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Dublin Unitarian Church 10th February 2007 The lesson, read by Dennis Aylmer, was taken from the Gospel of Luke (4:14-21): ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour’. This reminded us all that the real task of ministry was service to the people, especially to the poor and the dispossessed. Jennifer Flegg, who had been taking the service in the Dublin church a decade or so ago when Bridget first attended, was the preacher. She gave an engrossing account of the history of dissent in Dublin, highlighting some of the many hardships which Bridget’s predecessors had to endure. Many people commented afterwards that this was one of the best sermons they had ever heard. (It is reprinted in full in this edition of Oscailt). The ceremony of induction was conducted by Rory Delany, the Chair of the Dublin congregation. He asked Bridget if she was prepared to be ‘a faithful minister among us, leading us in worship, speaking the truth in love, and caring for the people.’ Members of the Dublin congregation were then asked to stand and say together the words of induction: We, the members of Dublin Unitarian Church welcome you and induct you as an assistant to our minister. to visit us both in health and sickness, to explore with us our faith, to lead us in worship and to preside when births, marriages and deaths are celebrated among us. We give you permission to participate in our councils and to represent us in the wider community. Bridget made a solemn promise to carry out her duties faithfully, ‘to speak the truth in love without fear of persons’, after which she received the ‘right hand of fellowship’ from Rory, Bill, representatives of the Synod of Munster, representatives of the Dublin congregation, and visiting ministers. Rev. Brian Cockcroft offered the induction prayer, and greetings were brought to Bridget from representatives of the various organisations and churches present, including Rev. Celia Midgley who offered congratulations of behalf of the British General Assembly. Rev. Lena Cockcroft said she was delighted that the number of female ministers had just been increased by 100%! In presenting the customary statement of her personal beliefs (also printed in this edition of Oscailt), Bridget spoke of her commitment to the Unitarian principles of Freedom, Reason, and Tolerance, her belief that religious activity is humanity’s effort to seek answers to the mysteries of life, and her pride in the fact that Unitarians don’t claim to know all the answers. After the benediction, we all moved downstairs to the Damer Hall where we were treated to some excellent refreshments. The food had been prepared by members of the Dublin congregation, and was so plentiful that we had to return after the service on Sunday morning to finish it off! This moving and historic occasion was enhanced by some lively congregational singing, which was accompanied so well (as always!) by our organist Josh Johnstone, and by two wonderful flute duets by Dorene Groocock and Shari McDaid. front cover L-R Rev.Bill Darlison, Rev.C.Midgly (president GA) Rev.Bridget Spain Bill Darlison |