This week, they finally found time to finish the editing of the video and I'm delighted that it has now replaced the outdated video on our web page. I'm particularly delighted that Karl is so clear about the value of having a DD, as we are sometimes faced with incumbents who haven't a clue who we are or what to do with us.
Author: GillK
Gill has been a missioner in Nigeria, Romania and various parishes in England. She was ordained a 'distinctive' deacon in 1991. In this capacity she was warden of the College of St Philip the Deacon in Exeter diocese, and founder member of the CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons https://cofedeacons.org. She has also written the story of her own call, Deacon by Design. https://www.waterstones.com/book/deacon-by-design/gill-kimber/9781910719794
She's passionate about the diaconate and, now retired, continues to support those who are called to this ministry.
Deacons, you are shepherds of the people of God, along with the priests – leaders who will model the care that the shepherd extends to the sheep. Together, we are all called to expose spiritual dangers, such as those of excess and waste. We must show what the restoration of a just relationship with all creation might look like – how to live as caretakers, how to bring glimpses of shalom.
Deacons, in your corner of the Kingdom, you are called to be the sower. A mustard seed reveals its potency when crushed; joining God in building this Kingdom will not be easy. But it can bring the peace and shalom of community, and it can create a powerful vision of something different that the world has rarely sees –something the world desperately needs.
And yet, if this puts the deacon perpetually in the position of host, a critical dimension is lost. Jesus gave to the Pharisee and to the woman the gift of His wisdom, His grace and His forgiveness. However, Jesus was also guest: He received from the woman and from the Pharisee alike. This recognition fundamentally challenges the imbalance of power between a person with needs and a person (or diaconate) with resources.
It is impossible to try and disconnect the miracles and teaching of Jesus from His heart for justice. At every turn, at every miracle, His words and actions are shaped by a desire to make things right, to reconcile, to restore.
This paper is prompted by the fact that the world is facing a unique set of global challenges. It argues that if we do not get our act together, humankind may eventually self-destruct. However, the Christian story, and those acting in response to it down the ages, have left the world with a rich legacy that offers us the chance to survive and flourish.
The notion of direct or per saltum ordination to the priesthood and abolition of the transitional diaconate gains no traction in the Church of England (Jackson)
With the choice of the Seven, it is not only the diaconate but ordained ministry that is coming into being before our eyes, inviting us to consider this episode not only as a window onto the diaconate but onto Christian ordination as such.
There may be different places to serve, and some may ask us to go outside of our comfort zone. We must be thorough –not only looking to immediate needs, but thinking deeper about the injustices that contribute to the context. We must also think about longer-term solutions for the people to whom we show compassion. And there may be an “innkeeper” whose partnership will help, when it is beyond our capacity to respond further.
The hopeful vision of justice for the poor and marginalized, the possibility of a better life or of new possibilities is grounded in a more hopeful vision of a world renewed and redeemed by God, transformed and perfect. This is the true source of hope.
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 