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Sermon given by the Venerable Robin Bantry White, Archdeacon of Cork, at the Consecration of the Very Revd Michael Burrows
Consecration of the Very Revd Michael Burrows as Bishop of Cashel and Ossory
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
Monday 3 July 2006
Sermon given by the Venerable Robin White, Archdeacon of Cork
On such an occasion as this, a preacher has some dilemmas. Apart from the obvious to preach the Word of God, what are his duties? In the Prayer Book Tradition, as in Form One of the Ordinal in the present Prayer Book, a preacher at the ordination of Deacons or Priests is given a set task. He is to set forth the duties of the office; its importance and how people ought to esteem all such. No such admonition presumes to tell the preacher what his role is at a consecration. And this is so right down through the Prayer Book Tradition. All three elements of the others do still apply, but the priest-preacher might still be wary, proceeding perhaps after the manner of a hard-working layman from the far South West, who very frequently began a speech at a Select Vestry meeting ?Canon, we wouldn?t be wanting to tell you your business, but ?? The difficulties do not end there. One must talk a little about the candidate bishop. However, one must avoid making it sound like an obituary, or an inappropriate election speech in his favour for an office to which he has already been duly appointed.
So one returns to scripture. And here there is a dilemma too. Does one choose from the scripture set and read? I have chosen to take my primary inspiration from the Holy Day that this is. It is St. Thomas Day. I chose this partly because the Bishop Elect has been declaring himself proud to be consecrated on such a day, taking inspiration not from Doubting Thomas, but rather more correctly, from St. Thomas the Questioner. Those of us who have served on Synods and Standing Committee with Michael know him as the one who can spring to his feet at a moment?s notice not to give all the answers. But rather he can set forth the parameters of the matter and the questions, sometimes complicated, that must be asked and satisfactorily answered before a decision is taken. Well might he take inspiration from St. Thomas the Questioner?
So we go to scripture and to Thomas? question ?Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?? Jesus said ?I am the way, the truth and the life ?? To this I add another ?I am? saying, from St. John Chapter 10. These words of Jesus are inscribed in Greek on Michael?s pectoral cross; the words are: I am the gate for the sheep. Indeed the pectoral cross has the resurrection angel on St Fin Barre?s Cathedral on it.
This is, to say the least of it, an important day. After a horrible half year for all concerned, we believe that God is sending among the people of Cashel and Ossory, of Waterford and Lismore, of Ferns and Leighlin a new Father in God, a new servant of Jesus, a new chief shepherd under Christ. For Michael this has been an unexpected and demanding call for a new ministry. For him, for Claire and the family it is an uprooting and a new situation for the young people, in new schools. Under our present system of election, this uprooting can be very abrupt indeed. But can I also pay tribute to the magnificently dignified and helpful and Christian way that the clergy and people, the commissaries, the Deans and all responsible, have handled the last six months in Cashel and Ossory, a time made more poignant by the death of Bishop Willoughby.
A bishop matters ? well, that?s a bit obvious today. I was a choirboy at the enthronement of Henry McAdoo in Kilkenny in 1962, as he took his place not only in the throne but also in the ancient St. Kieran?s Chair in the North Trancept. This will be appropriate for Michael when he goes there, since his grandfather, the Very Revd James Burrows, was at one time Rector of Sierkieran from where the chair is thought to have come. A Bishop matters. I remember the sense, obvious even to a choirboy after the enthronement of McAdoo, that light and movement and of doing the liturgy rather than just reading it, had come into the Cathedral. There was a new confidence in the preaching. This was reflected in others as well as the Bishop. I remember having a sense for the first time that the Church of Ireland was part of something bigger, of the Anglican Communion, what with the Toronto Congress in 1963 and the like. Imagine the sense of importance in those days when our Bishop led on a lecture tour of the USA. Then we were aware of the beginnings of the journey of ecumenism, [let it not be lost sight of], very costly and prophetic in those days for the leadership of the Church of Ireland. ?How can we know the way?? At a time when the very existence of the Anglican Communion as we have known it, and indeed as Henry McAdoo knew it, is under threat from dislocating forces and questions, it is good that the new Bishop will already be up to speed, having represented the Church of Ireland on the Anglican Consultative Council. He was at the last Lambeth Conference on behalf of the Church of Ireland Gazette. His contribution in a wider field will enrich all that he will do in his Dioceses. Michael is a committed but realistic ecumenist. This new bishop will follow up all the real and important initiatives in his own United Dioceses.
