Author Archive: Geoffrey Hall

Deacon Competencies

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Potential deacons and priests in the Diocese of Fredericton both enter into a discernment process that helps to clarify if they are being called to ordained ministry.

Discernment leading to the diaconate
Discernment leading to priesthood

While the roles of deacons and priests are different, the qualities required for ordination are similar. The Diocese seeks to ordain people who are:

Gatherers and builders of the community
Rooted in Christ-centred spiritual practice that is Anglican in approach
Emotionally and relationally mature
Able to offer strong leadership and to work collegially under the authority of others
Good listeners and lifelong learners
Good stewards of their body, mind and spirit, and of the other relationships in their lives

The Iona Report was helpful in delineating diaconal competencies to guide in both the discernment and function of the ministry of the deacon. Competencies are arranged into seven areas each of which are described as they are aligned with the deacon at the 1) time of selection, 2) the time of ordination and, 3) in life-long learning.

Area A: DIAKONIA AND THE DIACONATE
Area B: HUMAN AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING
Area C: SPIRITUALITY AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
Area D: PRACTICAL TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Area E: CHURCH POLITY AND DIACONAL MINISTRY IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE
Area F: SCRIPTURE
Area G: CHRISTIAN HISTORY

Download, view or print the Competencies for Deacons

Safe Church at Christ Church Cathedral

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At Christ Church Cathedral we take the safety of all people seriously. We are committed to cooperating with our own Diocesan Safe Church procedures,  those of the Anglican Church of Canada and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Over the last several years significant progress has been made at all levels of the church to help protect and assure that the church is a safe place to be. Perhaps especially we need to be vigilant with regard to ministry with children, the elderly and vulnerable individuals. Safety is the responsibility of us all and at all times.

Visit the Cathedral Safe Church page to find out more.

Understanding the cultural realities of children and youth today

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Youth

Janet Craswell and Angela Pupino say ministries with children and youth were severely impacted by the pandemic and are still rebuilding in most churches. They say a truly intergenerational church must embrace the voices and concerns of younger people and acknowledge the unique cultural realities that shape the lives.

Lewis Center for Church LeadershipThere are very few intergenerational spaces left in our society. School, work, even some housing is segregated by age. One of the blessings of the church is that it is intergenerational. It always has been. But as an intergenerational body the church must also be “intercultural,” understanding and embracing the cultural realities of each generation.

Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking of children and youth as the church of tomorrow. They are not. They are ... Read more

Cathedral Sunday intercessors meet

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PrayerThose who lead Sunday intercessions gathered on Tuesday, November 7th with Deacon Isabel Cutler to discuss and share resources used in this ministry of prayer.

An invitation had been made to others with interest in joining the team which is comprised of about 12 individuals. Assignments are currently determined by way of the Cathedral Signup for worship and all were encouraged to sign up well in advance to facilitate planning and to make opportunities open to all who participate.

Prayer leaders facilitate the prayers of the congregation and encourage all who worship to be actively involved in the process by offering their intentions and petitions in silence or aloud reflecting their own need and those known to them. While there are several categories often routinely addressed like: prayers for the church, the world, the ill, those who have died and those who mourn, it's not necessary, possible or preferred to pray for "every thing or every body every time." The main goal is to assist the assembly in its corporate prayer.

Among topics of discussion were Anglican "models" of prayer, preparation time, pros and cons of extemporaneous vs formula prayers, the context of the day's scripture or season, the value of diversity, style and content, the need to be cautious with politically-loaded opinions, instructing God about how to behave, and resisting preaching through prayer. The usual or most common categories included in the Sunday intercessions or prayers of the people were identified.

Attendees were also encouraged to offer resources they have found helpful in preparation. Among were many that can be found online including:

Several books in print were briefly discussed noting that many are available at a reasonable cost by way of a web search of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) number which often discovers items on sale or used book sources as well as affordable e-book options.

If you're interested in this ministry your welcome and encouraged to content Isabel Cutler or the Dean to explore. Mentoring or tutoring can be arranged to assist in becoming an intercessor.

