07.09.2018
The Revd Tom O’Brien – ‘My work has always been influenced by my faith and vice versa’
The Revd Tom O’Brien will be ordained to the priesthood on Sunday September 30 in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. The Archbishop of Dublin will preside and all are welcome to attend. Tom is being ordained for Curacy in Holmpatrick, having served as Deacon Intern in Howth. Tom will be ordained for Non Stipendiary Ministry and will continue his day job. Here he writes about his experience as a Deacon Intern, his hopes for his Curacy and how his work, faith and family are intertwined.
By Tom O’Brien
I am a very fortunate individual who has had the privilege to work with many fine colleagues in the area of health over the years. The people I work with are amazing and they do so much to ensure that the health needs of the most marginalised are met under very challenging conditions. I have learned and continue to learn so much from the clients too. They are inspiring individuals who overcome so much on a daily basis. I have always enjoyed working with people and for people. My main goal was to be a social worker and although the process of discernment took a while, I do recall clearly one major influencing factor. In the process of completing my Master’s degree in Palliative Care I was on placement in St Frances Hospice, Raheny. I met a lady who changed my life! Although she was at the end of her journey, she inspired me to begin mine and two months later, I was having conversations about ordination.
I have worked with socially marginalised groups all of my professional life and in spare time, the O’Brien’s have almost always been involved in volunteer work with the church. There is little doubt that my work has always been influenced by my faith and vice versa. The ability to integrate what I have learned into the workplace with what I am doing in the church cannot be underestimated. This integration was very evident when we worked on our internship in St Mary’s Howth. We were so pleased to be involved in a very successful Inter Church project and the development of a leadership project to consider new and innovative ways of promoting the Church in the community. We loved our time in Howth and learned so much from Canon Kevin Brew and Rachel. The Brew’s are wonderful mentors who allowed the O’Brien’s to get involved in as much or as little as we wanted. We learned so much from the congregation too and were immediately accepted as part of the family and from day one, it was as though we had been in Howth all of our lives.
As we look to the future in Balbriggan, Holmpatrick and Kenure, we are excited to come back ‘home’ with the Revd Anthony Kelly. I am looking forward to supporting Anthony in his work and am excited about the future. The congregation in Balbriggan are so special to us. We are really excited to continue the journey and see where we will end up.
Thanks to Archbishop Michael Jackson for his consistent support, flexibility and forward thinking as we worked together on considering the future.
The staff of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute and TCD have done a fantastic job looking after me for the past seven years and I am very pleased to have been the recipient of such a high standard of training over the years. Dr Paddy McGlinchey deserves special mention for maintaining my enthusiasm while supervising my thesis. I really enjoyed the process and was provided with an opportunity once again to integrate my learning with the work that I am passionate about!
Thanks finally to the O’Brien’s who stood behind me every step of the way! Especially thanks to Daniela who so willingly took on the role with me and led the way in supporting the work we engaged in so enthusiastically. God motivates and inspires us and we are confident that the road ahead is one filled with many possibilities.