Again back to St Thomas, ?We do not know where we are going?. In a very different area of work the new Bishop must also be a confident administrator. It is common on an occasion like this to deny the importance of this, but I do not. In an age of litigation, of compliance issues in all sorts of fields, the Bishop is responsible for safety. Yes the safety of those who look to him for authority. By this I mean not just clergy but those who serve on the councils of the church in various ways. I mean also teachers and those who serve on Boards of Management of schools. I mean both Youth Workers and young people, protected by Safeguarding Trust. The expert advice of the Bishop and of those who he entrusts with providing such advice will keep volunteers safe. The Bishop elect has also proved himself to be a consummate businessperson in the complex affairs of St. Fin Barre?s Cathedral, Cork.
The new Bishop will be a chief pastor of the flock of Christ. Again I return to Henry McAdoo and a sermon he delivered here at Christ Church at the Consecration of Bishop Warke, where he memorably emphasised the biblical importance of shepherding over leadership. But to take inspiration from shepherding in the Christ-like sense is to be a friend. The shepherd?s crook in the hands of the bishop as his crozier is no empty symbol. The Bishop is the chief pastor of the flock of Christ, old and young. But this is especially so of the clergy and their loved-ones. The new Bishop brings an impressive record of caring and diligent pastoring as a parochial clergyperson. An attractive side of his pastoring is that an option for the poor is no empty theological catch cry. I remember well how many long hours were given and great trouble entered into by Michael and by Claire, all sorts of expert witnesses being brought from Dublin and elsewhere, and lawyers engaged for a case in court, to prevent a grave injustice being done to an innocent man. Lesser people might have thought they had done their duty if they had sympathised. And be in no doubt, people of Cashel and Ossory, you will be left in no doubt about your obligations to the poorer parts of the world through Bishops? Appeal.
Thomas said, ?We do not know where we are going.? Jesus said, ?I am the Way?. I believe that the new Bishop has a deeply-rooted faith, grounded and articulated in a highly attractive theology, bringing refreshing insight to the way it is expressed and lived-out. Michael brings a lifelong experience of lived-out and clearly-expressed Christianity. An only child [How often indeed does the biblical account of Hannah and Samuel find resonance in the number of only children who play important roles clerical and lay in our church?], Michael grew up in a Rectory at the heart of the Church of Ireland. His parents, Walter and Edna, were friends of that touchstone of inspiration for generations in mission and ministry, George Simms. Walter and Edna Burrows were at the heart of the Church of Ireland, running Taney Parish, Dublin, the largest parish numerically outside the North. Andy Willis, Archdeacon of Ossory and Leighlin, was his uncle, being the courageous and far-seeing editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette. Aunt Geraldine Willis was the Librarian at the RCB Library. Michael served an apprenticeship amid a circle with a by no means complacent attitude to the church and church people. Those who like me were privileged to be curates there will remember Walter Burrows? phrase of exasperation that so and so was ?high on my list of cods?. Trevor Huddleston with all his moral courage was a family friend, a frequent visitor. Time at Wesley College has left Michael, who is well known as a competent liturgist, with a joy for worship and a sense of when to be appropriately informal. University brought great honours in a demanding and wide ranging discipline of History and Political Science and a Masters followed on the pastoral state of the 15th century Church. An academic career might have beckoned but for God?s call.
So we return to Thomas? question ?How can we know the way?? No Bishop is expected to do all that he must do in their own strength ? far from it. What ever strengths and weaknesses he brings to the task are taken up and consecrated and used by the Holy Spirit. And we pray that the Holy Spirit will be with Michael and also with Claire, with Henry and with Andrew, with Grainne and with James as Michael starts this new ministry with such hope. I will conclude with a story told to me by Michael?s mother. He always worked hard at school, but quite exceptionally so for the Inter Cert. The results were splendid. But what pleased him most was to have retained a small scholarship, which made life easier for his father. And it?s this kind of dogged commitment that represents one sort of Bishop and the sort of gift that he brings to his task, bringing hope of significant, uplifting, encouraging, faith-filled energetic episcopate. It is for this we pray today. We have thought a lot about the past. On that basis we look to a future for Michael, and for Cashel and Ossory.
The Rt Revd Michael Burrows, newly consecrated Bishop of Cashel & Ossory, at Christ Church Cathedral
The Rt Revd Roy Warke, former Bishop of Cork, congratulates the Rt Revd Michael Burrows on his Consecration
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