GMH

The Ministry of Deacons – Diocese of Fredericton

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Role and Function of Deacons
A deacon needs to have the character of a servant, and this character should be visible in the deacon’s life and ministry. Ordination to the vocational diaconate is not a way to recognize or validate existing ministries, but a means of forming living icons who illuminate Christ as the model of servanthood to all the baptized. Deacons are not ordained to do the outreach ministry for the Church, but lead all in the church community into servant ministry in the world. They are prophetic ministers who are called to challenge the Church to always look outside and beyond itself.

Deacons are under the authority of the bishop and of the supervising priest under whom they work. The liturgical functions of a deacon are not their primary ministry, but are symbolic and expressive of their central ministry:

  • serving all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely;
  • interpreting to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.

The fundamental difference between priests and deacons according to the late Archdeacon Ormond Plater of the Diocese of Louisiana is that “priests tend to the ‘Church gathered’, deacons tend to the ‘Church scattered.’” Deacons will normally serve 80% of their ministry in the community and 20% with the church. Deacons will be servants who have a visible ministry to the dispossessed, are willing to undertake the role of prophet, and will strengthen the servant ministry of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Fredericton.

A deacon is encouraged to attend meetings of the [church] Corporation; without vote but reporting regularly and when requested on the on-going work. A deacon assigned to a particular parish is considered “assistant clergy” and, as such, will resign should the incumbent resign his or her
appointment. A deacon may be re-appointed by the bishop to serve during the interim under the direction of the bishop and/or the territorial archdeacon and church wardens. Upon the appointment of a new incumbent, the deacon's covenant may be re-negotiated, or the bishop may
appoint the deacon to another ministry.

from Bishop's Directive 8-3 The Deacon in the Parish
Bishop of Fredericton: Directive 7.2 Discernment Leading to Ordination to the (Vocational) Diaconate
See the Diocese of Fredericton pamphet "The Ministry of Deacons"

Social media and marriage: 5 essential tips

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Social media has become so pervasive that it’s hard to even remember what it was like without it. These days, it almost takes more intention and effort to avoid it than to join in. Friends and family use it for events and parties; it’s where all the latest trends seem to pop up, and people even gain celebrity status just by sharing their lives on it.

It begs the question: what impact has it had on marriages and relationships? While there are probably a few positives, one could argue that the effects skew pretty negative. The good news, of course, is that you can avoid this outcome. Here are five essential tips to ensure that social media doesn’t harm your marriage.

1. Set boundaries.

Are you in agreement about what is and isn’t okay to share about each other and your relationship? What about who you communicate with or are “friends” with? What should you do if an ex reaches out? Even if these things are not an issue for you, it’s good to have a conversation just to make sure you’re on the same page. And if it has caused conflict in the past ...  Read more

The Diaconate of All Believers

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by Craig L. Nessan

Diaconia belongs to all the baptized as “a dimension integral to the nature and mission of the church” (World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance 2022, p. 10). Called to Transformation gives new ecumenical attention to “the diaconate of all believers, based on the view that God’s spirit graciously empowers and equips for discipleship, from the youngest to the oldest, men and women (Acts 2:17)” (World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance 2022, pp. 16–17).

From this follows that the diaconal vocation in the first place relates to everyday life: the family that cares for its members and in particular children and the elderly, the neighborhood and the workplace, civil society, and other arenas for social action (World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance 2022, p. 17).

There is clear recognition that “diaconal activities organized by local congregations and other church structures, including professional diaconal agents, depend on and are largely borne by the diaconate of all believers” (World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance 2022, p. 17). How can the church be mobilized by intentional focus on equipping the baptized for the diaconate of daily life?

While these ecumenical affirmations of the universal diaconate are crucial for the revitalization of the church, they have remained largely undeveloped beyond these formal acknowledgements. The homeostasis that strangles the vitality of the institutional church—which can be called “churchification”—remains a formidable challenge to reconstituting the church’s mission through the service of the baptized diaconate. In North America, a deep rift exists between what happens in the name of the institutional church and the rest of people’s lives. In this regard, the churches of the North have much to learn from the churches of Africa, South America, and Asia about validating and equipping all the baptized for their vocations in daily life (Jenkins 2006).

