What's it like to be a distinctive deacon in the Church of England? Look no further!
Tradition tells us that Ignatius was thrown to wild beasts in 107 AD, a martyrdom commemorated today. He has a special place in the heart of deacons.
(image from Busted Halo)
Saturday 3 February 2018 St Matthew’s Westminster 10.30am – 3pm
If you are considering a vocation to any form of religious life, to the diaconate or the priesthood, however preliminary your thinking, then you are invited to our next Vocations’ Day. We will be looking at how to nurture your calling from and within a Catholic tradition and how to flourish as a Catholic Anglican in a changing church.
Two very experienced speakers will address us:
The Rt Revd Martin Seeley Bishop of St Edmunsbury and Ipswich and formerly Principal of Westcott House Theological College and
The Revd Richard Collins who is the Vicar of Christ the Saviour, Ealing Broadway and formerly Director of Ordinands of Durham Diocese.
There will be a chance to ask questions in an informal setting and no committment to a vocation is expected.
The day will include refreshments, lunch and a midday Mass.
Deacon Rick Wagner, a Roman Catholic deacon in Indianapolis, posted this beautiful experience on his blog:
‘… I recall the most powerful experience I ever had while praying the rosary. My father-in-law, Joe, passed away eight years ago. He was a good man and is still missed by all. The following was written a few days prior to his death:
I took Tuesday afternoon off to go sit with Joe. Not only to spend time with him, but to give my wife and her mom and her sisters a chance to step away from it for a time.
Joe’s body was shutting down and was reacting with twitching and agitated involuntary movements. When it was just he and I in the room, I took out my rosary and began to pray. I prayed in a whisper, but audibly. Joe became visibly calmer. As I increased the volume of my prayer, he became calmer still. Finally, I moved my chair closer to Joe, leaned forward and simply prayed the rosary aloud. His body movements all but stopped, his breathing slowed and there was a sense of peace. I felt peaceful as well. For those fifteen minutes of prayer, Joe and I were at peace and fully felt the presence of Jesus.
Being part of such an intimate experience was powerful. The message was powerful as well…love of family, the power of prayer, the presence of Jesus in our lives and the gift of perspective…’
(extract from his posting yesterday)
Additional information
There is parking at St Edward’s Church
If people are going to travel by train, arrangements can be made for transfer to
Tadcaster Road from York station.
Please indicate when you book, if you would like picking up, telling us when your
train arrives, and we will then make arrangements for a pick up.
Suggested Programme
9.30 Arrival – Coffee & biscuits
10.15 Welcome and opening prayers
Session 1
Coffee break
Session 2
12.30-13.30 Lunch
Session 3
Discussions Groups/Deacon stories
Plenary
15.45 Tea and cake
16:00 Depart
Booking Form
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
Email:
Send to:
Charlotte Cranfield
12 Penny Lane
Easingwold
York
YO61 3RR
If you have any queries email Charlotte at
Many congratulations to Deacon Corinne Smith! She celebrated the 20th anniversary of her ordination yesterday by preaching and deaconing at the Eucharist. Corinne has a special affinity with St Michael and her homily celebrates angels, which she’s kindly shared.
‘Angels in general, and St Michael in particular, have always been very important to me. It began when I was born – on the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. The first Anglican Church I attended from the age of 7 was St Michael and All Angels,
Croydon; and I have vivid memories of taking part in a school production of Paradise Lost – although I was disappointed that the part of Michael went to my friend Alexandra Fogden!
During my ordination training I spent 18 months at St Michael and All Angels, Steventon. I was ordained at Michaelmas, and during the service was seated immediately opposite the St Michael window in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. I went to serve my Curacy in a Team ministry in Abingdon, where one of our churches was St Michael and All Angels – and my training incumbent’s name was Michael (but I won’t speculate about his angelic qualities).
As The American deacon, Bill Ditewig, has noted in a recent article, In Eastern traditions, deacons have been frequently been associated with the role of angel in the community. In particular, deacons are often associated with angels who would later be described as Archangels. Michael, the great defender of the people; Gabriel, who announces and explains great messages, and Raphael: a healer who guides and protects his charges.
