I’m so pleased to announce that Bob Smith will be joining our staff as a vocational deacon on March 2. Bob, who served as our diaconal intern last year, will be ordained on Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. at St. John's at Diocesan Center in Norristown, 23 E Airy St. All are invited to attend this beautiful Eucharist, where six deacons will be ordained. (Also among those ordained will be Kyle Evans, the chaplain of Episcopal Community Services, who spoke at a recent Forum.)
The ministry of the vocational deacon is often described as “bringing the world to the altar and the altar to the world.” That means that they help the wider faith community respond to the needs of the wider community, helping us to live out our own baptismal call to “seek and serve Christ in all people.” Bob has a special love for pastoral care, and as an intern was part of our pastoral care team and assisted with Eucharistic Visitors.
The liturgical ministry of the deacon serves both the proclaiming of the Word and the offering of Communion. Deacons carry the Gospel Book in the entrance procession and proclaim the Gospel, and they preach regularly. They set the table, receiving the gifts and arranging the communion vessels on the altar at the offertory, and help distribute the bread at Eucharist. I know our Eucharistic Ministers will be delighted to have Bob lead the table ministry and add to their numbers!
Before there were priests, there deacons as the biblical story of Stephen reminds us in the Book of Acts. He was among those chosen to manage the equitable distribution of food in the early Christian community, so that the Apostles could focus their energy on preaching the Word. The world deacon comes from the Greek Diokonos , which meant an intermediary who acted or spoke for a superior.
According to the Episcopal Dictionary of the Church “Since ancient times the liturgical functions of deacons have suggested the activity of angels. As they proclaim the gospel, lead intercessions, wait at the eucharistic table, and direct the order of the assembly, deacons act as sacred messengers, agents, and attendants.”
While Bob will be assigned to St. Peter’s, he will work directly under the Bishop and serve at the Bishop’s discretion. Bob’s work with us will be ongoing, and he and I will be meeting soon to discuss the various ways that he will develop his diaconal ministry with St. Peter’s. He is a wonderful match for St. Peter’s charisms of welcome, service, listening and care. You can read his biography here.
If you are interested in learning more about the diaconate, or are feeling a tug toward ordained ministry, please let me know and we’ll talk. At our Pentecost service last year, the Rev. Dennis Coleman, who was archdeacon at the time, gave a moving description of the work of the deacon, and invitation to discern this ministry.
Having a deacon serve at St. Peter’s is both a wonderful gift to us, and an investment in our own work of service and care for our neighbors. Plan to give Bob Smith a warm welcome when he joins us in March.
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