Last week I posted Rosalind’s first paper from the International Roman Catholic – Anglican Conference on the Diaconate which took place in May in Canada.
I’m so pleased to share her second paper, on the role of the Deacon in Worship.
Here’s a taster to whet your appetite:
So the deacon offers hospitality on the church doorstep, inviting people to worship. This continues in the formal liturgy as the deacon invites people to clear their consciences with God and, like Peter on the seashore, to put their failures behind them and know that they are forgiven and can hold their heads up in God’s presence. The deacon offers the people the hospitality of the gospel, God’s good news of his incarnational and transforming presence among us; at times in centuries past guarding those precious gospel scrolls and books literally with their life. And the gospel must be heard clearly: Benedict was firm that readers must be able to edify their hearers,[i] and learning to read well in public is a diaconal duty
[i] The Rule of St Benedict. Chapter 38
Read the whole paper here: Brown, R. 2. The deacon in worship, June 2018-1
image of deacons from Church Life Journal: University of Notre Dame
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 