Distinctive Deacons in the Church of England - DACE

Source: http://deaconstories.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/vocation-one-deacons-story/ :
‘The deacon is one of three orders in the church of England.  It is important to see the orders as interconnected and complementary, not in opposition to each other. What are orders? For me, orders, or ordination is a gift from God – a gift not to me personally but to the church. Ordination – our orders - say something about how we as a church see God.
My story is rooted in a theology of ordination that says we are all Christian disciples through baptism and as Christians we have a duty and a joy to share in the ministry of Christ. Orders are there to help the Church understand itself. Orders reflect and focus the ministry of Christ in particular ways – diaconal, priestly and episcopal – serving, reconciling, overseeing and uniting.

2010 ordination at Ely Cathedral

Orders also reflect and focus the ministry of all the baptised – orders do not permit vicarious ministry but rather act as a focal point for all ministry.
The deacon is both model and enabler of the diakonia of the whole church.
The priest is model and enabler of the priesthood of all believers.
And the bishop either in person or as part of the college of bishops is the model and enabler of oversight and unity within our particular part of the church.
Understood in this way, orders and ordination do not lead to clericalism but to a flourishing of the ministry of the whole church, ordained and lay.
This may seem aspirational rather than reality -  but we set our sights high!
Within the Anglican tradition, we have sequential ordination.  You can’t be a priest without first having been a deacon.  I find this both helpful – reflective priests and bishops  value their diaconate as an undergirding their priestly ministry- and at the same time, it can be  very unhelpful.  It contributes to an hierarchical understanding of orders.  Priests are sometimes considered more senior than deacons regardless of the length of time in orders;  you can only be priested if you’ve completed the probationary year of deacon.  It can also contribute to an invisibility of the diaconate.  Although priests and bishops are deacons, they are not perceived as such by others.
The case for the diaconate as a ‘full and equal order’ has been eloquently made by James Barnett from the Episcopal Church in America in his book of that title.  And my vision within my own church has been for three orders, each open to men and women.

(from bridgetmary’sblogspot.com)

In 2007 the Faith and Order Group of the Church of England produced an excellent report called the Mission and Ministry of the Whole Church.  It calls for the distinctive diaconate to be actively encouraged both within the traditional parish boundaries and also as pioneer ministers reaching out to the unchurched.
Church reports are sometimes produced and shelved  and I’m not certain how much influence it has had -  but I do see a growing acceptance within the structures of the church that the diaconate is an order to which people are called, and that it is important for God’s mission in our world.  This is shown through development of the guidelines at Ministry Division for Bishops Advisory Panels and the growing awareness of DDOs and bishops that the diaconate is more than a probationary year. There is even reference on the Ministry Division website to the Distinctive Diaconate.
Some of this is undoubtedly influenced by ecumenical relationships;  in the UK through the Methodist Covenant;  in Europe through the Porvoo treaty with the Nordic Lutheran churches which each have a diaconate, and in North America through the Anglican Communion – both the Episcopal church and the Church of Canada have an active diaconate.
So I’m hopeful about the future for the distinctive diaconate.’
(Taken from Rev Kathryn Fitzsimon’s talk at the conference for York deacons in Feb 2014)

DACE (Church of England) - ordination of Deacons

This is just a sample of the ordination of Deacons in the Church of England in the last few weeks. Please pray for them as they immerse themselves in ministry. Some will go on to be ordained priest next year and some will continue as distinctive deacons.

IN THE DIOCESE OF WEST YORKSHIRE AND THE DALES
People from all walks of life are coming to strengthen and serve in the Church of England as 47 deacons (and priests) are ordained this season including a former Sandhurst cadet, a physiotherapist, a retired teacher, a practising solicitor and a former nurse. These are just some of the first men and women to be ordained in cathedrals across the new Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales. The ministry placements include a pioneer curate, a chaplain for businesses in Leeds, a distinctive deacon, a mental health minister from Barnsley and a Fresh Expressions minister.
(from the diocesan website http://www.westyorkshiredales.anglican.org/?q=content/first-ordinations-new-diocese )

