On Thursday last, 29th September – the feast of Michaelmas – members of all four churches of our Union joined together to witness The Reverend Barbara Irrgang-Buckley being ordained Priest by the Bishop of Tuam Limerick and Killaloe, the Right Reverend Michael Burrows. This was made even more special, since it was the first ordination held in the history of the church of St Michael and All Angels Waterville, consecrated in 1866. The following is an extract of the service, and please, when you read it, pray for Barbara and her future ministry.
Revelation 12:7-12 – Michael Defeats the Dragon
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him…
…woe to the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’
****
The war in heaven is won – the war on earth is still raging. And now, welcome to the front line, Barbara. You’re now the bullseye at the centre, the target of the slings and flaming arrows of outrageous fortune as you lead people in their worship and service in the name of Christ.
The biggest mistake you can make will be to try to do everything in your own strength. That’s not why you have been ordained. We are all part of God’s army, each playing our part. The leadership to which you are called is servant leadership – using your gifts to enable those you lead to deploy their own.
Fortunately, you have all the resource you need. You have truth and faith; you have a gospel of forgiveness, salvation and peace to proclaim; you have the Word of God in scripture; you have been given the gift of prayerful understanding of your mission.
But for me, there is one gift above all. When I was a boy, playing soldiers, I would wear a pretend tin helmet, as a defence. All sorts of things will attack you over the course of your ministry – some irritating, some difficult, some hurtful. But the helmet of salvation through Jesus Christ that we wear will sustain you and encourage you through the strength of the Holy Spirit, and through your Ministry, you will build His Kingdom.
A short postscript. It’s not all hard going – the joy of ministry, seeing people come to Christ, helping His people to live the Gospel in their lives, obeying the commandment to love as He loves, all of these things, will be a continual blessing that far outreaches any difficulty. And, God willing, one day you will have the special blessing of preaching a sermon at the Ordination of a new colleague.
Just open your eyes, live your ministry life with confidence – but don’t ever let go of His hand.