Trinity’s Deacon Matthew Simpson tells us “It is the Deacon’s vocation to stand with those in the margins, and to advocate for the unnamed, the overlooked and the downtrodden.”
If you would like to read and learn more about the very particular calling of ordained deacons in the Episcopal Church, click the icon of St. Stephen (seen above) to open the compelling Anglican Theology Review article “The Deacon as Wise Fool” written by Deacon Kevin J. McGrane.
“Now send us out to do the work you have given us to do” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 366)
The central role of the deacon is to send the church out, individually and collectively, to do God’s work in the world. In their role as “community organizers,” deacons hold up the needs of the world while they encourage and guide the People of God to live out their baptismal promises, transforming the world through works of mercy and justice.
Here are the words in the Book of Common Prayer ordination service for deacons that describes the call of the Episcopal Deacon —
My brother, 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 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.
If you are interested in learning more about the call of the Episcopal deaconate, or if you might be interested in becoming a deacon for the Episcopal Church, please contact Deacon Matthew at matthew@trinitybuckingham.org.
Blessings on your call to serve with our deacons!
“At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ’s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself.”
— Deacon Matthew Simpson