DIOCESE OF PETERBOROUGH
The following were ordained Deacon in Peterborough Cathedral on Sunday June 29th by Bishop Donald Allister
Mrs Nicola (Nicki) Hobbs, Assistant curate of Broughton & Cransley with Mawsley Village
Mrs Paula Challen, Assistant Curate of Towcester w Caldecote & Easton Neston & Greens Norton & Bradden
Mr Don McGarrigle, Assistant Curate of Ketton
Mr Glen Brooks, Assistant Curate of Northampton Holy Trinity & St Paul
My Haydon Spenceley, Assistant Curae of Northhampton Emmanuel
Mr James McDonald, Assistant Curate of Brackley
Mr Kevin Fear, Assistant Curate of Peterborough St Mark & St Barnabas
Mr Nigel Adams, Assistant Curate of Barton Seagrave w Warkton
Mr Shemil Mathew, Assistant Curate of Aynho & Croughton w Evenley & Farthinghoe & Hinton-in-the-Hedges w Steane

DIOCESE OF BLACKBURN
Pauline Taylor, parish of St.John the Baptist, Broughton as SSM

DIOCESE OF PORTSMOUTH
On 27th June, the following were ordained as Deacons:
Max Cross, St Mary Magdalene Sheet
Jane Isaac, All Saints Rye & St Michael Swanmore
Luke Mheana, St Michael and All Angels Paulsgrove
Barbara O'Sullivan, St Mary Portsea
Garry Roberts, Holy Trinity with St Columba Fareham
Mark Williams, St Mary Portchester
Kim Weeks, The North End Team Ministry in Portsmouth

GLOUCESTER DIOCESE
On Sunday 6 July, 12 people were ordained as deacons in a service led by the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Michael Perham. They are:

• Steve Newnes – Brockworth
• Kay Mundy – Deerhurst and Apperley
• Jonathan Clark – Stroud Team Ministry
• Philip Averay – Drybrook, Lydbrook and Ruardean
• Andrew Hall – Cheltenham
• Michelle Porter-Babbage – Bourton-on-the-Water with Clapton and the Rissingtons
• Matt Cottrell – Thornbury and Oldbury-on-Severn with Shepperdine
• Peter Fewings – The Sodbury Vale Benefice
• Anna Griffiths – Cheltenham
• Elizabeth Mitchell – South Cheltenham
• Lynn Hayler – The South Cotswolds Team
• Celia Woodruff – Chipping Campden

IN LONDON

Thirty six men and women joined London's team of clergy on June 30th as they were ordained deacons at St Paul’s Cathedral by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. (Hear his sermon here). The new deacons bring a huge breadth of age, background and experience to the family of clergy in the Diocese of London. The new deacons will be working in churches across London, serving their local communities and undertaking public worship, teaching and pastoral work. Some of the Deacons are 'transitional', meaning that after a period of normally a year, a deacon is ordained to the priesthood. Some Deacons in the Church of England are 'distinctive deacons'.

Among the new deacons are:

Ajay More

Ajay More will join the team at St James Church, Alperton in Willesden. Ajay was born and brought up in Maharashtra, India, where he worked as a hospital Microbiology Technician, before getting married to Kavita and moving to London where he trained as a nurse. After practicing in A&E and Endoscopy Department for over seven years, Ajay felt called to expand his involvement in the church to full time ministry and trained at St Mellitus College. Ajay's particular interest is Asian Christian Ministry and expanding the ways that the Church of England reaches out to Asian communities. He will be playing an important role at St James's as the church supports the community during the regeneration of the surrounding area.

Peter Wolton

Peter Wolton will join the team United Benefice of Holland Park in Kensington. After graduating, Peter spent 30 years as a fund manager, working first in property asset management and then managing UK pension funds. He then went on to manage a number of businesses – one of which took him to Japan for four years – before taking up his position running a London-based not-for-profit primary school company, which aims to provide a first-class traditional education with a focus on developing a positive attitude to learning. Peter has an extensive background in managing and growing businesses and is a firm believer that the best way to grow an organisation is to grow the people within that organisation, something he hopes to reflect in his ministry in Holland Park. Peter also hopes to use his experience to act as a bridge between the Church and the world of work.

Maxwell Hutchinson

Maxwell Hutchinson will join the team at St John on Bethnal Green in Stepney. Prior to training for ordination, Maxwell was an established architect, broadcaster and composer. During this time, Maxwell was a regular contributor to BBC Radio Four, BBC London Radio and Newsnight and even presented Songs of Praise on two occasions. Maxwell has received various awards for his work, including the Sony Radio award in 2009.
In 2004, when on holiday in Sri Lanka with his wife, Maxwell was caught up in the devastating Tsunami where he was declared missing, presumed dead. Maxwell survived by escaping to a mountain top village, where the local villagers supported Maxwell and his wife until it was safe to return to the town where they were staying.
Maxwell hopes to use his expertise as a musician and artist to help develop art projects connected to churches in East London.

