We’re into Christmas season now, a time when we give gifts to the people we love. We do it in part to remind ourselves that our friends and family are important. We also do it to remind ourselves why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.
Very probably a Hellenistic Jew, Stephen was one of the “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3), who were chosen by the apostles to relieve them of the administrative burden of “serving tables and caring for the widows.” By this appointment to assist the apostles, Stephen, the first named of those the New Testament calls “The Seven,” became the first to do what the Church traditionally considers to be the work and ministry of a deacon.
We have just returned from ten days in Ireland, split between Dublin, Belfast and Londonderry. It was interesting to me in part because I had been there in 1977 in the midst of the Troubles. In those days, I was working for Jews for Jesus. The story was that a Catholic bishop, asked when there would be peace in Northern Ireland, replied that it would happen when the Jews came preaching Christ. Well, they came, and I was driving the van for one of the music groups.
Samuel Seabury, the first Bishop of the Episcopal Church, was born in Groton, Connecticut, November 30, 1729. After ordination in England in 1753, he was assigned, as a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, to Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1757, he became rector of Grace Church, Jamaica, Long Island, and in 1766 rector of St. Peter’s, Westchester County. During the American Revolution, he remained loyal to the British crown, and served as a chaplain in the British army.
The exciting news this month is the ordination of Jeffrey Boyce, our deacon. Technically, he’s been our “deacon candidate” since he started here, but now we can drop the descriptor. As authorized by the Bishop, he’s been fulfilling the diaconal role all along. Accordingly, nothing much will change on Sunday mornings, except as an ordained deacon he will wear the dalmatic and stole that comes with the order.
On Saturday, October 22nd, at the conclusion of the diocesan convention, three new deacons were ordained: our own Jeffrey Boyce, and Donna Greene and Sheryl Haase from All Saints’ Vancouver. As part of the service, Jeffrey assisted Bishop Rickel in serving communion.
At All Saints’, our congregation has opened their hearts and launched a drive to collect new coats to keep local children warm this winter. The result has been overwhelming: a wagon placed in the church was overflowing with jackets for boys and girls, ages 5 to 12. We will be bringing these coats to Larchmont Elementary, where they will be distributed to needy families.
Philip, who has been traditionally referred to as a Deacon and an Evangelist, was one of seven honest men appointed, some sources say ordained, by the apostles to distribute bread and alms to the widows and the poor in Jerusalem.
It’s been a good month at All Saints’. We’re developing a very effective ministry with the homeless community, particularly with the Veterans’ Camp at 82nd and Pacific Highway. Several of you have helped provide food for them which we’re continuing to do. Jeffrey reports that 20 people from that Camp now have permanent housing which is a great achievement. It’s working, and we have had a hand in it.
All Saints’ believes in bringing comfort and love to those who need it most, in the example set for us by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are privileged to have Deacon Jeffrey Boyce in our church, who is active in the Bishop’s Homeless Task Force. Jeffrey works closely with homeless advocacy groups and commissions from the local to state level, and is pivotal to All Saints’ mission of compassion and hospitality to the most vulnerable in our community.
