For me, Reader ministry was about bringing insights and perspectives from everyday life as a lay person into the liturgical and preaching life of the church for all ages.
Now I’m a Deacon I get the opportunity to:
- represent the Church visibly and sacramentally in the marketplace and to bridge the gap between church and world
- baptise when requests for baptism arise out of my relationships in the community
- model to the church and world the ministry of Jesus by engaging with those ‘on the edge’, and speaking up for those without a voice
- empower and equip the church to make Jesus known through their own discipleship and desire to serve.
Deacons I hope can be instrumental in articulating and modelling a more kingdom-focussed, all inclusive, servant-hearted structure in the Church and thus more able to ‘Set God’s People Free’ – both clergy and laity.
I love the idea of David moving from presbyter to deacon . . . I think it speaks much about the humility and equality Jesus (and the Benedictines) modelled.
Alison Handcock, Bath and Wells diocese
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 