This poem was written on the occasion of a pilgrimage to Bethlehem by His Eminence Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, The moderator of the Free Churches, David Coffey, and The Armenian patriarch of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian in Advent 2006. Epiphany 2007 Four wise men came from the west … Continue reading EPIPHANY: a poem by four wise men
Category: Blog
Today the church remembers and honours Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, profoundly influential teachers of the church. Basil wrote: “When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to … Continue reading BASIL THE GREAT
Resolutions are not often a good idea. Easily made, and easily broken. Even so, the new year is a helpful time to take stock of our lives and ministries. As deacons, it is all too easy to get sucked in to other people's ideas of what we should be doing. Now is a good moment … Continue reading SOME NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FOR DEACONS
Refugee We think of him as safe beneath the steeple, Or cosy in a crib beside the font, But he is with a million displaced people On the long road of weariness and want. For even as we sing our final carol His family is up and on that road, Fleeing the wrath of someone … Continue reading HOLY INNOCENTS
And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven... Love was Stephen's weapon by which he gained every battle, and so won the crown signified by his [Christ's] name... Strengthened by the power of his love, he overcame the raging cruelty of Saul and won his persecutor … Continue reading FEAST OF STEPHEN, DEACON AND MARTYR
A blessed and joyful Christmas to you all! May the peace and grace of this season accompany you into the new year. A reminder that deacons all over the world will be celebrating the birth of our Lord. We are part of a goodly company! Egyptian Coptic deacons Romanian Orthodox deacons American Roman … Continue reading HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
https://youtu.be/CQd94aUPHDM Howard Washington Thurman (November 18, 1899 – April 10, 1981) was an African-American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader.
I am delighted to announce that the new Church of England vocations webpage now offers a brief description of the Distinctive Diaconate that does reasonable justice to our unique vocation and ministry. It is the fruit of much inter-diocesan discussion amongst deacons and the short text reflects the remarkable unity of vocational understanding in deacons … Continue reading DISTINCTIVE DEACONS ON NEW C of E WEBSITE
Yesterday it was announced that the Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally would be the next Bishop of London. Bishop Sarah released a statement, which included this very diaconal section: Before becoming a priest, I was a nurse and then the Government’s Chief Nursing Officer for England. People ask what it is like to have had … Continue reading SARAH, SERVANT BISHOP
Peter Brueghel the Younger, Census at Bethlehem Christmas (I) George Herbert After all pleasures as I rid one day, My horse and I, both tir’d, bodie and minde, With full crie of affections, quite astray, I took up in the next inne I could finde, There when I came, whom found I but my deare, My … Continue reading FURNISH AND DECK MY SOUL
CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons 