Dear Deacons – One note from one particular priest

This past weekend Anglican Deacons, Canada gathered for its triennial meeting at the beautiful Sorrento Centre in the Shuswap region of British Columbia. Approximately sixty attendees from Anglican and Lutheran congregations, with guests from The  United Church of Canada worshipped, prayed, sang, and studied for three days together. I was invited to join them for some of the events as the designated “team photographer” aka “creepy guy with a camera.”

Among Anglicans, the tradition and practice of ordained ministry orbits around the three orders of bishop, priest, and deacon. This structure draws inspiration and authority from scripture, the practice as we know it of the early church, and evolving ministry patterns over time. The ministry of the laity remains both constant and significant, but that’s another blog in itself.

While most people are familiar with bishops and priests, the role of deacon is less familiar to many. From the ordination service we hear this description of the ministry:

Every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ, serving God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood, directly under the authority of your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely.

As a deacon in the Church, you are to study the holy scriptures, to seek nourishment from them, and to model your life upon them. You are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among whom you live and work and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world. You are to assist the bishop and priests in public worship, and in the ministration of God’s word and sacraments, and you are to carry out other duties assigned to you from time to time. At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself. [Book of Alternative Services]

Dating from 1984 this text is now under revision, but the sense, tradition, and practice of the order remains the same. To be a deacon is to connect the church and community together with a focus on acts of service to others (and I would add, to and within all creation).

The fact that the three orders are typically listed in the order above gives rise to the false notion that there is a necessary hierarchy with deacons at the bottom of the leadership tree. This is totally false, yet the nuance remains. Part of the problem is that we Anglicans have used and continue to use the diaconate as a stepping stone towards the priesthood—so the terms transitional or vocational diaconate remain in use today. With some others, I advocate that bishops should ordain candidates for the priesthood directly to that order; so let deacons be Deacons, and priests be Priests. Lutherans ordain their pastors directly to the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and to my knowledge no serious deficiencies have resulted.

I was advised prior to seeking priesthood for myself in 1986 that “in the best sense of the word, the Anglican Church of Canada is priest-ridden.” By this my advisor meant that priests ran parishes—as CEOs of little corporations or communities—but certainly not deacons or lay leaders as I then was.

On the Saturday evening of the conference I was invited to join in a memorial gathering where deceased members of the ADC were remembered and their ministry celebrated. I found this to be an extraordinary event, as names were read and stories told. I thought to myself, would priests gather in similar fashion? I could not think of such a gathering. We priests are a much larger group across the country, but wow, this group of people who share in leadership, in a role considered a bit “unusual” in many places, each person named and remembered had made a very distinctive decision to minister in a formal, diaconal way. They were not priests-in-waiting.   In many cases their stories were profound and interesting. They exhibited strong connections to the communities in which they lived, worshipped, and worked. Connections with  the institutions that they served were less evident, in some cases totally absent.

I shared my feelings with the group, saying that possibly the vocation of service central to the diaconate might have inspired the memorial event. If one’s self-understanding is to serve others, then this groups at least served its own membership very, very well. Even mealtime table conversation seemed free and easy. Of course, for some of the time I was with them, conversation deteriorated into the future of the church, a topic for which I have little prediction or suggestion to offer. In sessions I missed, I suspect conversation around their unique place within the church continued unabated.

So dear deacons, it was a real privilege to be in your midst and to share with you, even briefly. Thanks to everyone who made this happen. And yes, images are coming, but not quite yet.

You should also know that I now have your motto inscribed on my psyche if not pinned to my T-shirt: “Stay calm, and call a deacon.” This I shall do. Promise.