Longevity and Faithfulness

On a recent short visit to my Mum’s house she showed me two lovely invitations she had received.

One was to an 80th birthday celebration in a local hotel. It’s hard to believe that this particular friend of hers is 80! I bumped into her in the local shop on that visit and she was looking forward to welcoming family and friends over that weekend. She spoke of the busyness of daily life on the family farm, of the joy of minding her grandchildren regularly and ferrying them to different activities. She’s a keen gardener and heavily involved in her local church, often visiting people in their homes and bringing great positivity and cheerfulness wherever she goes.

The family were keen to celebrate this wonderful lady with a special lunch and stated in the invitation that people’s presence was the greatest gift they could bring. If they wished to make a donation to a charity that was dear to their heart to honour the birthday girl, if they were in a position to do so, that would bring her great joy.

The second invitation was to a special celebration that combined two significant landmarks. My late father was a secondary school teacher and he taught in the local convent school where the nuns ran the school over many years. They have always been incredibly kind and supportive to our family, and one of the sisters, who spent many years cooking in the convent, was celebrating a very significant birthday. She was about to turn 90 and this coincided with the platinum jubilee of her profession in religious life. A platinum jubilee marks 70 years, and the only previous occasion I had heard of a platinum jubilee was the celebrations to mark the late Queen Elizabeth II 70 years on the throne in 2022.

I guess what marks these two invitations out for me are the pleasure of knowing the two ladies concerned. Neither of them would have looked to be the centre of attention, indeed both of them would instinctively be in the background moving around, ensuring everyone had something to eat and felt welcome.

Both of them, in their distinctive ways, have spent a lifetime in Christian service. Neither of them are well known on the national or global stage, but both have played a remarkable role in their family, in their distinctive religious community and in their local community. They don’t use a lot of words to speak about the importance of faith in their lives, but their actions have been all about looking after people. They have sought to show up day after day, to work hard and joyfully and, in so doing, they have found and given life to people around them.

The worshipping community in their respective traditions has been an important place for them to nourish their own souls and to encounter others and to be refilled as they go out to do it all over again, week by week, and day by day.

I love their spirit of welcome and inclusiveness. They have never forgotten my mum’s role in their lives at different points, and continue to visit her regularly and, very often, bring some home baking or cuttings from the garden, something tangible that says we care for you and you are important in our lives.

When I was theological student, I did my first placement in a Dublin church where the Rector served as incumbent for over 45 years. He knew people so well and served them through huge changes in the parish where significant amounts of new housing were developed, a new school was dedicated and the whole pace of life had changed remarkably. The Parish, which was originally a country Parish, became a suburban sprawl and saw a new wave of population moving in from many parts of the globe. There was a huge increase in secularism and a falling away from church attendance and, yet, through all of that change, he cared for people with dedication and commitment, he constantly pointed people who had fallen away to Jesus and introduced many who had never encountered Him to the joy of His presence.

He taught generations of ordinands, like myself, about leading public worship and preaching, and with a gentleness and twinkle in his eye that enabled us to see the funny side and not to take ourselves too seriously.

Sometimes, we look at our lives and they don’t seem to be too exciting or glamorous. We sometimes despair of having any meaningful impact, and yet these wonderful people modelled something of great value to me.

They model steadiness and faithfulness. They show up consistently even when it doesn’t suit them, or they don’t always feel like it, and they make known to those around them the love and the joy of serving God in our everyday ordinary lives.

Sadly, the coffee morning scheduled for Saturday 24th May has had to be cancelled, as has the Ulster project trip, due to a shortage of host families in the United States. We recognise the disappointment this will be to the young people involved and their leaders.

Don’t forget the quiet morning this Saturday 17th May from 10.30-1.30 in the Church’s Ministry of Healing, at 162 Upper Knockbreda Road. Please let the rector or Linda Leonard know before Wednesday if you want to go as spaces are limited.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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