Kyle Flanigan is ordained deacon
Congratulations to Revd Kyle Flanigan who has been ordained deacon for an internship in St Mary’s Ballybeen. Bishop David ordained Kyle along with four others at a service in Willowfield Church on Sunday 1 September. The address was given by Revd Richard Moy, National Director of SOMA UK.
Kyle’s journey to ordination
I’m Kyle, 32 and married to Anna. I grew up in a small village on the outskirts of Belfast called Crossnacreevy, and my earliest memories of church are checking the clock to see if the minister would finish up on time so I could make it home for the start of the Formula 1!
I studied Finance at Queen’s University Belfast and spent the early part of my professional career working in London and New York City. In 2016 I moved back to Belfast and took up a post with Belfast Harbour Commissioners, the body responsible for operating, maintaining and developing the Port. I have been working there ever since. It was also in 2016 that Willowfield Parish became my home church.
Since considering my faith more deeply, around my latter teenage years, I have always had a sense that ordination might be for me. In practice that’s looked like exploring, leaning into new opportunities, praying, reading, preaching, and working out that sense with others. I’m very grateful for that long exploration of call which brings me now to my ordination as Deacon, around 15 years after I first sensed that this might one day be for me. Now, over the next year, I will have the privilege of serving in St Mary’s Ballybeen with the Revd Jim Cheshire while continuing to work full-time.
I am deeply indebted to the leaders, both former and current, of Willowfield Parish, as well as the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, and to those clergy who have placed trust in me in recent years, particularly in short-term placements.
Although society increasingly describes itself as postmodern, the Church can and does play a critical role in all walks of life. Its outworkings are found in our judicial system, our culture, our moral compass and our streets. It meets everyone at every age and at every stage, offering something deeply personal and profound. It is my hope that I will be able to share that in a new way as deacon.
