In the name of the Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit Amen.
We are here to dedicate this Chapel and tomorrow we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, there is such a lot I could say –firstly, I could offer you a message on the importance of The Holy Spirit and how the message of The Gospel travelled out to various regions from the early church.
Then there is our patron - St Anthony, an amazing man who we are dedicating this oratory to - a man who from an early age gave up his riches to take monastic vows, a man who was an incredible preacher and in his later years took his inspiration from St. Frances.
However, I am not going to focus on either of those subjects, but on something that is so close to my heart -
As we have so much to do today, I want to keep this message very short. So I am going to focus on “simplicity”
This little space was so obviously a former garage, and I know that some people may well laugh or even make jokes about the fact that I am a bishop who worships in a Garage.
Yet wasn’t this how it all started? - the early Christians opened their homes as the centre of their worship and adoration. I am inspired by the fact that many people of Faith over the centuries have created small chapels or even lived in caves, sometimes to follow a religious vow, sometimes to survive persecution for their belief- but for what ever the reason -out of that sort of simplicity -how ever humble the place may have been- the living God met with these people in profound ways.
I have to say that Part of my vision for our work here in Derby is to return to the simplicity of those early Christians - they had no need to rely on splendid buildings, but started where their heart was - at home with their family and friends.
This little space is a simple reminder of the continual availability of God, to the local community, not only through our work and ministry - but also here, within the tabernacle - the presence of Christ, in this humble place, in the form of the Blessed Sacrament.
You are welcome to worship with us here, and my hope is that people will come and be part of this little spiritual family.
Our Vision is that this little place will be a community hub - and that ordinary people will find the presence of Christ here and go back to their work, and families with good news - news that Jesus still has an amazingly important message to us living within the twenty-first century - A message of enlightenment, forgiveness and unity with God by his Spirit and Sacrament.
I was sent a text the other day that was meant as a joke...but has really made me think…
And so I quote:
And Jesus said unto his disciples, ‘whom do they say I am?’ and they answered unto him ‘Master, thou art the supreme eschatological manifestation of The Omnipotent ecclesiastic authority, the absolute divine sacerdotal monarch.’ And Jesus said…’What.’
My Message is a little bit more simple - and to quote a famous song that I won’t be singing today, is that whoever you are, if you are seeking God, then you are welcome here because - “We are family.“
Amen.
