15.09.2015
Restored Organ Rededicated in Blessington – Archbishop Speaks of Harvest of the Land and Soul
Will we regard refugees who will come to our shores as an inconvenience or will we see them as the harvest of God and reach out to them? This was the question posed by Archbishop Michael Jackson at the Harvest Thanksgiving Service in St Mary’s, Blessington, on Sunday (September 13).
The Harvest Service incorporated the rededication of the church’s organ by Archbishop Jackson who also unveiled a plaque engraved with the names of people who had supported the fundraising efforts for the restoration of the organ. The service was attended by Fr Richard Behan, recently appointed PP of Blessington, who was on his first official visit to the church.
Two projects were completed in St Mary’s over the last year as part of the ongoing restoration work at the church. The floor was replaced as well as the rebuilding of the organ. Rector, the Revd Leonard Ruddock, said that the organ was built in 1890 by Dublin company Telford and Telford. It contains over 700 individual pipes and has been painstakingly restored to its former glory.
“The fact that people subscribed to the fund to restore the organ is very much appreciated but this doesn’t take away from the fact that very many people work very hard in the parish on an ongoing basis,” the Rector commented. He said that the fundraising work continued and highlighted a concert featuring the Blessington Millennium Choir and children from the parish school, Blessington No 1 School, which will take place in St Mary’s on Saturday December 5.
In his sermon, Archbishop Jackson paid tribute to those who had enabled the restoration work to take place in the church ensuring that it would be there for generations to come.
He said there were two types of harvest – the harvest of the land and sea and the harvest of the soul and spirit. It was all too easy to forget the love and goodness of the harvest of God, he suggested. He said that many people were concerned about what had been happening in the crucible of Christianity in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.
“We have seen pictures that we never wanted to see. We’ve seen people using modes of transport that shouldn’t have been used. We’ve seen wickedness and evil at work. People have been trafficked and sold. People have paid and entrusted themselves to people who cannot be trusted,” the Archbishop said.
“Within a short time a number of refugees will come to our shores. Are we going to regard them as an inconvenience or as the harvest of God? Are we going to reach out to them? The first face they see could be your face or mine. Will they see a welcoming face? So at this harvest time there is a hope in regeneration and renewal and hope in the restoration of dignity,” he said.
Photo caption – The Revd Leonard Ruddock,
Archbishop Michael Jackson and Fr Richard Behan with the newly restored and rededicated organ in St Mary’s, Blessington.