18.10.2018
Diocesan Schools Service Explores the Meaning of ‘Home’
‘A Place to Call Home’ was the theme of this year’s Dublin & Glendalough Diocesan Service for Primary Schools and Junior Schools. Pupils from all over the United Dioceses filled Christ Church Cathedral for the service this morning which explored aspects of home.
After a welcome by Dean Dermot Dunne, the service was led by the Revd Cathy Hallissey and the Revd Ross Styles. Archbishop Michael Jackson presided and the clergy were joined by a special guest, Copperpot, from Borneo but who lives with Rev Cathy.
Cathy and Ross looked at God in our homes, our place within God’s home, those without homes, those without God in their homes and us as a home for the Holy Spirit.
Ross said that the word ‘home’ held a different meaning for each person. He said they were gathered in Christ Church Cathedral which was God’s home but there were many people without homes both in Dublin and throughout the country. There were yet more people who were forced to flee their homes in other countries who found safety here.
“It is through us that the world will change. If we reach out to others, we will make a difference,” he said. “We sit in God’s home yet he lives within us. He works through us to make a better future.”
Copperpot said he had come from Borneo because the trees he lived in were cut down. He said living with Cathy mean that he had a home where he felt safe and loved and where he felt he could be himself.
Archbishop Jackson brought the service to a close with prayer on the theme of home. He also prayed Christ Church Cathedral as the mother church of the dioceses, the courageous work of the Irish Refugee Council and Dublin & Glendalough in giving welcome to those who arrive in Ireland as refugees and all who work in education.