Baptism and confirmation constitute the ordination of the laity

The primary vocation of Christian people is to live out the covenant God in Christ made with them in baptism: “To live among God’s faithful people, to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper, to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people, following the example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth”. At the time of the Reformation, the universal priesthood was a radical claim about the equal status of all believers before God based on baptism. It was designed to overcome the dependency of the Christian people (laity) on the ministrations of a clerical hierarchy.

Baptism needs to be understood as a rite of ordination to the ministry for all Christian people. “Baptism and confirmation constitute the ordination of the laity, which makes it possible for them to participate in Christ’s ministry in and for the world” (Apostola 1998, p. 9). Affirming baptism as the primary ordination of Christian people grants significance and status to all the baptized as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By teaching baptism as ordination to ministry in the diaconate of all believers, the formation of the baptized for their service to others in daily life must be taken as seriously as theological education for deacons and pastors. The formation of believers for the universal diaconate begins with focused attention in the church’s worship, education, community, and leadership practices.

Read the full text from The Diaconate of All Believers: Theology, Formation, Practice, MDPI Journals, 4 June 2023

The Way of Discernment

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The Way of Discernment
by Elizabeth Liebert
Westminster, John Knox / 2008 / 170 pages

The Way of Discernment invites the reader into a series of experiments leading to discernment as a way of life and as a way of making decisions in the light of faith and a corresponding desire to follow God’s call. Liebert says: “Discernment means making a discriminating choice between two or more good options, seeking the best for this moment. These choices, while personal and conditional, are set within the community of faith and honor our previous well-made decisions” (p. 10). This text grew out of the author’s extensive experience with discernment as personal practice, her deep understanding of the Ignatian and biblical traditions of discernment, and her experience in making this important spiritual practice accessible to members of the reformed Christian tradition. The book itself is practical in its goal to serve as a facilitator of discernment for the reader.

Unique among texts on discernment of Spirits, it succinctly describes how discernment has been understood in Christian tradition; seamlessly provides a brief theology of discernment from Scripture, Ignatius of Loyola, and Calvin; and creates a seven-step framework for making an important decision through spiritual discernment.

These seven steps create the structure of the book, which treats each step in turn, always offering descriptions of processes that assist discernment. After treating the foundational dispositions necessary for discernment (interior freedom and awareness of one’s desires), foundational chapters include directions for specific practices. “The Awareness Examen” helps a person notice interior movements. “Remembering Your Personal History” personalizes one’s grounding, and “Seeking Spiritual Freedom” opens self to God’s influence. “Framing Your Discernment Question” helps one correctly identify the choice to be discerned.

The practice of “Gathering Relevant Data” sets up the remainder of the volume. It describes what to include as relevant data in a prayerful context with advice about noticing affective response to the information as it emerges. Honoring difference in personality styles and ways of discovering data, seven more practices are offered as “points of entry”—memory, intuition, somatic awareness, imagination, reason, religious affections, and nature. Each discerner is left free to use any or as many of these entry points as is helpful. The chapter on religious affections is unique in treating both Ignatius Loyola’s teaching on as well as Jonathon Edwards’ the final steps in the process are confirming one’s decision after formulating it, then assessing the entire process.

This is a text for spiritual directors, formation directors, pastoral counselors, and ministers who can put it into the hands of anyone who desires to make a decision that takes into account both one’s own life with God and the effect on important relationships of a decision. This book provides holistic, accessible, and solid guidance for practicing discernment across the spectrum of Christian denominations.

Janet K. Ruffing, RSM

On the Ministry of Deacon

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The Order of Deacon is of New Testament and apostolic origin. The Book of Acts contains what has traditionally been seen as the institution of the diaconate in the selection and appointment of “the seven” through prayer and the laying on of hands for service and distribution of food among widows in the community. The letters of Paul to the Philippians and to Timothy refer to deacons as officers alongside bishops in the life of the emerging church. Deacons became important figures in the administrative life of the church, often acting as the chief administrating officer to bishops and in particular in overseeing the temporalities of the church.

In the Middle Ages, the use and the influence of the office of deacon was diminished, as many of the roles and functions of deacons were taken over by presbyters or members of the minor orders (e.g., lectors and acolytes). During the English Reformation, the major orders of bishop, priest, and deacon were retained, while the minor orders were eliminated. Unlike the Eastern Churches, which preserved the Order of Deacon, the diaconate continued in the West as a transitional order in preparation for the priesthood. While Anglicanism claimed to continue the historic threefold orders of the Church Catholic, it was not until the 20th century that it gave serious consideration to the redevelopment of the diaconate as a permanent and distinct order of ministry.

