The Feast of St. Philip the Deacon

Beloved in Christ, 

Today is the feast of St. Philip the Deacon. Philip was one of the original seven deacons, who were ordained to help serve the poor and marginalized in the budding, ethnically diverse Christian community in Acts 6. They were agents of compassion, practical care, and connection across difference. 

Deacons play an enormously important role in the economy of Christ's Body, the church. They stand in our midst as particular icons of the call we all share to follow Jesus in serving the "poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely" (Book of Common Prayer, pg. 543). In our liturgies, they proclaim the gospel where we meet Jesus who draws closest to those the world pushes aside, they bid us to confess our sins and return to following the way of Jesus, they prepare the table for the Eucharist as signs of Jesus who is always expanding the table and making more room, and they give the dismissal to send us into the world to love and serve with the heart of Jesus. 

The deacons of this diocese carry out this ministry of helping to bridge the church and the world in a wide variety of ways and contexts. As some of our deacons are fond of saying, "if you've met one deacon, you've met one deacon." Their heroic and holy efforts are often carried out quietly, and without a lot of affirmation or recognition. We are a better diocese because of the extraordinary ministries so many of our deacons lead and support. 

And, we need more deacons. Many of our faith communities are not currently served by one, many more would love to have one, and others have never encountered this important ministry in a direct way. It is my hope to ordain many more deacons in the years to come, and I hope that you will join me in giving serious prayer that God might continue to call forth deacons in our midst, and that you would think about who in your community God might be calling to that ministry because they are already reminding us that "in serving the helpless, we are serving Christ himself" (Book of Common Prayer, pg. 543). To learn more about the diaconate and all four orders of ministry, see here.

The diaconate is a truly radical order, in the deepest and most literal sense of that word. Their call is to keep us from becoming too complacent and satisfied with ourselves and our institution, and lead us in continually returning to our roots of the poor and crucified Jesus, whose poverty and self-offering is where God's power is most fully revealed. I thank God for the deacons of this diocese. I am a better bishop and we are a better community of disciples for them. I hope you will join me in giving thanks for their ministry today, and praying that God might raise up many more in our midst. 

Grace and peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya
X Bishop
Episcopal Church in Minnesota