I was in the heart of the city today, with the heart of the church. Put another way, I was the guest of our archdeacon, the Ven. Laura Eustis Siriani, and a dozen of our Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles deacons at a festive lunch at historic El Paseo Inn on Olvera St.
What a joy to compare notes with these devoted servants of the gospel. They’re feeding the hungry, battling to save the planet, helping run missions and parishes, and innovating in prison ministry. Some see a unique role for deacons in these fraught political times, representing for the unity and peace of Christ, a balm for the wounds of anxiety and rage.
We’re experiencing a spike in interest in the diaconate. Seven folks in the diocese are actively discerning whether they’re called to ordination. Having a deacon in a congregation, preaching and teaching, assisting in the proclamation of the gospel and administration of the sacraments, completes the texture of worship. So does deacons’ outside ministry, usually as servants to those in need. In this they are our pioneers, since in Christ, whenever we are loving our neighbor as ourselves, putting others’ interests first, we are being deacons.
