12.11.2018
Ordination of the Revd Graham Jones – ‘move in the river of the Spirit instead of remaining comfortable in the swimming pool’
The Revd Graham Jones was ordained to the priesthood yesterday (Sunday November 11) in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street. Graham’s ordination took place just seven weeks after he was ordained a Deacon and a group of his family, friends and clergy gathered, as the preacher, Canon Dr Maurice Elliott put it, to celebrate the impact that his life and ministry have had so far and will continue to have on other people.
Due to illness, Graham’s ordination was brought forward and the emotional service was celebrated by Archbishop Michael Jackson. Graham’s wife Louise, their daughters Rebecca, Amelia and Romy, his father David and his brothers Rob and Stephen and sisters Susan and Bev, were all present along with wider family and friends.
In his sermon, Dr Elliott, who is the Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, said that the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that ‘there is a time for everything’. He said: “Even though it may therefore feel on occasions as if things are happening at the wrong time, always under God’s sovereign providence it is the right time. In normal circumstances this service would not be following only seven weeks after his having been made a Deacon. But the Lord, in whose hands are all our days, has seen fit to bring this about”.
He acknowledged that while those present may feel confused and conflicted by many different emotions and were aware of the anxiety and vulnerability that surrounded Graham, they also rejoiced with him that the calling that God had placed upon his life should be fulfilled.
Dr Elliott recalled his first meeting with Graham when he attended his first Trustee meeting in St Catherine’s Church. From that moment he saw that he was deeply committed to his family and his church, he exuded wisdom and embodied a servant–heart. “I am bound to say that long before he ever inwardly sensed a calling from the Lord towards ordination, he was already exercising a priestly and pastoral and missional role,” he added.
He also recalled the day Graham asked to meet him in 2015 to say that the Lord had been speaking to him about ordination – “He sounded a little bit like an ecclesiastical version of the singer Meatloaf – ‘Lord, I would do anything for you, but I am not sure I want to do that!’” Once in CITI, Dr Elliott commended Graham on all that he had achieved in his training despite medical interruptions.
Referring the reading [2 Corinthians 5:17] ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new’, he spoke of true human flourishing and the fact that believers are spoken of as being a new creation.
He said that Graham knew that yesterday’s service was not ultimately about him: “Rather, it is also about a celebration of the impact that your life and your ministry have had, and will continue to have, on other people: that is what it means to truly flourish, if I might coin the topic of your own dissertation, that is what it looks like to move in the river of the Spirit instead of remaining comfortable in the swimming pool, that is what it means for the people of God to celebrate and to radiate life, and in every sense may this be the fullness of what your priestly ministry will come to mean.”
Following the Ordination Prayer, which includes the laying on of hands by the Archbishop and priests, there was prayer for healing in which the full congregation participated.
You can read Dr Elliott’s sermon in full here.
