Mondays in May: a series of seminars on aspects of diakonia worldwide
Category: Blog
Programme and other details for DEACONS ON THE MOVE 2021
Dave Katz has kindly given me permission to share these wonderful photos of Orthodox deacons at the Easter celebration in Ethiopia. You can read the whole delightful article here.
Christ is risen from the dead, the first-fruits of those who slept!
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.
Currently, I’m serving as a prison chaplain, so I seek to serve the people, both staff and prisoners, in whatever way is deemed right and proper for their needs at any given time. I am able to be a bridge, to build a way across the wall and to heal divisions, to bridge the gap that exists between mainstream life and the church, between resident and family, between organisation and person. To sit alongside people in their isolation from the world.
We encounter many figures in the Apocalypse who are mysterious at best and confusing at worst, or commonly misunderstood. Angels might seem to be one of the more easily understood figures of the Apocalypse, but we should not jump to such conclusions so quickly.
Coptic Christians
The community, especially the nuns, welcomed us and I very quickly became involved in ministry within St Joseph’s, from moving furniture for the nuns, to reading scripture at Mass on a Sunday. My Christian faith continued to grow, and eventually during Mass one Sunday I got this massive feeling I had to talk to the priest, as God was calling me for something and I had finally opened my heart and listened.
But prayer does not just change a situation. It will also change who we are so that the Lord can use us to be his change agents in this world. God’s word is a double-edged sword, and it works on us just as much as on the situation we are praying for.
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 