Diocesan News
Ordination of Deacons in Dublin and Glendalough
The Revd Ross Styles, Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Revd Nigel Pierpoint.
Ordination to the Diaconate is in stark contrast to the spirituality of self interest which abounds today, two Deacons who were ordained in Dublin and Glendalough yesterday (September 20) were told. The Revd Ross Styles and the Revd Nigel Pierpoint were ordained Deacons by Archbishop Michael Jackson in Christ Church Cathedral.
The Deacons were joined by their families and the cathedral was filled with friends and well wishers as they began their ministry.
The preacher was the Revd David Mungavin, Rector of Greystones, who described a “litany of individualism which is so dominant in western culture” but said Ross and Nigel’s ordination represented the complete opposite to that.
He suggested three symbols to mark the occasion. The first symbol was a mirror – not to gaze at themselves in but to represent clarity. Mirrors could also be turned into windows to encourage Christians to look beyond their own needs, he said.
The second symbol was a $10 million dollar bank note, legal tender of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. Mr Mungavin said that this was a seriously devalued currency and urged the Deacons not to undervalue the Gospel or the grace they received through Christian ministry. “Do not undervalue the message we have or the grace we share,” he stated. Quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, he added that cheap grace makes no demands, wins no hearts and fires no imaginations.
The preacher said that as they begin their new ministry much needed to be done to move from congregations where the focus was on tired theology, rotas and fundraising to a church where people can connect with the Gospel. Costly grace was the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciples left their nets and followed him, he said again referring to Bonhoeffer. Such grace was costly because it cost a man his life.
The third symbol offered was a jester’s hat. He said that St Paul called Christian’s ‘fools for Christ’. The jester’s hat is a symbol of truth that only the jester dares to tell. He said that the Church desperately needed ministries that told the truth, broke from the script.
“May you bring vision beyond your own image, share grace that is costly and share simple truths,” Mr Mungavin urged the new Deacons.
The Revd Ross Styles grew up in the parish of Ballynure, County Wicklow. After school, he studied horticulture, which has been the focus of his working life in various private and public sectors. As a mature student he graduated from UCD with a degree in history and economics. He is married to Fiona and they live in Clonskeagh with Ben (4) and Ava (2).
He began the Foundation Course in the Church of Ireland Theological College in 2010 and started studying part time for his Masters in Theology the following year. He has served placements in Howth, Booterstown and Mount Merrion parishes, St Patrick’s Cathedral and Holy Trinity, Rathmines. He will serve as Intern Deacon in St Patrick’s, Greystones.
The Revd Nigel Pierpoint was born and raised in Santry, Dublin. His working life, spanning 34 years, has been spent in the motor industry. He started as a mechanic and progressed to management and then to a directorship of DG Opel on the Navan Road. He has been married to Anne for 32 years and they have two children, Claire and Stephen. Their home parish is Holy Trinity, Killiney.
He has been a lay reader in Dublin and Glendalough since 1995. He entered CITI in 2012. He will serve as Deacon Intern in the parishes of Christ Church, Taney and St Nahi’s in Dundrum.
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin & Glendalough
087 2356472
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Lynn Glanville
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