24.10.2017
Diocesan and Parish Readers Urged to Be Purveyors of Hope
Four new Lay Ministers were commissioned to serve in Dublin & Glendalough by Archbishop Michael Jackson in Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday evening (October 21). Tom Healy (Malahide) and Alistair Doyle (St Matthias) were commissioned as Diocesan Readers and Gail Sheridan (Tallaght) and Mary Dillon (Arklow) were commissioned as Parish Readers.
Parish and Diocesan Readers are called to serve the Church and to work with clergy and other ministers. They lead public worship, assist at the Eucharist and share in pastoral and evangelistic work. Diocesan Readers are licensed to preach and teach the word of God.
The sermon was preached by the President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Revd Dr Laurence Graham, who said he was delighted to be present at what was a pivotal moment in the ongoing ministry of the new readers.
Drawing on the readings [Isiah 14: 3–11 and Matthew 14: 1–12], Dr Graham said that Matthew reminded us that preaching the Good News can often bring difficulties and danger; John the Baptist lost his head because he preached God’s word.
“Sometimes people react to the messenger as they try to ignore the message. There may be times when something you will say or do will touch a nerve and it does so because it is God’s spirit working through you,” he told the newly commissioned readers.
He pointed out that in Isiah, God was telling people that the day of their oppression would end and that they would taunt the King of Babylon. Dr Graham suggested that it was not the role of Christians to taunt but the act of announcing the Good News offered a contrast to those who rejected it.
“We will never want to taunt anyone but the hope we offer in Christ does bring a challenge to those without hope. We can’t offer the hope of Christ if we have don’t have the hope of the risen Christ… We need the rhythm of grace if we are to purvey hope to a hopeless world,” he said.
Dr Graham urged the new readers to focus on God’s purpose in their preaching.
