Diocesan News
Bishop Walton Empey remembers 'devoted priest' at funeral of the Very Revd John Paterson
Speaking at the funeral Eucharist earlier today (Monday 12 September 2005) for the former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, the Very Revd John Paterson, the former Archbishop of Dublin, the Rt Revd Walton Empey recalled the late Dean?s 'deep love' for the worship of the Church. The Very Revd John Paterson would be remembered, he said 'as a devoted priest, caring, compassionate and faithful in all he did.'
The service was led by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill and the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, the Very Revd Desmond Harman. Amongst those who attended were the Archbishop of Armagh, the Most Revd Dr Robin Eames, the Bishop of Meath and Kildare, the Most Revd Richard Clarke and the Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, the Rt Revd Peter Barrett. The current and former Archdeacon of Dublin, the Venerable David Pierpoint and the Venerable Gordon Linney were also present.
In his address, Bishop Empey recalled the Very Revd John Paterson?s long experience of Ministry and teaching, describing him as a 'superb teacher? who could express with great clarity the Faith which inspired all he did.' He also recalled his commitment to ecumenism saying that he 'felt the pain of disunity acutely and reached out to others not of his Church with a firm hand and a warm heart.'
The Bishop addressed his closing remarks to the Revd John Paterson?s wife, Pat, and their step-sons saying, 'There is no doubt in my mind and in the minds of many others here that this service would have taken place long before now but for your loving devotion to him. I know that John appreciated very deeply that sense of family life which you, Geoff and Colin afforded him and from which he derived great enrichment.' Concluding he said 'we pray that the confident hope provided by our Christian belief in the Resurrection will strengthen you in the days to come. May our prayer be yours. God of all consolation, look with compassion on us your children in our loss, give to our troubled hearts the light of hope and strengthen us in the gift of faith.'
During the service, prayers were said by the Archbishop of Armagh in thanksgiving for the former Dean?s Ministry, the medical profession and for the comforting of the bereaved.
The funeral Eucharist service was attended by a large congregation which included Capt Brian Carley, ADC to (and representing) President McAleese, Comdt Michael Murray, ADC to (and representing) An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD. Among the other Church of Ireland Bishops present were the Rt Revd Donald Caird the former Archbishop of Dublin, the Rt Revd Roy Warke, the former Bishop of Cork and the Rt Revd Edward Darling, the former Bishop of Limerick. The Roman Catholic Church was represented by the Most Revd Raymond Field, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin. Brigadier-General Pat O?Sullivan, General Officer Commanding of the Defense Forces Training Center in the Curragh where the Revd John Paterson was once Chaplain was also in attendance. Representatives of the St John?s Ambulance Brigade and the local Gardaí were also present.
For further information contact:
Mr Garrett Casey
Diocesan Communications Officer
Dublin and Glendalough
Tel: +353 (0)1 6106447
Mobile: +353 (0)87 2356472
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The full text of the address follows:
Sermon preached at the funeral Eucharist of the Very Revd John Paterson 12September 2005 by the Rt Revd Walton Empey, Former Archbishop of Dublin.
The very word ?funeral? conjures up in our minds such things as sorrow, broken heartedness, loneliness and tears. That is one reality which is perfectly normal, for those are the things which lie deep in our hearts today as we bid our earthly farewell to John. But there is another reality which is expressed powerfully not only in the chosen scripture readings but from beginning to end of the funeral service.
A powerful part of that reality is the message of hope rather than hopelessness. ?I am the Resurrection and the life? says the Lord ?those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live and everyone who believes in me will never die.?
And again, ?I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.?
Jesus himself experienced both these realities. He wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus and He rose from the dead so that we too may rise with Him to the place He has prepared for us. He experiences our sorrow and He gives us our hope.
In the introduction to the service we are reminded of the reasons which bring us together today.
First, we remember before God our dear brother John. Each of us here will have our own memories. There will be those who remember him in his curacies in Drumglass and St Bartholomew?s; former students in TCD where he was Dean of Residence, as Vicar of St Bartholomew?s and Christ Church Leeson Park, as Dean of Kildare, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, as Clerical Secretary of the General Synod and students in the Theological College where he was lecturer in Pastoral Liturgy. For those of us who had the privilege of attending a celebration of the liturgy conducted by him know that his interest in it was not simply academic. His preparation for it and his leading of it was a vivid illustration of the deep love he had for the worship of the Church and of its importance to his life. Many of us will remember him as a devoted priest, caring, compassionate and faithful in all he did. Not only the students but also the parishioners will remember him as a superb teacher who was not only a scholar but one who could express with great clarity the Faith which inspired all he did.
Well done good and faithful servant.
But we are bidden not only to remember him but to remember him with thanksgiving. Here many of us will give thanks not only for his priestly work and teaching role but, and maybe above all as a friend. For someone who has so quiet and reserved in many ways he had an extraordinary gift of friendship which drew people to him like a moth to a candle. His friendships not only crossed the seas and oceans but also crossed the religious divide for he felt the pain of disunity acutely and reached out to others not of his Church with a firm hand and a warm heart. I am sure that this is reflected in the congregation here today.
It is fitting that our service is in the context of the Eucharist which itself means thanksgiving, for this is the springboard of his faith as it should be for all Christians. It is here that the veil between this world and the next is most transparent. It is here in this great sacrament we are closest not only to The Father, through his Son, Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit but also to all our loved ones beyond the veil. It is so fitting then, that our thanksgiving for John?s life be offered through this wondrous sacrament.
In this service we also ?leave him in the keeping of God?. Now isn?t that also a wondrous thing. We leave him not in the keeping of an unknowable and unreachable God, but one ?who pitched his tent? amongst us, as we are reminded in that Glorious Christmas Gospel in which St John writes that ?the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
?And the Word became flesh.? I remember some years ago hearing Patrick Moore, the great astronomer state that he did not belong to any Church, but he did believe in an intelligence behind the Universe. It is certainly not such a being to which we commend John and all those whom we loved on this earth, but to a God who took our nature upon Him and whose Son could say ?I am the Good Shepherd?, the one who leads his flock to green pastures, one who cares, one who protects, one who above all loves. It is with confidence that we leave John in His keeping for he knows the Good Shepherd and the Good Shepherd knows him and calls him by his name.
Lastly, we are here to comfort one another in our grief in the hope that is ours through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. No one in this congregation grieves more than John?s dear wife Pat. Some months ago when I was with her visiting John in hospital during one of his many crises she asked me not to be nice to her or she would break down. Pat, I will not pull at your heart strings now either, but it has to be said that your courage, your care, your love filled a huge void in John?s life. There is no doubt in my mind and in the minds of many others here that this service would have taken place long before now but for your loving devotion to him. I know that John appreciated very deeply that sense of family life which you, Geoff and Colin afforded him and from which he derived great enrichment. We pray that the confident hope provided by our Christian belief in the Resurrection will strengthen you in the days to come. May our prayer be yours. ?God of all consolation, look with compassion on us your children in our loss, give to our troubled hearts the light of hope and strengthen us in the gift of faith."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------