NEWS & STORIES

Saint Paul exhorts us: “Let each of you lead the life that the Lord has assigned, to which God called you.” (1 Corinthians 7:17) You can’t wake up one day and say “I’m going to marry ‘x’ person.” Well you could, but you might be very disappointed. Not only will you feel unhappy and unsatisfied, your partner may share similar feelings, too. The same is true for the church. A person may not be a right fit in marriage for another, and thus the importance of declaration of

We learn in Sunday school and confirmation classes that the ministers of the Church are the laity (lay persons in the Book of Common Prayer), bishops, priests and deacons. In recent years, people had come to look at the ordained (bishops, priests and deacons) as more important to the life of the Church than the laity. In the early Church, both groups, the laity and ordained, made growth happen. The Church began to grow and evolve as more people joined and the Gospel was sprea

Deacons are an ancient, scripturally founded order in the church. Deacons are not secondary, dependent, or incomplete. Working directly under the bishop’s authority, the deacon informs and empowers the ministry of the people, intentionally and beyond the “walls” of the gathered church. The sacred order of deacons is a ministry that inspires the church to engage in the diakonia of all believers – to be a servant church. Deacons are living reminders of the diaconal, or servant

Discernment is an ongoing feature of our Christian journey. As a people of faith and action, we are all called by God to a life of ministry. The “Catechism” in our Book of Common Prayer makes clear that we are all ministers: “The ministers of the Church are lay persons, bishops, priests, and deacons.” To assist individuals who are beginning a period of active discernment, as well as those moving through the process of discerning, the diocesan Commission on Ministry has deve