Booterstown and Mount Merrion Institution
On Wednesday 27th October 2004, in possibly the worst weather of the year, the Institution of the
Rev. Gillian Wharton took place in Saint Philip and Saint James' Church, Booterstown, County Dublin.
Inside the newly decorated church, there was hardly a whisper of the storm outside. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming with a hint of excitement and in spite of the dreadful weather and the fact of it being half-term break, the church was well-filled family and friends, parishioners and invited dignitaries, clergy and lay readers from the Dioceses. Amongst those attending were Mary Hanafin the Minister for Education, Niamh Breathnach the Cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fiona O'Malley T.D., Eamon Ryan T.D., and Cllr. Neasa Childers.
Archbishop John Neill, assisted by the Rural Dean the Rev. Kevin Dalton, conducted the Service;
the Registrar was Canon Victor Stacey and the Rev. Anne Taylor was the Archbishop's Chaplain.
The Epistle was read by Jason McCann the lay reader in the parish, and the Gospel by the
Rev. Ron Watts, both of whom very ably conducted the services during the vacancy.
The preacher was Archdeacon Gordon Linney who mentioned that he had presented Gillian
for Ordination as a deacon eleven years previously when she then became his curate in
Glenageary for three-and-a-half years. He has also presented her for Ordination as priest
ten years previously and as this Institution Service would be his final public duty as
Archdeacon before his retirement on 31st October, it was his pleasure to commend her to the
two parishes. He commented that he and Gillian had walked up and down church aisles
together more times than he had with his wife! The Archdeacon spoke of the continuation
of ministry and of how at the end of his time as an incumbent, another priest was beginning
their time as an incumbent. It was appropriate that Archdeacon Linney who had
appointed the first woman curate in the Dublin Diocese when he appointed Gillian
as Curate of Glenageary in 1993, should now present her as the first woman to be
instituted as an incumbent in the Diocese of Dublin.
The organ was played brilliantly by Charles Pearson which enabled the full and enthusiastic singing, as well as a reflective mood during the Holy Communion.
Following the Service, a reception was held in the Parish Centre.
Anne Mason Rector's Churchwarden at Saint Philip and Saint James' acted as Master of
Ceremonies.
Denis Beare from Saint Thomas' Parish warmly welcomed the new Rector and said how
much they were looking forward to seeing her cheerful, smiling face for many years to come.
The next speaker was Fr. Tom Kennedy from the Church of the Assumption, Booterstown Avenue,
who spoke on behalf of the visiting clergy from other denominations, and, in welcoming Gillian,
said how much they looked forward to continuing to build on the strong and committed ecumenical
relationships, already cherished in the area.
Ruairí O'hEithir Deputy Principal of
Rathdown School spoke of how he had worked with Gillian for over eight of the past eleven years,
firstly when she was teaching and doing chaplaincy work part-time in Rathdown when she was curate
of Glenageary and latterly, when she was the full-time Chaplain and Head of Religious Education at Rathdown.
He spoke of her attributes of friendship and enthusiasm as Rathdown had experienced them and finished by
quoting from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park "… it will, I believe, be everywhere found, that as the
clergy are, or are not what they ought to be, so are the rest of the nation."
The Archbishop spoke of how he had known Gillian before he came back to the Dioceses as Archbishop,
as she had been a contemporary of one of his sons, Stephen, in the Theological College and they -
Stephen and Gillian - were ordained together in Christ Church Cathedral in 1993. He also spoke of
how he and Gillian and their respective spouses got to know each other when the Archbishop and the
new Rector were the representatives of the Church of Ireland at the World Council of Churches Assembly
in Zimbabwe in 1998.
The last speaker was the rector who thanked all who had worked so hard arranging the Institution
and providing the refreshments. She said that she hoped her ministry would be a team effort,
and in referring to hockey, commented that as a sweeper on the hockey pitch, one tries to see
the overall game from the back, and one distributes the ball forward for others to go and score
rather than getting on the score sheet themselves.
However, she did also warn parishes,
that sweepers too, take the hit-outs and that these are usually hard and fast! She finished by
saying that she looked forward to being part of the team of Saint Philip and Saint James' and
Saint Thomas' for many years to come.
Finally, Alan Rowden, Gillian's husband was asked to go up on stage where Anne Mason said it was usual to present the Rector's wife with flowers on such occasions, but she was sure he would prefer the wine, which she presented to him amid much applause.
