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Bishops attend Ecumenical Prayer Service for Pentecost

 


Arriving for the Pentecost Service.

There was a good attendance at this year’s Ecumenical Prayer Service for Pentecost held on Sunday, 5th June in Donagh Old Graveyard, in Donagh Parish, Glaslough, Co. Monaghan.

The afternoon open air service was attended by people from across Fermanagh and Monaghan including parishioners of St Salvator’s Parish Church, Glaslough as well as members of the congregation of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Glennan, where everyone parked to get the shuttle bus to the graveyard a short distance away.

The service was attended by the two Bishops of Clogher, the Right Revd Dr. Ian Ellis, who gave the address, and the Most Revd Larry Duffy. The service was conducted by Fr. Hubert Martin, of St. Mary’s assisted by Revd Margaret Pringle, who is looking after services in the Church of Ireland Donagh Group of parishes. The opening greeting and prayers were led by Bishop Larry Duffy.
During the service, two young people spoke about their views on Pentecost; Emma McQuaid from Beech Hill College and Sophie Brennan from Monaghan Collegiate.

The praise was led by Donagh Community Choir trained by Mrs Ethne McCord and accompanied by Mr Gerard Toal on the keyboard.

Bishop Ian Ellis, in his address reflected on what difference the Holy Spirit made to people’s personal lives and church life.

He focused on three main themes; Change, Clarity and Conviction.

He said the dramatic events of the first Pentecost changed the disciples for ever. They were utterly changed and transformed.

“In our personal lives without the life-giving spirit of God within we can make no progress. We need constantly to ask God the Holy Spirit to fill and refill our lives and change us.

'When the spirit is within us there is a change of attitude; from negative to positive thinking. Often church life is spoiled by negativity, we all seem to have our quota of people who enjoy throwing a spanner in the works. Negative people suck energy out of conversations. Positive people come along with ideas and yet they are prepared to sacrifice their idea when it is discussed and developed. St Paul calls us to have a ‘spiritual outlook’. In his wonderful list of the fruits of the spirit he refers to ‘Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fidelity, gentleness and self-control’. These are the changed attitudes the Spirit of Christ brings to our hearts.

“The miracle of Pentecost is people understood each other, there was clarity. Thank God our country has moved on from where we were 20 to 30 years ago despite ups and downs of politics in recent times there is much better understanding. It is so important to realise how we each see things, to appreciate better the hurts of the past, the concerns of the present and the worries about the future. It is vital for people of faith to develop more of that mutual understanding and appreciation of one another’s backgrounds to bring clarity to our thinking about our future on this island. To share in the richness of each other’s traditions yet being confident of our own.

“Speaking and living for God is the essence of good evangelism. The most effective way of winning others for Christ is the influence of a friend or family member. the life they led, the words they spoke.

“St John described Jesus the word made flesh, he was full of grace and truth, maybe if your life and mine had more grace and truth in it more might come to believe.

“The essential message we carry to the world is: that we are all loved by God, this wonderfully complex world with its mish mash of beauty and ugliness was created by God. He loves every creature, every man, woman and child regardless of how little they think of him. He has shown his infinite love by sending Jesus to die, why because he desires that his world is restored to relationship with him.

“So we say to the world in the power of the spirit, no matter how far you feel from God, no matter how insecure your life, no matter is a success or a failure, everyone can find in Jesus a way to God, for all their needs met and sins forgiven. That’s the message we are asked to bring with conviction of an authentic life aided by the Holy Spirit.

“So the Spirit of God makes a difference, he can change us at a deep level, change attitudes to be more Christ like, and give us power to live and demonstrate the love of God and help us to speak for God with clarity and conviction. May we daily open our lives to the Holy Spirit of God.

“And suddenly from heaven came a sound, like the rush of a mighty wind.”

Following the service, refreshments were provided in the Church of Ireland Parish Hall in Glaslough.

Since 2000, the Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops of Clogher have come together, along with members of their respective Church communities to mark together the Day of Pentecost or Pentecost Sunday, as it also known. The Day of Pentecost marks the end of the fifty-day season of Easter. Moreover, it marks the descent of the Holy Spirit in the upper room and the beginning of apostolic preaching, thus marking a defining moment in the origin of the Christian Church. Christian associations with the feast begin with Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-45.

Each year, a site of historic significance in relation to the origins of the Christian church in different parts of the diocese is chosen to host this Ecumenical Service. The venue for this year’s outdoor Pentecost service, Donagh Old Graveyard, is settled on a hillside close to Glaslough village, and is considered to be one of the oldest ecclesiastical sites in the country and is on a pilgrimage route associated with St Patrick. Within this protected graveyard there are the ruins of a medieval church which remained in use until 1690, a beautiful stone cross known as the Donagh Cross or the McKenna Cross (described by various experts as being 10th to 12th century), two cross-bases, two 17th century grave-slabs and a cross-shaped headstone dated 1666 as well as numerous examples of headstones with intricate evocative folk art inscribed upon them.