04.09.2017
A ‘Time of Hope and Opportunity’ as New Rector Welcomed to Kill O’ the Grange
“Alan will unashamedly always put discipleship first… He doesn’t do cautious Christianity.”
A new chapter has begun in the Parish of Kill O’ the Grange with the arrival of their new Rector. A huge congregation gathered on Friday evening (September 1) to give a warm welcome to the Revd Alan Breen who was instituted by Archbishop Michael Jackson.
Alan served as a Curate in St Patrick’s Parish in Greystones as well as being Chaplain at Temple Carrig School in Greystones. He is married to Ruth and they have two children, Naomi and Andrew.
The preacher at the service was the Rector of Greystones, Canon David Mungavin, who said this was a time of great hope and opportunity for Alan and his family and for the parish. Highlighting the qualities Alan brought to his new parish, Canon Mungavin recalled a phonecall Alan made to Wicklow County Council seeking a licence for the parish to enter float in the Greystones St Patrick’s Day Parade.
He was told that the council’s policy was not to have religious floats to which Alan said: “So let me get this straight – there is no St Patrick allowed on St Patrick’s Day?” A licence was subsequently granted and Alan appeared as St Patrick on the parish float in the parade.
“Alan will unashamedly always put discipleship first. For Alan it’s all or nothing. He doesn’t do cautious Christianity. The parade had been about anything and everything but St Patrick and Alan named the elephant on the main street of Greystones. Where was I? On the reviewing stand,” Canon Mungavin said. “I thought I was middle of the road but maybe we should rebrand middle of the road and make it someone who puts discipleship in the middle of the road. We should come off the reviewing stand and into the middle of the road.”
He said that there were many who wanted to remove religion and faith from the public square and said that the challenge to us was whether we were going to accept this. “Alan will stand up for Jesus no matter what the politics, the odds or the way the vote may go.”
The preacher also talked about what it meant to be Anglican and how that overlapped with being Christian. He spoke of the horizontal church – characterised by order and continuity – and the vertical church – characterised by Christian conviction, conversion and a sense of Jesus Christ. “I believe that we are called to the cross – where the vertical and the horizontal meet. We have spent energy and time keeping them separate but there are possibilities here for the best of Anglicanism to flourish,” he stated.
Parishioners and friends gathered in the school hall after the service where Alan was welcomed on behalf of the parish by Sheila Murphy. She thanked all who had helped bring the Service of Institution together and all who had taken services and assisted the parish during the vacancy. “We are delighted that Alan has been instituted as our Rector and we promise that as a parish we will support you,” she said.
Bringing farewell greetings from Greystones, church warden Rodney Evans, said Alan had been a fantastic Curate who had been with them during an important stage in parish life during which they had run three Alpha courses and a kids’ club. He was also popular with the students in Temple Carrig School. He also paid tribute to Ruth for all the hard work she did in the background.
The Revd Alan Wardlow of the Methodist Church welcomed Alan and his family to the area on behalf of all the local denominations and looked forward to working with him ecumenically.
Archbishop Jackson spoke of Alan’s capacity to draw people together as a community which he said was instinctive. He said he had ordained him a deacon and a priest and Alan was also his chaplain so he was delighted to institute him now to public ministry. He encouraged the parish to continue to build connections with the community and draw people together to meet with God.
Alan brought proceedings to a close by saying it was a privilege to be in Kill O’ the Grange and thanked everyone who had helped bring he and his family to that point in their lives. “Tradition to me is so important as a foundation for what we do but also as a springboard for what we will do in the future. We are so excited, thrilled, honoured and humbled to be here but we are excited and dependant on God for what we will do here,” he said. He concluded by paying tribute to Ruth and his children for their support.