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News
New bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory consecrated
The new Bishop of Cashel Ferns and Ossory in the middle of his colleagues.
A congregation of friends, colleagues in ministry, and parishioners greeted the Right Revd Adrian Wilkinson as the new Bishop of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory on Sunday afternoon (30th October) at Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Bishop Wilkinson was consecrated by Archbishop Michael Jackson, with Bishops Pat Storey and George Davison as co consecrators.
The preacher was Bishop Paul Colton, whom Bishop Wilkinson assisted in his previous role as Archdeacon of Cork, Cloyne and Ross while serving as Rector of the Douglas Union of Parishes. The Bible was read by Mr Gary Wilkinson (Numbers 27:15 to 20, 22, 23), Mrs Hazel Corrigan (2 Corinthians 4:1 to 10) and the Revd Dr Edwin Aiken (John 21:15 to 17) with Psalm 119:165 to 174 sung by the Cathedral choir.
Bishop Colton, reflecting on the passage from 2 Corinthians 4, noted how St Paul described ministry in the book’s previous chapter: “It is the ministry of the new covenant. God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus. The day of salvation has come. The activity of the Spirit of God is seen in the lives of believers. It is a ministry that brings righteousness, it won’t fade, it will last. All of this, says Saint Paul, gives us hope and this hope emboldens us.”
He recalled the words of the New Testament scholar, Paula Gooder, speaking in Cork recently, who reflected that in several Scripture passages, “nothing external happens to enable hope to happen” and “that which should transform everything has already happened … Hope is running rampant in the world. The question is whether we can join with it. There is hope because God is there. Jesus is there.”
Bishop Colton remarked that St Paul is “quite open and frank about his own vulnerability and his weaknesses” later in this letter and lists an entire catalogue of the challenges and predicaments he encountered, in 2 Corinthians 11.
Concluding, and highlighting the timeless template for the ministry of a bishop in the words of the Ordinal, Bishop Colton asked the congregation to remember that “the task of oversight is not exercised by the bishop on his or her own,” adding: “Ministry is entrusted to all of us; it is a God given calling, responsibility, opportunity and joy passed to all of us together. Yes, these are tough times and the calling is daunting, but ‘Since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.’”