19.09.2016
The Call to Discipleship – Four New Deacons Ordained in Dublin and Glendalough
Four new Deacons were ordained yesterday (Sunday September 18) at a service in Christ Church Cathedral. The Revd Rebecca Guildea, the Revd Anne Lodge, the Revd Stuart Moles and the Revd Tom O’Brien have been ordained to serve as Deacons in parishes in Dublin and Glendalough.
Opening the service, Archbishop Michael Jackson said that all four people were known to many in the dioceses but now they were to be welcomed in a particular way into the weave and life of the dioceses. The service took place on Dublin and Glendalough Come&Celebrate Sunday and the preacher was the Revd Dr David Tuohy SJ, who was involved in the setting up of the Come&C discipleship programme in the dioceses and who also conducted the retreat for ordinands.
In his sermon Dr Tuohy said that we are all called to discipleship. “Very few of us hear the call to discipleship in quite such a dramatic way that Isaiah [Isaiah 6: 1–8] did but we all receive elements of it,” he said. “Our discipleship seeks a wisdom that goes beyond the superficial to the drama of God’s call to us.”
Those called to discipleship should avoid insincerity and fight against self deception but should accompany others on their journey, opening the Scriptures to them, Dr Tuohy explained.
He went on to say that the journey of discipleship was always undertaken with other believers. St Paul in the second reading [Romans 12: 1–12] points to the tapestry of gifts the Church has through bringing all its people together in one God.
In today’s social environment, he said, “discipleship needs a language that speaks of hope, mutual understanding and community in a way that is new and creative”. He added that there was a need to engage with fundamentalism that sees only one point of view without being open to others, the fundamentalism of science, the fundamentalism which seeks to see people only as a unit of production, political fundamentalism which sees to exclude the voice of religion.
Finally, he reminded those being ordained that the disciple strives to be like the master.
The Deacons will now serve as interns in four parishes in Dublin and Glendalough. The Revd Rebecca Guildea will serve in Zion Parish in Rathgar, the Revd Anne Lodge will serve in Raheny and Coolock, the Revd Tom O’Brien will serve in St Mary’s Parish in Howth and the Revd Stuart Moles will serve in St Patrick’s Parish in Greystones.
Photo captions:
Top – Pictured with Archbishop Michael Jackson before their ordination to the diaconate are the Revd Stuart Moles, the Revd Rebecca Guildea, the Revd Anne Lodge and the Revd Tom O’Brien.
Bottom – During the Service of Ordination in Christ Church Cathedral.