At the ordination service for Deacons, the Bishops says, “Deacons are called to work with the Bishop and priests with whom they serve as heralds of God’s Kingdom. They are to proclaim the Gospel in word and deed, as agents of God’s purposes of love. Sounds like there’s a lot of similarity between a deacon and an angel to me!!
Michael appears in the Old Testament as a special helper of Israel, but it is from the account in the Book of Revelation that he has become best known, as the principal fighter of the heavenly battle. In Christian art St Michael is usually portrayed fighting a dragon, representing the devil. By his actions, St Michael is bringing the light and goodness of Christ to overcome the forces of darkness of sin and death.
The other archangels whom we are thinking about today are Raphael and Gabriel.
Raphael’s name means ‘God has healed’ and he, like Michael was venerated in the East as a healer since early times. He is sometimes identified with the angel who stirred up the healing pool in Jerusalem, and many healing guilds have been placed under his patronage, including the Guild of Health and St Raphael, of which I am a member.
Gabriel, whose name means “God is my strength” is, in the Old Testament, the angel who helped Daniel understand his visions, but is best known in the New Testament as the angel who told Zechariah about the forthcoming birth of John the Baptist, and who then came to Mary to announce the future birth of Jesus. In neither case, the human beings involved had any idea what was about to happen to them, but the angelic messengers entered into their situation and brought news which would turn their lives around.
What is important about angels for our purposes is that in both Jewish and Christian tradition angels are messengers and agents of God, who bring messages to human beings and intercede for them.
I think there are several things here which relate to the work in which I have been involved down the years as a Chaplain both in hospitals and in a hospice. Firstly, I would say that all who work in the medical profession, have the potential to be angelic messengers for God to the patients they encounter every day.
For doctors, for example, the news they bring may not be good, but through the knowledge and skills which God gives them in different ways, God can, and does, use them to be agents of his purposes to bring people healing and wholeness. Healing is, of course, not the same thing as cure and, indeed, some of the most whole people I’ve met have been chronically ill, or even at the point of death.
Secondly, God created people in his own image and so, in every person we meet, whether in hospital or in general life, there is something of the divine spark – no matter how dim or distorted it might have become as a result of the way their lives have gone. In my encounters with patients I try to recognise that, as I approach a hospital bed with a patient lying in it, the ground on which I am standing is holy.
Thirdly, I would say that all who work in healthcare should, like Moses before the burning bush, take off their metaphorical “shoes” – that is to say, all the things that protect us and keep us at a safe distance from people – titles, medical jargon, religious language, platitudes, even dog collars – we can hide behind them all! But this would be to miss the opportunity for the kind of human encounter which can allow both chaplains and medical staff genuinely to accompany people on the painful journey they are on; to walk with them and allow ourselves to be used as channels of God’s compassion and healing.
There are many different kinds of angels in the Bible, who work in different ways. but what they have in common is that they are all God’s messengers, there to support, help, and intercede for people; but it’s not just deacons who are called to this ministry…..we all have the potential to be angels. Each one of us with our different callings and gifts can be messengers for God wherever we find ourselves, by the way we treat people.
Our churches are awesome places. They are none other than the Gate of Heaven. These are the places where we gather for worship, to be transformed and renewed, as we hear the message of the angels; but they are also the base from which we are called to go out into the world. We are therefore all called to be angels, heralds of the Kingdom in our community: sharing the Good News of God in Christ to renew and transform the lives of others amongst whom we are set.’
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Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) composed this song in the Umbrian dialect of Italian around the time that Italian began to distinguish itself from Latin. He wrote it while suffering intensely from illness near the end of his life. All of the forest scenes in the video are from Assisi, Italy. The final image is of the habit that Saint Francis wore.
Today is his feast.
Deacon David Rogers at St Luke’s Church, Milber, Newton Abbot, Devon assisted at the Harvest Eucharist and then headed up a team of cooks to provide a harvest lunch for 42 people. A lovely overflow from his diaconal role in the Eucharist – and it helps that David originally trained as a chef!
Deacon Alison Handcock has sent some info about new posts for intergenerational missioners in the diocese of Hereford. Details here: https://cofehereford.contentfiles.net/media/assets/file/IM_Advert_poster2.pdf
Exactly where deacons need to be: thinking new thoughts in fresh ways and being prepared to take risks for God and his people!
(image from http://www.covchurch.org/children/intergenerational-ministry/)
