Local Christian leaders honour Rev Graham
Leaders of the Christian churches in the district, under the umbrella of Christian Voices Together, gathered last Monday to honour Canon Alastair Graham, Rector of Mullingar Union, who is retiring shortly.
The group presented Rev Graham with a copy of ‘An Architectural History of the Church of Ireland’, by Michael O’Neill, at a farewell luncheon in the Mullingar Park Hotel.
Rev Graham was the founder, architect and leader of Christian Voices Together, which he set up in 2012. In January of that year, Alastair arranged a public meeting for all Christians who desired to have a Christian Voice in the area.
Christian leaders from the many denominations began to meet together as a leadership team to promote the Christian Voice.
The venues varied and were normally planned by Alastair. A Christian Welcome Centre was set up in All Saints in September of 2012. It was a place for folk to drop in, chat together over tea and coffee, served by volunteers from the different churches, with reading from the Scriptures followed by prayer and reflection.
Even during the pandemic, Alastair did not let things slip and the group met on Zoom. He also contributed to the local newspapers and offered a prayer text in ministry during lockdown.
Over the years, Alastair has brought some outstanding speakers to the area to encourage the leadership team to create a Christian awareness. There were talks, workshops and seminars on various societal evils such as alcohol abuse, violence against women, the challenges of social media for children, pornography, and climate change.
In 2015 the group ran a 10-week course for people who had lost their jobs during the 2008/09 crash, giving advice on job seeking, CVs and interview techniques, and inviting employers to meet with those looking for work. A number secured jobs even before the course ended.
Alastair’s main emphasis was, however, on spreading the Christian message. Each year he would champion the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and, at the end of the year, he encouraged all to remember the birth of Jesus through the annual carol services at all Saints.
Addressing the gathering, Brendan Healy said Alastair not only spoke about Christian unity, “he believed it passionately and lived it out before our eyes”.
He is a man of exceptional energy, integrity and dedication to the Christian message who will be sorely missed,” he said.
He concluded by saying, we send Alastair and his wife Olive out with our blessings and, “in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: Well done, O good and faithful servant”.
Rev Graham told the Westmeath Examiner: “Since the formation of Christian Voices Together the group have undertaken a number of Christian initiatives which have been supported by the wider community. People have frequently said how much they appreciate Christian church leaders in the Mullingar area coming together to speak with one voice on the Christian response to various social issues and community events and on their encouragement to the community to work more closely together in the witness of the Christian faith.”