The new Rector of the Grouped Parishes of Castledawson and Ballyscullion, Rev Thomas Murray, was instituted by Bishop Andrew Forster in a sweltering Christ Church Castledawson, on Tuesday evening, in a service organised by the local Rural Dean, Rev Gary Millar.
The three doors of the church were left wide open throughout the service and members of the congregation fanned themselves with their orders of service in an effort to alleviate the heat. The church was packed for the occasion and a live feed of the service was relayed to a couple of hundred parishioners following proceedings from the parish hall. Clergy and readers robed in the hall before being ferried by minibus to the church a third of a mile away.
Welcoming those in both locations, Bishop Andrew joked that they had laid on some Australian weather for the new incumbent and his family (the Rector’s wife, Jodie, is Australian and the couple’s eldest child was born ‘down under’).
It was, the Bishop said, a special night marking the start of a new chapter in the Murrays’ life and a new chapter in Rev Thomas’s ministry. “I want to tell you that you are the answer to our prayers,” Bishop Andrew told him. “We prayed that God would raise up the right person to come here to be rector and we believe that God has done exactly that in bringing you to us, Thomas”.
The Bishop had some words, too, for the two congregations celebrating the arrival of their new rector. “To the parishioners of Christ Church Castledawson and Ballyscullion, this is a new chapter for all of you, as well, as we inaugurate this new parish group which, I have to tell you, I’m really excited about because I think that within this parish group there is both a diversity and a wonderful unity in the cause of God and the Gospel in this area. There are wonderful, different expressions of worship that we celebrate together and are joyful in together, and I do believe that for this new parish group there is a bright future ahead”.
The preacher for the service, Rev Bryan Martin, Rector of Kilhorne Parish Church, Annalong, said “although from different hemispheres” the Murrays – Rev Thomas and Jodie – were “very much a Gospel team” and that they would be a blessing to their new parishioners. “I’m so excited,” he said, turning to the couple, “to hear what God’s going to do through you, here”.
“Now, in a sermon like this at an institution,” Rev Martin said, “there is a little thought in everybody’s head that says something like this: ‘This sermon is all for Thomas, after all [in the second reading], Paul is speaking to Timothy, the young church leader’. And you might be thinking, well, I can switch off, because this is irrelevant to me, because I’m not in a cassock and surplice.
“But the truth is, it is utterly relevant to all of us for three reasons. First, you need to know what to look for in your minister. Not whether he is impressive, not whether he is friendly, not whether he will tell funny stories, or even keep meetings short (I’ll bet he manages that one, Praise be to Jesus). You need to know what a biblical minister looks like, so you can pray for him, support him, encourage him, and, when needed, lovingly hold him to the things Paul writes in this letter.
“Secondly, if you’re a Christian, you are a minister in the wider sense. The New Testament says all Christians are ministers. In other words, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, yes, you may never stand in a pulpit, but your life is already teaching others. Children are watching you. Friends are watching you. Your neighbours, who don’t go to church, are watching you. New believers are watching. Colleagues are forming part of their understanding of Christ by watching what you do and what you say.
“Thirdly, some of you, one day, might enter gospel ministry yourselves. Please God may there be people sent out from this place, or raised up in this place, to teach the Scriptures, to shepherd God’s people, to plant churches, to serve overseas. So this matters for all of us.”
During the Service of Institution, the care of people in the parishes is committed to the new Rector and various symbols – a Bible, water, a Book of Common Prayer, bread and wine, the keys of the churches and a towel – are brought forward representing the teaching, pastoral and sacramental ministry of a Rector.
The Rural Dean reminded the congregation that these symbols had implications for them, too. “They are symbolic not only of Thomas’s ministry but the ministry of all the people in these parishes”.
Members of both churches in the new group were actively involved in the Institution Service. Musical worship was led by a joint choir, and by the Praise Band. The Scriptural passages were read by Alan Campbell (Ephesians 4:1-13) and Jodie Murray (Timothy 4:6-16); and the Prayers of the People were led by Mrs Gillian Atkinson (Castledawson) and Mrs Jan McKeown (Ballyscullion).
As the service neared its conclusion, presentations were made on behalf of the two parishes to Mrs Murray and the Murray children.
Afterwards, the congregation made their way to the Church Hall on Station Road for refreshments and fellowship with the many parishioners who had been following Tuesday evening’s service on screens.
