The Pointer
Rector The Rt Rev Darren McCartney 028 4175 3497 suffragan1@gmail.com
February 2023
The Magazine of the Church of Ireland Parishes of Clonallon & Warrenpoint with Kilbroney in the Diocese of Down and Dromore January can be a long month for many people yet one thing I have noticed, these last two weeks, is the days are getting longer. It is nice to see it getting lighter in the mornings and staying light longer in the evenings. The Conversion of Saint Paul and the celebration of Robbie Burns also happen to fall on my birthday which gives me a reason to celebrate even if I don’t feel like celebrating an additional year to my age. This last Saint Paul’s Day saw a year pass since I preached up in the Benedictine Abbey. It was on this wonderful day a year ago that I first met an older man who was on his pre-ordination retreat. The man’s name was Brendan who was to be ordained the following week as a Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. Following his ordination, the Reverend Brendan McAllister would come to minister in Saint Mary’s Star of The Sea. Over the following months I had the pleasure of getting to know Deacon Brendan as he threw himself into the work of the parish. Unfortunately, Deacon Brendan didn’t get to celebrate the anniversary of his ordination passing suddenly on 13th December 2022 in hospital. Brendan’s funeral was on 17th December, I was very encouraged to see a packed cathedral. Many wonderful tributes were paid to Brendan, some telling of his many amazing accomplishments at a national and international level within the world of Peace Building and Reconciliation. Brendan would never speak very much of these accomplishments, even though I would ask a leading or probing question over a coffee. The Brendan that I got to know was the Deacon. Many will miss him, but many will remember him with thankfulness and great fondness for his friendship and faithful service. We first come across wording associated with the order of deacon is in Acts 6 when we learn that seven are set aside to the ministry of deacon.
We are told in Acts 6:3 that a deacon is a person of:
good reputation, derived from the Greek word meaning ‘credible witness’ i.e. trustworthy
full of the Holy Spirit,
wise, that is, able to apply Scriptural truths to daily life
You can find a further description of the attributes of a deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8 – 13. Interestingly in my last letter/article back in the December and January I reference Saint Francis. Saint Francis was ordained a deacon and is known as bringing revival and reform to the church of his day. He never wished to be ordained a priest but wished to remain a deacon, a servant. December 26th is Saint Stephen’s Day. A day when the church remembers Saint Stephen, one of the seven set aside for the work of a deacon in Act 6. Saint Stephen would later give his life as he testified to Jesus Christ and the Gospel, becoming the church’s first martyr. I feel a little for Saint Stephen as the day we remember him in the life and liturgy of our worship is a day that is overshadowed and known as Boxing Day. A day that family and friends get together and continue to celebrate Christmas. Saint Stephen’s story of faith and witness is very humbling and at the same time challenging. There is a cost in following of Jesus Christ. This cost will probably not be a martyr’s death like that of Saint Stephen. However, it may cost you financially, it may cost you friends, possibly even family as you make a choice to follow the example and teaching of Jesus Christ and the principle and values of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of this world.
I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:12b. Blessings, +Darren