you?’ is often what people want to know.
“And these important words of sending in our Gospel reading this evening remind us that we all – as God’s people – are sent. The passage allows us to hear Jesus’ words of sending to His apostles after the resurrection, and He speaks to them: ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’”
Archdeacon Miller told both new priests that they were to be messengers, watchers, stewards of the Lord; they were to teach and admonish, to feed and to provide for the Lord’s family; to search for God’s children in the wilderness of the world’s temptations and to guide them through its confusions, so that they may be saved through Christ forever. “As the disciples were sent by Jesus, and empowered by the gift of His holy spirit, so you too are to be ordained this evening and God is asked to pour out His holy spirit upon His servants for the office and work of a priest in His church.
“God is sending you, but He doesn’t send without equipping, for God also – as we were reminded by our reading from Isaiah – God is anointing you. The invocation of the Bishop, with the laying on of hands by your fellow priests, is an intercession for God’s anointing: ‘Pour out Your holy spirit upon Your servant for the office and work of a priest in Your church. As God’s people we are all given the anointing of the holy spirit, and when I reflect on His role in my discipleship and ministry, or – if you prefer – in my following and my leading, I’m reminded of what the Rev Canon David Watson taught: if you think of the Holy Spirit as an ‘it’, you’ll want more of it; but if you remember He is a person, then you will want Him to have more of you.”
Archdeacon Miller reminded the two new curates, and the other clergy present, that they were “co-workers with Christ”. He said God was making His appeal through them. “This ministry of joy and responsibility needs God’s anointing, as indeed the calling of each of us as believers needs to be done so in God’s strength. Each day, each moment of each day, we are called to turn to Him. And St John reminds us that the role of His holy spirit is to lead us into all truth – truth about God, truth about the world we are called to minister in, and truth about ourselves.
“Our ministry is not as a professional Christian, but as a follower. And so, His sending and anointing is for a purpose. And His purpose, as St Paul reminds us from our reading in Corinthians, is that we are ambassadors for Christ – God making His appeal through us. Now, if that doesn’t make you feel uncomfortable, then I don’t think anything will.
“In our epistle, it reminds us why we have been given the Lord’s anointing. We need it. Ministry is impossible without it. God is making His appeal through us – really. He is engaging with the needs of the world through me. It is a truth that should drive us to our knees.”
Wednesday evening’s service was arranged by the Rector of All Saints Clooney, Rev David McBeth and was carried out in accordance with the Northern Ireland Executive’s guidelines and Church of Ireland guidance. Bishop Andrew thanked the Rector, his team, the choir and musicians. He also thanked the two archdeacons who assisted in the service, Ven. David Huss and Archdeacon Miller.
