A happy coincidence!
What are the chances that the incumbents of 2 parishes, overlapping geographically and of different denominations were ordained on the same day at the same time 21 years ago?
This is the happy coincidence that friends and colleagues Canon Terence Cadden (Seagoe, Church of Ireland) and Fr Martin McAlinden (Moyraverty Parish, Roman Catholic) recently discovered.
It was on Friday 24th June 1980 at 3pm that Martin was ordained at St Peter’s Church Lurgan by the late Francis Gerard Brooks, Bishop of Dromore, to serve as curate in Newry. At the same time in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast, Terence was ordained by the then Bishop of Connor, Rt. Revd Samuel Poyntz to serve in St. Patrick’s Coleraine. Interestingly Terence was ordained alongside the first two ladies to be ordained Priest in the Church of Ireland, one of whom, the late Revd. Irene Templeton, was married to a Portadown man who was a former Parishioner of Seagoe Parish.
The two clerics were led by God over the years of their ministry and first met each other in 2002 when Terence was Vicar of Gilford and Martin was appointed curate of Tullylish Parish. Martin had just returned from two years in Chicago where he was studying pastoral theology at Loyola University. During that time away he felt called to work more closely with clergy from other denominations, and so joined the fellowship group of the local clergy in the Tullylish area. Not only did Terence and Martin appreciate each other’s partnership in the Gospel, they became very close friends.
Following Martin’s appointment as parish priest of Moyraverty their friendship continued, however, being in different parishes they were no longer able to work so closely together as church leaders. When Bishop Harold Miller appointed Terence as Rector of Seagoe a few years later the friends were able to engage again with a number of inter-church projects.
It was only fairly recently that Terence and Martin discovered they were ordained not only on the same day, but also at the same time. Both come from very different backgrounds and have had very interesting and challenging journeys of faith. They believe that it is crucial to focus on what Christians hold in common whilst not neglecting, in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect, a desire for understanding of difference through discussing issues together.
Their main passion is to see people, regardless of their background, coming to both know and grow in love of God through trusting in Jesus Christ and joining together with other believers in whatever Church fellowship they feel comfortable attending. They also believe the Church witnesses more effectively to the Gospel of Christ when fellow Christians work together.