Bishop Good’s Sermon in full:
“As we gather here to reflect and to give thanks for the life and the ministry of Shiela, and to leave her in God’s gracious keeping, we are here Stanley, and Melanie, Timothy and Wendy, to be with you, to support you, to pray with you, to pray for you, and to assure you of our love.
Like countless others, as Melanie has implied, and like all of you here, I would imagine, I have been a long-standing fan of Shiela Johnson. Now, it’s probably not a good thing – in fact it is definitely not a good thing – for a bishop to admit he has a favourite clergyperson, but for a retired bishop to do that is quite acceptable.
With Shiela there was something about her that was just that little bit different. Her ministry, and that of Stanley, her dear husband, was greatly appreciated and highly valued, and I respected them and valued them as supportive clergy when I was serving as Bishop.
And talking of bishops, may I thank this Bishop [Andrew] – the ‘real’ bishop – for his invitation to preach at this service, and to the rector, Canon David Skuce, for his help and wisdom in preparing for today. I know that David has been a long-time, good friend of Shiela and of Stanley and this is a difficult day for you, too, I’m sure.
Last Saturday was All Saints’ Day, when we are reminded of The Communion of Saints – the unity that is in Jesus Christ that binds those living here on earth in faith with those who have died in faith. And as we now face the death of a dearly-loved one – this is an appropriate and encouraging reality, and a reminder which can strengthen our faith, this Communion of Saints and All Saints’ tide.
Our first reading, which Dean Liz Fitzgerald read from Ephesians 1, is one of the appointed readings in the lectionary for All Saints’ Day, and it’s from that passage that these words in my text come.
‘I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which God has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.’ (Ephesians 1:18)
As we reflect and give thanks for Shiela’s life and ministry, I have sensed that God may want to do something important in each of us, today, with ‘the eyes of our heart’. He wants us, as we reflect on Shiela, to be spiritually strengthened by the hope that she has had – the hope that only he can grant – and he wants us to be reminded that death is not the end, but the gateway to a glorious inheritance.
Shiela’s early years were spent in Aughnacloy, where she had three brothers and three sisters – including Kathleen and Teddy. She grew up and went to primary school there, in that village. Her secondary schooling was in Dungannon, after which she went to work in Belfast.
Now, we’ve heard about her first encounter and meeting with the handsome, youthful Stanley Johnson, and how it was orchestrated and how he was reluctant, and how his reluctance softened – thank the Lord it did – and they were married in Aughnacloy on 5th February 1966. This is the 60th year of their marriage, a marvellous achievement.
Stanley and Shiela became a formidable team. The children – two of them – Timothy and Melanie were born in Belfast; and Wendy was born in Tubbercurry, [County Sligo]. This formidable team were devoted to each other and supportive of each other at every stage of their married life, and they made time for one another in an exemplary way, I believe.
Stanley has specifically asked that I express how deeply thankful he is to the Lord and to Shiela for the partnership of almost 60 years of marriage and the wonderful life and times they have shared together. Stanley, we hear your words of thanks.
He wants me to express his thanks to the emergency services who attended to him and to Shiela so professionally and so helpfully. He wants to acknowledge the passers-by who were very caring in recent days. He wants to thank the staff in the hospital, and he wants to thank their family for the remarkable attentiveness and care recently – but over a much longer period, too. And Dr Delap has been mentioned, their local GP, whose care of Shiela and Stanley has been exceptional.
So, as we give thanks for Shiela and reflect on her, I have prayed that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we ‘may know more of the hope to which he has called us.’
There are four things I want to mention about Shiela. Firstly, Shiela knew how to live joyfully. She has been described rightly as a very jolly woman, and if you look at the front of your Order of Service you will see that there was something very colourful about her – and jolly. Small in stature, yes, but with a big heart and a laugh that is memorable. Her laugh was infectious, wholehearted and loud. She has been described as ‘a bundle of fun’, always smiling never complaining. She was at ease with people, it didn’t matter who they were, she treated people the same. The Bishop [Andrew] has said of her, she had ‘an adventurous spirit and was a friend to many’, and that’s right. Part of her ‘at ease-ness’ was with Christians of all denominations and I want to say how pleased I am, and we are, to see different Churches represented here today and taking part in the service, because inter-Church friendship was part of her DNA. So, outgoing, natural and authentic, Shiela knew how to live joyfully and purposefully.
Secondly, Shiela knew how to trust hopefully. All the jolliness and laughter that I’ve just described was despite what Melanie has mentioned – considerable health difficulties – in recent years, but Shiela somehow seemed to take these considerable setbacks in her stride with minimal complaining (maybe no complaining, only Stanley knows the answer to that). And I do believe that her faith in God’s grace and provision enabled her to accept the considerable challenges that she faced, day by day at times, because her confidence and faith and trust was in the Lord.