The redevelopment of the diaconate has recalled the church to a fuller and more vital expression of its ministry as agents of mercy, healing, and justice in the world, especially among those living at the margins of systems and society, restoring the image of Christ who came “to bring good news to the poor.” Women and men called to this ministry of sacramental presence in the world serve as a reminder to the people of God that all are likewise called to follow Christ’s example of diakonia.

Ordination as a deacon is an affirmation by the church that an individual is being called to this distinctive ministry of service and agency, gifted and equipped to inspire and mobilize others into ministries of service, healing, and justice. They become sacramental signs of the presence of Christ in places of need and risk and vulnerability, in the faces of strangers and friends alike.

from The Iona Report pp. 18 and 19
The Diaconate - Anglican Church of Canada

Bishop and Chapter News – October 2023

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Bishop and Chapter met on 16 October 2023 with 8 of 13 members present. Minutes of the 11 September and 19 June meeting were adopted. J. Yeamans was elected to the chair in the absence of the Lay-Chair. The Dean lead a short discussion following a reading of Philippians 2:1-13 and some reflections on the nature of decision-making by way of Christian discernment. Some references to “The Way of Discernment” (E. Liebert) were considered.

CATHEDRAL SAFE CHURCH

Safe Church Officer Dianne Wilkins visited with an update on recent efforts toward implementing diocesan policy on safe church. V. Hachey and G. Hall offered to be part of a task group to consider next steps

FROM THE DEAN

Cathedral

• 1 care facility Communion; Diocesan Clergy Conference (18-20 September); ill and absent on Sunday 01 October; 1 committee/group meeting; 1 meeting with assisting clergy and deacons; choir rehearsal 21 September; 1 meeting of the Diocesan Finance Committee.

Up-coming

• 21 October Farraline Place fund-raiser
• 01-12 Diocesan Council development retreat
• 03 December First Sunday of Advent

ITEMS ARISING

• Nominating Committee - J. Hand appointed to the Committee. Members: H. Palmer, J. Hand, K. Schmidt, J. Dunderdale. Chapter requests the Committee meet to attend to current/upcoming business
• Vice-Chair of Chapter - referred to the Nominating Committee
• Property Committee Chair - referred to the Nominating Committee

NEW BUSINESS

• East window repair - recent storm damage to plexiglass panel. Repair estimate $8,257 (Active Glass and Mirror). Insurance ($2500 deductable) claim investigated. Cost charged to property maintenance approved
• Snow removal contract - accepted a proposal for 23/24 winter from Pro-Care of $5,175 + $100 per sanding
• Parish nurse funds - that an investment fund account be created for monies received or accumulated and designated parish nurse

REPORTS

Treasurer - Financial update presented on Sunday, 24 September, 8 and 10:30 a.m.. No specific feedback received. 30 September deficit of expenses over income is $66,580. 2023 income includes Diocesan Synod (Fabric Grant) of $45,000. Unrestricted funds ($60,000) to cover summer cash flow could be returned to unrestricted investment if available at year-end

Administration and Finance - meeting pending

Worship - planning for Christmas upcoming. Server training needs to be planned

Property - several issues have arisen. The Lay-Chair has called a meeting 24 October. Theft of hall furnace exhaust cover was fabricated for replacement and installed with no indication of cost as of yet; east window cover damage, Guild of St. Joseph replaced west door carpeting; cathedral sprinkler system replacement (+/- $175,000) to meet current safety code; hall chair lift out of operation estimated +/- $60,000 repair; security project update; cathedral boiler project; snow removal

Health and Pastoral Care - committee hasn’t met

Mission Outreach - 25 September Monday Outreach - 56 served, volunteers needed for 30 October; 3 Belize Mission scholarships 23/24 to Silvia Trapp, Caleb Martinez and Korey Kelly

Communications - no recent meeting

Christian Formation - meeting scheduled on 19 October

Welcome and Hospitality - Sunday refreshments. Several future events

NEXT MEETING

Monday, 20 November 2023                                                            GMH