Went to a meeting hosted by the Bishop of Auckland , Patrick Dunn, to introduce the Deacon Formation Programme to train deacons for the Auckland Church. This was held in the Columba Centre - which formerly was one of the blocks of the Vermont Street Catholic School, closed in the 1990s when they reckoned it would cost too much to repair. Then it was repaired.
Anyway these deacons are going to be non-stipendiary - that is they don't get a salary unless the job they may do, has a stipend attached to it - such as a chaplain in a prison.
Candidates or aspirants as they are called in the first year of training - (1 evening a week, one Saturday a month in school term time) will be over the age of 35, married, or be celibate.
The wives will be expected to be quite involved. There was a big crowd there, many couples a lot of clergy and a few women like me there.
A North Shore deacon (in dog collar and cardigan) looked more clerical than the clerics and was ordained to the diaconate in South Africa in 2001. I think he is going to be involved in the training and selection. Monsignor Arahill himself an older man now, warned about having too many old men in these jobs.
This South African deacon likes the rubrics of the job and enjoys bringing back all the bowing and scraping , incense and the like.
The Bishop and the deacon gave a historical overview of the diaconate including a mention of the fact that there were deaconesses in the early Church, but that there was no conclusive proof that they did exist. And so that was that.
Now there are deacons in 131 countries, including our own - the Hamilton Diocese is training a second group. They do everything a priest does, except consecrate the bread and wine, and give absolution.
It looks as though it will be all very clerical, traditional and, might I add, sexist.
Anyway these deacons are going to be non-stipendiary - that is they don't get a salary unless the job they may do, has a stipend attached to it - such as a chaplain in a prison.
Candidates or aspirants as they are called in the first year of training - (1 evening a week, one Saturday a month in school term time) will be over the age of 35, married, or be celibate.
The wives will be expected to be quite involved. There was a big crowd there, many couples a lot of clergy and a few women like me there.
A North Shore deacon (in dog collar and cardigan) looked more clerical than the clerics and was ordained to the diaconate in South Africa in 2001. I think he is going to be involved in the training and selection. Monsignor Arahill himself an older man now, warned about having too many old men in these jobs.
This South African deacon likes the rubrics of the job and enjoys bringing back all the bowing and scraping , incense and the like.
The Bishop and the deacon gave a historical overview of the diaconate including a mention of the fact that there were deaconesses in the early Church, but that there was no conclusive proof that they did exist. And so that was that.
Now there are deacons in 131 countries, including our own - the Hamilton Diocese is training a second group. They do everything a priest does, except consecrate the bread and wine, and give absolution.
It looks as though it will be all very clerical, traditional and, might I add, sexist.
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