You could say it was because the eyes of her heart were enlightened to see a bigger picture of God’s grace and eternity, and how she fitted into it in the bigger picture. She knew that God had called her and she knew that her hope was not only for the present age but the age to come, as that passage said. So, Shiela knew how to trust hopefully.
Thirdly, Shiela knew how to serve wholeheartedly. I said that after secondary school in Dungannon she went to Belfast to work, and Melanie has already mentioned the work that she did caring for deaf and blind children, doing night duty in a nursing home, caring for disabled children in her own home, in their own home – regularly, frequently, long-term. She knitted Aran jumpers, in the meantime; she was a dressmaker of clothes for the family; and, as was said, in Tramore YWCA hostel she was the cook, the cleaner, the bedmaker, the paper worker, the organiser, the manager, the whole lot. She was not afraid of work.
And at that same time, she and Stanley together were actively involved in Waterford Cathedral, and both were getting involved in the ministry of lay reader. Boundless energy is what I saw in Shiela, total commitment, never afraid of hard work, giving of herself wholeheartedly, and when Stanley was selected for training for ordination, during that training Shiela managed home life as mother of, you could say, ‘active’ teenagers. But she coped, she did, she coped with parish life then after Stanley’s ordination in the two parishes in Kilmore, Elphin & Ardagh Diocese where he served, and then in this parish in this Diocese of Raphoe from 2001 where Stanley was the Rector. And then, Shiela herself was ordained on the 11th June 1996 and served first in Urney, then in Boyle, then in Roscommon Parishes – all in the Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh – and then as Priest-in-charge in the Parish of Clondevaddock, here in the Diocese of Raphoe.
There were no airs and graces about her even in her ministry. She was down to earth, authentic, without pretence or affectation; she got on with her vocation. In Mothers’ Union, she was heavily involved over the years and she knew how to serve wholeheartedly, and for that we are thankful.
The fourth thing, and the last one that I want to mention, is that Shiela knew how to encourage spiritually. Now, in case I’m painting too rosy a picture of her, she was described as ‘a thran woman’ on at least one occasion. Just when I arrived at the church I was told by another person – the new Canon [Skuce] by the way, the she almost caused an international incident in Petra on one of their trips because she refused to budge when she was told to by the tour guide, so, she was not a ‘walk-over’, she was not afraid to speak up when necessary, but she also – on the other side – knew how to encourage when encouragement was needed. People loved her down-to-earth way of talking, her way of communicating, her way of encouraging with faith and hope. She kept in touch with all sorts of people and conditions by writing notes, by phone calls, by messages, by words of encouragement.
It is significant, I do believe, that she was ordained on the 11th of June because that is the Feast Day of St Barnabas, the encourager. I don’t think that thought missed her or escaped her mind. She fostered trust in and belief in God in people of all ages, and in people of all denominations and of none. Just as it says in the Ephesians passage, her hope and her prayer in her ministry was that ‘God would give people the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they would know him better.’ That’s what she was about, but in a gentle way, not a pushy way, not an offensive way.
Clergy in their ministry, including Shiela and Stanley, have the privilege and the challenge of dealing closely with people at major points in their lives, including at times of crisis, of distress, of loss and of disappointment, times when people wonder deep down, ‘Where can I turn to at a time like this?’
And Shiela would at those times have sensitively and carefully reassured someone in that situation that there is no other reliable and trustworthy place to turn other than to faith in Jesus Christ. In a sensitive manner, she would, as appropriate, at a good time, share the words of today’s gospel reading from John 14, ‘Do not let your heart be troubled.’ Believe. Trust. Jesus has died; Jesus has risen; Jesus will come again. He is the one – the way and the truth and the life – who will hold you through this tough time.
Shiela knew how to encourage spiritually.
So, for these things and for many, many more, we say, ‘Thank you, Lord’ – for her personality, her friendship, her wisdom, her vocation, her encouragement, her patient trust in Christ.
As I’ve been reflecting and preparing for today, I have to admit to you that the eyes of my heart have been enlightened about something of the grace and mystery and truth and majesty of the hope we have in Christ. Shiela, and her life, have reminded me of these things in a fresh way, and so I say thank you, Lord, and I say thank you, Shiela. I pray that the same may be true for us here, individually and collectively, that your heart – the eyes of your heart – may be enlightened today, now, and as we reflect on her example.
I conclude with the words of the Collect for All Saints’ Day:
Grant us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living
That we may come to those inexpressible joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.