Trinity 16 2018: Isaiah 50, 4-9a; James 3, 1-12; Mark 8, 27-end.

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

In my previous parish in England every year we had a big town centre celebration for the switching on of the town Christmas lights. In fact it always happened on the Saturday that was the day before Advent Sunday. I managed to get them to rename the event from Christmas Market to Advent Market – it made no difference to the fun that we all had, but it meant that Advent got a look in, and we held off the name of Christmas for a few more days.

It was the custom of the Town Council to bring in what they call a ‘big name’ to turn on the lights. What that usually meant was a minor celebrity who had no work except the pantomime at Swindon.

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Trinity 15 2018 : Isaiah 35, 4-7; James 2, 1-10, 14-17; Mark 7 (passim)

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

On Friday afternoon I went with Fr. James to introduce him to the work of Apostoli . We were shown a video of their work. I already knew about many of the projects, but it was really impressive to note all the good works that the Archdiocese is doing throughout Greece as it seeks not only to support refugees and migrants, but also Greeks who have been affected by times of austerity, or whose needs cannot be filled by a government in chaos, strapped for cash.

We saw a facility for elderly people with alzheimers; a safe haven for children and young people with Downs Syndrome; projects to protect and nurture unaccompanied minors stranded in Greece because of the tragic situations in their own countries; tens of thousands of meals being produced every year to feed the hungry – and I noted how many of those who were thankful are Athenians. There are projects to ensure that medicines  and medical operations are made available for those who have no medical insurance.

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Trinity 14 2018:   Deut 4, 1-2, 6-9; James 1, 17-27; Mark 7 1-8, 14-16, 21-23   

The Revd.  Canon Leonard Doolan

Athens has been full of tourists during this last month – sufficient I hope to help sustain the essential tourist economy.  Inevitably if you walk around the Plaka district you will see the usual signs of tourism. Little necklaces with names spelled in Greek, made of wire; I love Greece T shirts, gold coloured laurel leafed crowns, and in particular for females those sandals with leather work that you tie up to the knees. Such is Athens in the tourism season.

I contrast this with what you would see if you went to Jerusalem, and in particular to the Western or ‘Wailing’ Wall. Not sandals with leather straps up to the knees, but men with leatherwork bound around their hands and lower arm and a leather box strapped to their foreheads. This is not a sign that they are tourists in Jerusalem, but that they are faithful Jews. They do this to keep faith with the command we have heard in today’s reading from Deuteronomy.

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Trinity 12 (Prov 9, 1-6; Eph 5, 1-6; John 6, 51-58) Preached at St Paul’s Athens

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever;  and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’. (John 6, 51)

So many situations in the gospel revolve around food, eating and sitting at table together. We have such a hospitable God who invites us just to come and sit with him. One bishop once said, ‘God doesn’t need a church to live in, but he needs somewhere to show his hospitality’. That’s a challenge to us. What do you think a church is for?

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Trinity 11: 1 Kings 19, 4-8; Eph 4, 25-5,2; John 6, 35; Preached in St. Paul’s Athens.

The Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan.

We note that in tragedies, as well as loss and suffering, there are great acts of bravery. Such bravery is not just among members of the emergency services, but in normal human beings. These are times when human nobility shines through the darkness. We should rejoice that we as humans can be transformed from our everyday lives, to actions of heroism – humanity at its best.

Sadly, of course, we don’t always see humanity at its best, and we can ourselves be the culprits. We can be examples of the very antithesis of the nobility I have referred to. We can so easily be attracted to the baser instincts of behaviour and attitude, and we can often say the wrong things. A deep reason for this is often boredom and complacency. In boredom we are not well motivated; in complacency we don’t seem to think it matters how we speak to someone else, or about someone else.

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Feast of SS Peter & Paul 1 July 2018

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

I have taken the liberty of moving the Feast of St. Peter and Paul from their calendar date of June 29^th, to today, so that we could honour these two great ‘apostles of Christ.

They belong together in so many ways but chiefly as foundations for the building up of the Christian Church.

Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall; one named Peter, one named Paul. Fly away Peter, fly away Paul, come back Peter come back Paul.

I have often pondered whether this little rhyme has any connection with the Peter and Paul that we honour today. These two saints are very different, and yet have much in common.

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Trinity 2 10th June 2018

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

One of the paintings of the western artist Lucas Cranach the Elder famously shows Adam and Eve in the garden of paradise. The painting dates from 1528 and is now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but originally it was an altar panel.

The picture shows an apple tree, Adam to one side Eve to the other. Around them are animals and birds all contentedly mingling about, even though there are deer, a wild boar, birds, and maybe not surprisingly a lion and a lamb; A scene of blissful co-existence and interdependence.

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Trinity 1, Holy Trinity Church Corfu

Revd. Canon Leonard Doolan

Lynne and I are delighted to be with you here this morning. I promise that I don’t think you all live like the Durrels! It is a joy to have Jules as a colleague and I know how much you love him and value him as your priest here.

All of us who minister in Greece, and indeed throughout the whole of the Archdeaconry of the East have to be resilient and self motivating as great distances prevent frequent collegial meetings, but we can hold each other in prayer, and I will do what I  can to try and improve on the opportunities we can have to meet and support each other. One of the challenges of this is the cost involved and I will also explore how we might be able to access some funding for an annual meeting of the clergy and Readers, so we can have mutual support in ministry.

I have just returned to Athens from the Diocesan Synod in Cologne, Germany, and I bring you greetings from Archdeacon Colin.

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