My Sisters and Brothers,
Saturday, March 18, God willing, Izak along with two others will be ordained a deacon in Christ’s holy catholic Church. Once hands are laid on him, he will spend at least six months serving the Church in a new way until he is ordained a priest. Many unfortunately often think of the clergy as ministers of the church. As our candidates for confirmation have been learning, our catechism asks the question, “Who are the ministers of the Church?” The answer of course is “The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.” For as long as I can remember, I have been bothered by this answer. I think the order listed is wrong. Lay persons certainly should come first, in part because they are the largest group of the church, however, the primary reason I believe they should come first is because it is by our baptisms that we become part of the Church, the body of Christ on earth. It is in our Baptism we pledge to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in the prayers. It is in our baptism that we proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, and that we will strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being. In short, that we will do the work Jesus sends us to do, to love and serve the Lord. Those ordained deacons, priests, and bishops are only set apart for specific additional roles and responsibilities. We do not relinquish any of our promises, the ministry of our baptism. Like a pyramid, if the base is not the widest and strongest, all the rest will fall. Deacon Tina, and soon Izak will both be deacons in the church. One of the quirks of this is that Izak will no longer be a member of Calvary. Once ordained, clergy are listed on the roles of the bishop. Deacons in particular are under direct service to bishops and serve where and how directed. Soon, Calvary will be calling a rector. Notice it is not hiring a rector. The rector, just like a deacon is not here to work in place of the laity, but with and to guide. An example I frequently use is if the rector was able to spread the good news of Christ with one person each month, the gospel will be spread with twelve people a year. If there are forty church members and each of them spread the good news of Christ with one person each month, four hundred and eighty people a year might be brought closer to Christ, some of whom might even join the church. I do not discount the influence clergy can have, but we will never have the influence of the congregation to whom we are called to serve.
Peace
Bryant+
