14.01.2025
New Dublin Pioneer Minister Sets Out on Local Church Adventure
A new adventure in Pioneer Ministry had its formal beginning in Crumlin on Saturday evening (January 11). Shane Maguire, who with his wife Ruth is leading Local Church in Crumlin, was officially commissioned as a Pioneer Minister in the Church of Ireland by Archbishop Michael Jackson in St Mary’s Church, Crumlin.
Pioneer Ministry is an initiative of the Church of Ireland to reach those with little or no connection to church. Shane is a Pastor in St Catherine’s Church, Thomas Street, and for some time he has felt called to share his faith with the people where he grew up, where his faith was nurtured, and where he and Ruth and their family live. He is the first Pioneer Minister to be commissioned in Dublin and Glendalough, the seventh in the Church of Ireland as a whole. He commenced his training in the Church of Ireland Theological Institute in association with Church Army in Sheffield last September.
Local Church is an initiative of St Catherine’s in conjunction with St Mary’s. The Rector of St Mary’s, the Revd Ruth Noble, said they were looking forward to see how God would work through Shane and Ruth and through the parishioners as they reach out to the community.
Shane and Ruth, with the support of St Catherine’s, will partner with the existing parish in Crumlin. They plan to use the church building in a variety of ways to work with people in the community to build community. Their focus will be on young adults and professionals and they will open up their homes and tables to build relationships.
“We are excited about this. We want to build new relationships. I love living here and there is a great sense of community here. We’re in the beginning phase now and people are coming together to pray here. We’re starting prayer walks in the community and we’d love if you could pray for the partnership between St Catherine’s and St Mary’s,” Shane said.
In his sermon, Lead Pastor of St Catherine’s, the Revd Eoghan Heaslip, acknowledged that getting a project like Local Church going was a huge undertaking. He said they were excited for the future and what the Maguire family were going to do and thanked the Revd Ruth Noble adding that none of it would be possible without her or the Select Vestry of St Mary’s. He also thanked the Revd Rob Jones, Director of Pioneer Ministry, for his encouragement and Archbishop Michael Jackson for his support and for backing Shane as a candidate. He also paid tribute to Andrew McNeile for the huge amount of work he had put into the project.
Eoghan said that the reading [Acts 2: 42–47] was full of lessons for them. He suggested that there was no narrow recipe of ingredients so they should not be too preoccupied with one or two individuals. “Shane and Ruth this new work is not all on your shoulders. Christianity is a team sport and the Gospel of Jesus is embodied in the lives of the many,” he said.
Secondly,
he said that God never asks us to do something without equipping us with everything we need to do it. “He comes with us and empowers us to do it,” he said. “It is God’s vast creativity at work. He is inspiring and energising all the things we read of.” He urged Shane and Ruth to be on the look–out for the hunger and curiosity that God had fostered in them in the people they meet.
The Revd Rob Jones highlighted the work of Pioneer Ministry which he explained emerges from within and serves alongside parishes and dioceses to find new ways of doing church. You can learn more about Pioneer Ministry here: https://www.pioneerministry.org/. Keep up with what is going on with Local Church in Crumlin on Instagram @localchurchcrumlin or on the St Catherine’s website here: https://www.saintcatherines.ie/localchurch
