this caring for the poor and defenceless, this reconciliation work with an ethnic minority, so relevant to our own day, turns out to be central to the life of the newly-forming church. Without it, the church can not be fully the church. This care is central to what the Holy Spirit was doing in the young church. That’s why the seven had to be people full of the Holy Spirit, and wise. Christ was working through his body, through prayer, preaching, and caring for the needy. So diaconal ministry, at ease on the margins of the church and society, caring for those who are unjustly treated, is crucial for an authentically Christian church and is part of its very identity.
Category: Blog
Instead of using the disability term as a shorthand for something other than a medical condition, it would be kinder to those with actual disabilities to say what we actually mean.
How do deacons respond to ecological, economic,cultural, social and health crises in the world today?
Which of your new-found traditions are in keeping with God? Which of our old ones do we understand? As the world slowly emerges (albeit at different rates) from this pandemic maybe now is a good time to examine our habits - new and old.
As the Church of England grapples with issues of injustice, bias and exclusion, deacons have something important to contribute as those who go out into the ‘forgotten corners of the world’ (CW Ordinal). The next Synod will prayerfully grapple with the next steps of Living in Love and Faith and with what good disagreement and mutual flourishing really look like. Surely this links strongly to our role of go-between and agents of compassion and love?
Such an inspiring recommendation for the #distinctivediaconate! Jo Rodman, in training in Chester diocese. https://youtu.be/y5PPAtO2vuU
In this compelling encounter we see how evangelism works at its best: God knows the readiness of the potential convert and leads an evangelist to the encounter.
In the ordination service for deacons the word ‘with’ appears several times. Deacons are called to work with priest and bishops as ambassadors of the kingdom; to study the scriptures with the people of God.
Are you passionate about a post-Covid world of work shaped by Kingdom values? This Zoom workshop is the one for you!
What we have noticed as we have prepared these statements are four particular areas which mark out the ministry of a distinctive deacon and which we have distilled from the more detailed evidence work. They are not earth-shattering and many of you will be exemplifying them already. But they do go some way to articulating what this ministry is all about. In particular, these points might help to sharpen where this ministry is indeed distinctive and different from that of a priest.
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 