Dear Redeemer Family,
On Saturday Evening, November 12, we will witness the ordination of our parish’s first Vocational Deacon - Steve Byrd! You can register to attend here.
Steve, congratulations brother. You have long served the Lord, the church, and the city of Richmond in humble, patient, gracious ways. We rejoice to see you respond to the Lord’s call on your life by submitting yourself in service to Christ’s church. Well done.
As we celebrate Steve’s ordination, it seems the right time to let everyone know how much we need vocational deacons to serve here in our parish.
Are you called to be ordained as a vocational deacon?
If you are interested in learning more about what this means, sign up here to come to a lunch meeting after worship services on Sunday, October 2 at the Parish House.
Now, I would imagine that many (if not most) of you are wondering, “What is a vocational deacon?”
A vocational deacon is a “deacon for life.” In other words, someone who is ordained to serve out the remainder of their days in the church as a deacon, and who does not sense a call to move on towards the priesthood. A vocational deacon is typically a man or woman who is not on paid church staff, but rather works in the marketplace full or part-time while serving the church in an unpaid capacity.
Note: In the Anglican tradition, everyone who is ordained starts as a deacon, and then some deacons are ordained as priests, some priests are ordained as bishops, etc. You might think of Anglican ordination a bit like a Russian doll. Inside every Archbishop is a Bishop, inside every Bishop is a priest, inside every priest is a deacon. There are stories of deceased Anglican Archbishops asking to be buried in their deacons robes - symbolizing that, at the heart of all ministry, is humble service.
The following description is lifted from our Diocesan website’s general Application for Holy Orders.
What Is a Vocational Deacon?
From the very earliest days of the church, Deacons were understood to occupy a special place in the Christian community, set apart along with the Bishops and Priests for a servant role modeled on that of Christ himself.
According to the Ordinal of the Anglican Church in North America, “It belongs to the Office of a Deacon to assist the Priest in public worship, especially in the administration of Holy Communion; to lead in public prayer; to read the Gospel, and to instruct both young and old in the Catechism; and at the direction of the Priest, to baptize and to preach. Furthermore, it is the Deacon’s Office to work with the laity in searching for the sick, the poor, and the helpless, that they may be relieved.”
Vocational Deacons are called and empowered by God, ordained by the Bishop, and dedicated to a Christian ministry of service, sent out by the Bishop with the authority of the Church to engage in servant ministry for others. The particular order of vocational Deacon carries with it the intent of permanency, in contrast to a transitional Deacon, who is further called to the Priesthood.
In addition to the liturgical ministry of Word and Sacrament, the Deacon leads the Church into the world as an example and as a reminder that Christ calls us all to go out to serve him as we serve others. While vocational Deacons may be employed by a local church or Christian ministry, most vocational Deacons have secular employment. They live out their office and ministry in a variety of callings. For example, vocational Deacons serve in a wide range of servant-ministries, including:
Pastoral care to the aged, homebound, poor, homeless and relationally broken
One-on-one spiritual support/discipling/counseling
Ministry in prison
Evangelism and outreach
Healing Prayer
Community Chaplaincy
Administration
Worship Leader
Parish support
Cross-cultural missions
Teaching
Art & Music
All those exploring ordained ministry should consider whether God might be calling them to the ministry of the vocational Deacon.
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
—Philippians 2:5-8
Church family, Redeemer needs vocational deacons in order to be a healthy parish. This calling is not to be taken lightly. It is a serious, life-transforming vocation. I pray that the Lord will raise up among us many men and women to serve the people of our parish and our city in the name of Jesus in the years to come.
In the Father’s love,
