Beacons of Hope
Gwen McAllister was deeply encouraged by the spirit, vision, and common purpose at the “Beacons of Hope in a Messy World” conference this June.
Anglican and Lutheran deacons, along with ecumenical diaconal friends, gathered for the heartening and hope-full conference of the national association of Anglican Deacons Canada, in partnership with ELCIC (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada) Deacons, at Sorrento Centre in BC’s Okanagan Valley.
Attending as a representative of CCS, Gwen McAllister felt fully welcomed and engaged in the community that came together. Other CCS-connected friends present included Ted Dodd, Linda Ervin, Nancy Ford, Ansley Tucker, Ken Gray, and more. Michael Shapcott welcomed the group to Sorrento Centre and Maylanne Maybee shared remembrances of deacons past that grounded the gathered in the larger diaconal community across time and space. In worship, great food, and a lot of laughter, the feeling of community was present like an embrace. There was also serious business at hand: final input on a draft theological statement on the diaconate for the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as work on a document of best practices – evidence of rising diaconal values and common identity in the ACC.
But what gave Gwen even more hope for the church and world was the participatory nature of the conference and diaconal way in which it was organized. Leadership was offered collaboratively and in a spirit of mutual servanthood. Workshops focused on practical issues facing the ADC and deacons in their ministries, offered by deacons within the ADC and broader network. Likewise, the plenary speaker, Christian Harvey, was an Anglican deacon working in Peterborough, helping mobilize a lot of people and resources under the banner of One City to meet the shelter, safety, and belonging needs of the most marginalized people in their city. The stories he told illustrated an active, deeply faithful approach that is so practical and loving as to transcend polarized ideology and moralism.
With such a reconciling way of right relationship lighting the diaconate’s way forward, Gwen can’t wait to see what deacons will do in the Anglican Church and ecumenically as the community strengthens and organizes. In the words of the draft Theological Statement on the Diaconate that will be presented at next General Synod, “An ecumenical renewal of our ecclesiology has highlighted the responsibility of all the baptized to strengthen the Church’s capacity to witness and serve on the edge of the dominant culture. … Many Christian denominations are rediscovering the diaconate as an order particularly suited to help the Church meet this sacred challenge.”
More on the conference and more photos: https://anglicanjournal.com/deacons-see-new-potential-as-emissaries-for-church-in-fractured-world/
(Conference group photo credit – Ken Gray)
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