Deacons are sent as ambassadors to shine the light of Christ in places which risk being plunged into darkness. The sheer scale of today’s port makes the calling to ‘reach into the forgotten corners of the world, that the love of God may be made visible’ even more important. As seafarers are often “out of sight, out of mind”, it is the role of the port chaplain to go into those invisible corners of the world, to thank seafarers for what they do, and to remind them that they are loved by God, to know that they are not alone or forgotten.
Author: doctordeacon
What might the diaconate contribute to the contemporary discussion of church unity? Firstly, it might draw inspiration from the young deacon Athanasius, who, with Arius, is one of the two protagonists in the Nicene Creed story.
The example of Stephen reminds us that service and proclamation were never intended to be understood apart. Proclaiming Christ as servant is the very substance of an apostolic ministry, in which preaching and servant-hearted ministry are fully integrated by word and action.
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 