Saturday, November 03, 2012

Bishop pays tribute to ACCORD's work in special broadcast Mass

At a special Mass broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster to mark ACCORD’s golden jubilee, Bishop Anthony Farquhar said the work done by the marriage care agency to ease domestic difficulties over the last fifty years was often carried out against a backdrop of civil and community tensions in the North.

In his homily, the Bishop said these civil and community tensions, “at times spilled over, particularly into the area of inter-Church marriages,” and as a result the pressures that exist for all marriages were often accentuated for couples in inter-Church relationships.  

“Through ACCORD many such couples received invaluable help from ministers of other denominations,” he added, acknowledging the contribution of leaders from other Churches.

Though there will always be those in relationships who claim they don't need a piece of paper or a certificate to seal their love, the auxiliary bishop of Down and Connor said ACCORD’s philosophy is that marriage is a two-way relationship between the couple and indeed a three-way relationship celebrated and lived in the presence of God.

The special anniversary broadcast Mass was transmitted live on BBC Radio Ulster from St Mary’s, Chapel Lane, in the centre of Belfast.  

“The downtown Church of St Mary's where we meet may well be known to many; shoppers, inner city workers, bus-pass users of one sort or another. You may frequent the church on weekdays. It is a parish of few resident parishioners but of many weekday visitors,” the Bishop commented.

Welcoming the special broadcast Mass, Deirdre O’Rawe, Regional Director ACCORD Northern Ireland said it was, “particularly appropriate," that it took place in St Mary's Church as, "it was in this particular parish that CMAC/ACCORD came into being fifty years ago.”  

She also paid tribute to Bishop Farquhar’s involvement with ACCORD over the years.

ACCORD’s core services are marriage and relationship counselling and marriage preparation programmes, which are available to all who need them, regardless of denomination, race, creed or ability to pay.  

It is Ireland’s leading nationwide agency supporting marriage and relationships through 60 locations across the island of Ireland.

The aim of ACCORD is to help couples prepare for, achieve and sustain their marriage and family relationships, to offer on-going relationship support and assist them in times of difficulty or crisis. 

Ahead of the radio Mass, BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence programme broadcast a discussion on the work of ACCORD today, and its contribution to marriage support over the last fifty years in which ACCORD representatives, Denis Bradley and Mary Goss, spoke of their experience in agency’s marriage education and counselling services.