Diocesan News
Tributes flow as Archdeacon of Glendalough retires
The Archdeacon of Glendalough, the Ven Ricky Rountree, retires on September 30. On Thursday last he was honoured by Dublin and Glendalough Diocesan Councils and on Sunday (September 23) he took his final service in the parish where he has served for 20 years, Powerscourt and Kilbride.
Ricky has been Archdeacon of Glendalough for 10 years and at Diocesan Councils his contribution to Dublin and Glendalough and the wider Church of Ireland was praised.
On behalf of Diocesan Councils, Derek Neilson, reminded the gathering that most of Ricky’s ordained ministry had been spent in Dublin and Glendalough. The Archdeaconry of Glendalough spanned a huge area, he said, adding that Ricky worked quietly and efficiently, coming up with suggestions and solutions to problems.
Archbishop Michael Jackson paid tribute to the way in which Ricky had integrated his work for the parish and the wider Church. He said Ricky’s way of thinking meant that parish life was invigorated by his work centrally. The environmentally conscious rectory and school, the construction of which Ricky had overseen in recent years, was also highlighted. The Archbishop also praised Ricky’s work on liturgy for the Church of Ireland and said he had shown that there was no need for new liturgy to become tired.
Wishing him a long and happy retirement with his wife, Elizabeth, the Archbishop added: “You know everyone and that is part of your friendship and you have a personal curiosity which means a lot to a lot of people. That motivates people. Our hope would be that you and your wife will at least spend a bit more time together. Thank you for everything you have consistently given and done for these dioceses.”
Ricky said it had been a great privilege to be Archdeacon and to spend 38 years in the dioceses. “I don’t know where the years have gone,” he stated. “It’s been a privilege to serve in parish ministry and to be involved in so many other ministries over the years … The dioceses is very close to my heart and it is in good shape.”
Parishioners of Powerscourt and Kilbride marked the end of an era on Sunday morning as they united to bid a fond farewell to Ricky and his wife Elizabeth. St Patrick’s Church in Powerscourt was full for the emotional service which was attended by members of Ricky’s family and many well wishers. A large gathering continued the festivities over lunch in the neighbouring Summerhill House Hotel.
In his final sermon in the parish, the Archdeacon said that the service marked the culmination of over 42 years of full–time pastoral ministry.
“One of the great privileges of pastoral ministry is the living out of the teaching of Jesus that the only greatness you have is in the degree of service and care you give to those for whom you have some responsibility,” he said. “The priest and pastor who thinks that he or she can act like a managing director and order stuff to happen will soon learn a sobering lesson. The degree of authority and influence you exercise is in direct relationship to the example of care and attention, the giving of time and empathy, the willingness to do the most ordinary of tasks alongside others. I hope I got some of that right.”
He thanked all in the parish and the wider community and in the other parishes in which he had served for the support and trust they had given him and the courage to try new things.
Looking back on his years of service, Ricky said parish ministry had changed hugely and that the effects of technology had been staggering. When he was ordained the golf ball typewriter was to the forefront of office technology and there were no mobile phones or computers and the fax machine was just being thought about. There was no Sunday trading, sports training didn’t happen on Sundays, and the parish was the hub of social activity.
“In the past 40 years all that has changed. The Church has been battered by scandal and the misbehaviour of some who have made it very hard for the rest who seek to be faithful. The demands of necessary regulation for child protection, data protection and charity law have now placed a burden on serving pastors and parish life that is causing a huge degree of stress on those who are exercising ministry,” the retiring Archdeacon stated.
He said ordained pastoral ministry remained a huge privilege but those in ministry must seek new ways to be relevant to the time we live in and the issues people face. “So the Church and its people still have an important role to play, but it will continue to change. There will still be resistance from those who always want it to stay the same and impatience from those who want something excitingly new. I know that this community, especially with its ecumenical heart, will continue to make an essential contribution to that development and growth and though I now ‘retire’ (whatever that means) I know there will still be ways to be as involved as I want to be in the wider Church,” he said.
For further information please contact:
Diocesan Communications Officer, Dublin & Glendalough
087 235 6472
Mrs Lynn Glanville
dcodublin@gmail.com