Deacon Gary Stokes, 10 November 2022 Deacon Gary Stokes was called to the hospital one day to visit a man on the point of death. He had experienced it before; people ask what is ahead and it frightens the heck out of them. But this time was significant. He had very recently baptised the man’sContinue reading “Deacon Gary Stokes – Just Amazing”
Category Archives: Deacons
Liturgy on the Margins
Australian Diaconal Ministry, Present and Future Once upon an outback prison, there was a need. A yearning for spiritual support and motivation. And there were not enough ministers to provide it. But one day, the appeal from the bishop and priest chaplain received a response, and a volunteer started to visit one of the units.Continue reading “Liturgy on the Margins”
What is Diaconal Ministry?
This is a question that has much exercised my pondering neurons of late. There doesn’t seem to be a simple or universally-agreed answer. I’m bearing in mind that the current model of the ministry has only existed in the Roman Catholic Church since Vatican II in the 1960s, so it is still in the earlyContinue reading “What is Diaconal Ministry?”
About Women in the Diaconate
There is a long history of women in the diaconate, starting with St Phoebe, named in Romans 16:1-2. A verse in 1 Timothy 3:11 also refers to the qualifications of women deacons.1 At the time, all ministries in the church were in development, and there were no clear structures or offices, such as the bishop/priest/deaconContinue reading “About Women in the Diaconate”
Deacon Gary Stone – A Force of Compassion
Gary is a Brisbane-based deacon who has served as an army and police chaplain, and then established Veterans Care: “holistic care of body, mind and soul”. He set a time to contact me with military precision: 0900 hours, if you please. However, on talking to him, I found that he has calibrated his sharp sensesContinue reading “Deacon Gary Stone – A Force of Compassion”
Liturgy on the Margins 