09.12.2019
Living in the Spirit of God: Graham Jones Remembered at Special Service
Graham Jones wanted everyone to be part of the family and kingdom of God, the Archbishop of Dublin told a packed Christ Church Cathedral yesterday (Sunday December 8). Family, friends and people who had been associated with the many different facets of his life filled the cathedral for a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving for the life of the Revd Graham Jones.
The service took place one year to the day after Graham’s death and Archbishop Michael Jackson noted that it was a testament to the graciousness and generosity of his family that they suggested that date to remember him publicly. Graham’s family played a large part in the service with his father David and brother Stephen reading lessons and his wife Louise and their daughters Romy, Amelia–Grace and Rebecca reading prayers. His brother Rob, with whom Graham shared ordained ministry, was among the clergy who robed for the service.
Graham was ordained a deacon in Christ Church Cathedral in September last year. He was ordained to the priesthood in November last year in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street. He died on December 8 last year.
In his sermon the Archbishop noted that Graham had a full and enriching life before he responded to God’s call to ordination. Immediately after he was ordained a priest he asked Archbishop Jackson what he wanted him to do and the Archbishop replied: “build community”. And this was what he did, celebrating Holy Communion first in the Beacon with his immediate family and then gathering different circles and proving himself to be irrepressible and inspirational while retaining a God First approach to everything he did.
The Archbishop described Graham as pneumatic, prophetic and pragmatic. “Graham lived in and with the Spirit of God; this is what I mean by pneumatic. But in that other use of the word: pneumatic, he was always drilling down to what really mattered, to the spiritual essentials of human being,” he said, adding that Graham led everyone he met into the dynamic interplay and outworking of God in the world. “The water and the fire of the Holy Spirit; the light of Christ; the public face of God among the uncomprehending and silent majority; this is where Graham was; this is where he made the best of it and where he was at his best starting in his beloved Liberties in Dublin 8.”
“The Spirit of God raced through Graham’s body and his mind, giving him an ever widening horizon not least as physical immobility took its punishing and its cruel toll on him and on all members of his family. The prophetic combination of word and action drew people to him as it also drew him to new and uncharted situations. This is where he kept identifying new problems and offering fresh solutions. The instinct for problem–solving enabled him to share what nobody else had yet seen – and, in ways, this has proved to be his most enduring gift. As Graham died, he enabled us all to cope, he enabled us all to live and he enabled us all to grow in faith, in hope and in love. Graham always remained personal and present. These are gifts we will never forget,” he continued.
There was no doubt, Archbishop Jackson said, about Graham’s love for his family. But at the same time he wanted everyone to be part of the family and the kingdom of God. “To him there was no contradiction, there was simply continuity and community and communion. And in his one month on earth as an ordained priest, Graham celebrated communion vigorously and as he had always done, but with a new focus and a new grace from God. We will not see his like again; we are privileged – all of us – to have been with him for a season. May God continue to hold and uphold our friend Graham,” he concluded.