Willesden
Olakunle Ayodeji	St John the Baptist Pinner
Julia Bevis-Knowles	St Paul Ruislip Manor
Peter Godden	Holy Trinity Northwood
John Jenkins	Uxbridge Team Ministry
Andy Johnson	St John w St James West Ealing
Ben Lovell	St Paul South Harrow
Ajay More	St James Alperton
Missional Communities
Bola Adamolekun	Westbourne Park (Latimer Minster) Missional Community

Edmonton
Greg Bannister	Christ Church Cockfosters
Kristin Breuss	Holy Trinity Swiss Cottage
Stephen Coleman	St Paul Winchmore Hill
Jon Finch	St Luke Oseney Crescent
Benjamin Kerridge	Hornsey Parish
Timothy Miller	St Mary the Virgin Primrose Hill
Andy Palmer	St JohnDownshire Hill
Oliver Petter	The Parish of Old St Pancras
Robert Willoughby	St Michael Highgate & All Saints Highgate [Deaconed in February]

Kensington
Claire Clarke	St Saviour Sunbury
Stephen Foster	Holy Trinity Brompton
David Lee	St Peter Fulham
David Maclure	St John the Baptist Isleworth, Hounslow Deanery Pioneer Curate
Joel Sales	St John Hampton Wick
Richard Whaite	All Saints Fulham
Russell Winfield	Brentford Team Ministry
Peter Wolton	St George Campden Hill with St John the Baptist Holland Road
Peter Wynter	Holy Trinity Brompton

Stepney
Maxwell Hutchinson	St John on Bethnal Green
Alexandra Lilley	St Paul Shadwell
Graham Stevenson	St Thomas Stamford Hill
Matt Wall	St Mary Stoke Newington
Darren Wolf	Christ Church Spitalfields

Two Cities
Stephen Baxter	St Olave Hart Street
Ash Carter	Christ Church Mayfair
Ben Jones	St Mary Bryanston Square
Michael Lynch	All Saints Margaret St
Malcolm Riley	Christ Church Mayfair

 Source: Diocese of London website

IN CHICHESTER
Seventeen men and women were ordained as deacon by their diocesan bishop, Dr Martin Warner, at a moving ceremony in Chichester Cathedral on Saturday June 28. They are now ordained deacon, equipped to serve the church and wider community. They will now take up their title post in the parishes as follows.

Jimmy Young - Horsham St Mary
Alice Whalley - Moulsecomb
Chris Sutton - Slaugham & Staplefield Common
Christian Mitchell - Uckfield
Christine Keyte - Rustington
Irene Smale - Chichester St Pancras
Jo King - Pagham
Joy Collins - West field & Guestling
Kate Lawson - Hove All Saints
Mark Ashworth - Crowborough
Martin Mills - Bolney and Cowfold
Pauline Ingram - Maresfield & Nutley
Philip Edell - West Worthing
Stephanie Gardner - Beeding & Bramber with Botolphs
Steve Burston - Worth
Sue Wilkinson - Lewes St Anne, St Michael & St Thomas
Tanya Hockley - Stone Cross with North Langney
 

The Diaconate: A Flagship Ministry?

The Diaconate: A flagship ministry? by Paul Avis, published in Theology and Ministry 2 Journal - here's a link to the article.

"The diaconate has been in a state of ferment in many churches for decades and the debate shows no sign of ending. Why are churches wrestling with diaconal ministry to this extent? Individual deacons may well be blessed with a fruitful ministry, but the churches are struggling to identify just what a deacon is. Why is the issue proving so difficult? Does it mean that we cannot make sense of the diaconate, that it is an enigma that we cannot resolve,an insoluble problem? I take the diaconate to be indeed the most problematic but, at the same time, the most promising of all the ministries of the Church. I believe that the way to greater clarity about the diaconate depends on our willingness to allow our understanding of diakonia to become conformed to the paradigm that we find in the New Testament, particularly, though not exclusively, in the letters of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles. The churches have been agonising endlessly about the diaconate, but in this paper I shall argue that much of their perplexity is created by theologising on a false premise concerning biblical interpretation".
Paul Avis was General Secretary of the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity from 1998 to 2011, and later served as Theological Consultant to the Anglican Communion Office, London. He is now retired.

