Mary O’Donnell catches up with a priest who lives life in the fast lane
Trócaire’s representative for Co. Louth, Fr Gerry Campbell has raised over €14,000 for the charity, having run almost four marathons in four days along a route stretching from Newbridge, in South Derry, to Drogheda.
Quite an achievement with a 50th birthday on the horizon, but Fr Gerry has kept fit over the years with his love of running, and this, along with an openness to being guided by the Holy Spirit, has given him a “new zest for life and the Gospel” as he prepares to celebrate almost 25 years in the priesthood.
Reflecting on his journey, the parish priest of Kilkerley, near Dundalk, remarked: “I know that I am getting older physically, but I feel a great youthfulness in my ministry. I have grown in my relationship with the Lord through the rough and the smooth, and am passionate about my faith and wanting to share it.”
From Magherafelt, in Co. Derry, Fr Gerry is the second youngest in a family of five, and says that his strong faith evolved from the example of his parents, Madeleine and the late Gerry Campbell.
Ordained in 1990 on Pentecost Sunday, he sees a great significance in this having become more involved with Charismatic Renewal over the years. He is now chaplain of the National Service Committee for Charismatic Renewal in Ireland.
“My ministry is quite active and I can see different strands connecting in my life,” said Fr Gerry, who, in addition to his parish duties, works with Dr Tony Hanna and Milanda Kelly in the Office of Pastoral Renewal and Family Ministry for the Armagh diocese, and is a founding member of ‘The 12’, who were commissioned by Cardinal Seán Brady on 12/12/ 2012 to “share in the Church’s mission to preach the Good News to all peoples”.
Sabbatical
The path that led to the formation of ‘The 12’ began when, after 20 years in the priesthood, Fr Gerry went on sabbatical for a year to Berkeley, California, where he stayed with the Salesian community and undertook a number of courses in the Jesuit School of Theology.
When he came back home for the first semester, cardinals from different parts of the world had been asked to hold discussions with various people and groups about abuse scandals, and Fr Gerry, who had spent six years working as a training co-ordinator for Child Protection in the Archdiocese of Armagh, met to share his experiences with Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor and his delegation in Dromantine SMA Conference Centre.
Sensing a great heaviness here with the crisis in the Church, Fr Gerry began to pray about this when he returned to Berkeley. He recalled reading Luke 6:12-16 about the call of the first disciples and thinking that maybe we should look at this approach of the Lord’s again.
Following a 30-day retreat, Fr Gerry decided to proceed and, on his return home, began looking for people with different gifts. He called them together for the first meeting in September 2011 and the group now meets monthly in the Servite Priory, Benburb, Co. Tyrone.
When some of the people Fr Gerry had chosen were unable to commit to ‘The 12’, he found himself praying: “Lord, You chose the first 12, now choose this 12!”, and people started to emerge. The present group is multicultural and inter-diocesan, and is made up of single and married men and women, one priest and two permanent deacons.
Model
Based on the model of the early disciples, the mission statement of ‘The 12’ is: “To know and love Jesus more, to make Him better known and loved.”
Still in formation, Fr Gerry said that they were willing to step out and see what way the Lord is moving them. They have already conducted a mission in the pastoral area comprising the parishes of Kilkerley, Knockbridge and Louth, and plan to visit an urban parish later this year.
Fr Gerry has discovered programmes which he feels will have a bearing on the group, such as ‘Called and Gifted’. He explained that this focuses on the many charisms of the Holy Spirit, “which all the baptised have been given but due to lack of awareness seldom use”.
Another development is Fr Gerry’s involvement with Unbound ministry. There are currently two groups, with about 50 people in each, meeting in Ardee, Co. Louth, and in Armagh to learn about the ‘Unbound: Freedom in Christ’ programme, which Fr Gerry described as “a gentle approach to deliverance ministry”.
He added: “It is a ministry of accompanying someone through their wounded state and helping them towards freedom in Christ. I have seen people being strengthened and healed by this ministry, including myself.
“We cannot deny the presence of evil in our world when we see what is happening, with all kinds of addiction, abuse and violence. We must confront it, but with the power of the Gospel.”
* There will be an ‘Unbound Ministry’ weekend in Armagh City Hotel, on Sept 13 and 14, followed by a day for priests on Sept 16, and people can find out more about this, or ‘The 12’, by contacting Fr Gerry by email at mailforthe12@gmail.com or on 0876483919.