Moments in time - reflections on ordination and consecration

It has been great to learn about the recent ordinations and consecrations amongst the diaconal community of DIAKONIA (scroll down for some news through LDA, and Indonesian sisters in IKADIWA). A time of joyful celebration in many places, cultures and languages, but all drawn together into the family of God, serving in many different ways but all part of the body of Christ.
I came across this ordination anniversary reflection posted here and it invited me to think about what it might mean for all of us to reflect upon our own ordination/consecration/commissioning on each anniversary. (I'd welcome any written reflections!)

Ordination Anniversary

Called out to serve, not long ago
yet seems it’s been forever.
A calling tailor-made, for me
To use the gifts God gave.
If have one regret it’s this.
Why did I wait so long
to heed the voice that nudged my soul
and asked again, again, “’Who’ll go for me?”
Has life been wasted?
Heedless hours spent for myself,
which could have been
my gift to you.
But no! Those years have made me what I am,
and when the time was right,
you caught me up and carried me
on angel wings, so fast it seemed.
I flew to meet your day, and answered
“Here I am Send me.”
So thank you Lord, for calling me
To share for you the awesome task
Of bringing love alive in dark, forgotten corners,
where hearts ache to feel your Spirit’s flame
and be warmed back to life.
Thank you for the joy that bubbles up
and inspiration out of nowhere, when I least expect.
For walking by my side, and when I fall,
for being there to pick me up with tender arms.
God give me faith to walk with you
into the future you have planned for me.
Increase my trust and use my talents.
Make me brave to meet your Day,
(whenever that may be)
when you will call, and by your grace
I’ll hear an echo of familiar words,
“Well done, my faithful servant.”

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Source: Reflectionary

(John 4 lectionary reading, set for 23rd March, 2014)

As I read this, I wonder where I, as a deacon, find myself.
Is it with the disciples, sent to buy bread?  Is it with the woman, who gives water to the thirsty man at the well? -  diaconal tasks, meeting physical needs.
Is it with the people in my church or parish or my daily work, who wonder and ask questions ‘ who is he?  What is he doing?  Why is he doing it?’  Are there times simply to be with them as they ask, and wait for Christ himself to explain?  In which case, is my mere presence and support, my standing-alongside,  sufficient?
Am I with the woman as she asks those questions myself?  I don’t always understand what he’s doing.
Am I in the practical, diaconal tasks – or am I, as bridge-builder, as emissary, also with the woman as she runs back to her village and says ‘come and see’?
Do I, in my missional identity,  trust sufficiently in Christ as the source of living spiritual water, to encourage others to come to him?  Do I see deeply enough into the needs of others, to know how to question, to challenge, to encourage?
Am I the Samaritan who offers hospitality to this wandering young rabbi and his followers?  I would have to cross many cultural and religious boundaries to do so.

DRAE meeting

Rev Ann Wren, DACE President

DRAE President Rev Marianne Uri Øverlandand

DRAE (DIAKONIA Region of Africa and Europe) is one of three regional groups of the DIAKONIA World Federation. The DRAE Executive meets this week. Please hold the members of the Executive in your prayers, and especially DRAE President Rev Marianne Uri Øverlandand. Also, please hold Ann Wren and her team of helpers in your prayers. Ann is hosting the meeting in her Parish in Blackpool. She was recently elected President of DACE (Diaconal Association of the Church of England) for a three year term, with Pat Wright elected to serve as Vice-President.

A prayer for gathering
Lord of our days,
we come to you as many and as one.
With many histories and one history,
with many tomorrows and one tomorrow,
with many ministries and one ministry.
Call us together in faith;
trusting that where we are now
is where you would have us be.
Knowing, deep down
and despite our confusion,
that all is well
and all manner of things shall be well.
Call us together in hope;
believing that there is a new day for the world.
Stir us into action,
that we may be participants
in bringing good news to bear on a troubled creation.
Call us together in love;
embracing the different steps in our common journey
so that, together,
we may be a sign and symbol
of your active presence int he world.
Lord of our days,
we come as many and as one.
Called together by you
in faith, hope and love,
we commit ourselves to ministry
and look towards tomorrow. Amen.
(Rev Leanne Jenski, Rev Deac Susan Wickham, from Singing while it is still dark)