Rev. Michael Walker
 
 
Deacon at Our Lady and St. Anne Parish in Caversham   On the 25th June last year (2005)I knelt before Archbishop Vincent; he laid his hands upon my head and prayed these words, "Almighty God, be present with us by your power. You are the source of every honour, you assign to each his rank, you give to each his ministry. .... You established a threefold ministry of worship and service for the glory of your name. ... In the first days of your Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the apostles of your Son appointed seven men of good repute to assist them in the daily ministry, so that they themselves might be more free to pray and preach. By prayer and the laying on of hands the apostles entrusted to those chosen men the ministry of l serving at tables. "Lord, look with favour on this servant of yours, whom we now dedicate to the office of deacon, to minister at your holy altar. Lord, send forth upon him the Holy Spirit, that he may be strengthened by the gift of your sevenfold grace to carry out faithfully the work of ministry. May he excel in every virtue: in love that is sincere, in concern for the sick and the poor, in unassuming authority, in self-discipline and in holiness of life. May his conduct exemplify your commandments and lead your people to imitate their purity of life. May he remain strong and steadfast in Christ, giving to the world a witness of a pure conscience. May he in this life imitate your Son, who came, not to be served but to serve, and one day reign with him in heaven." This prayer of consecration that came from the lips of the Archbishop was my commission to serve the Church as a deacon. Not a deacon who is to become a priest but one who is to remain a deacon for the rest of his life; I am a permanent deacon. But what is a permanent deacon? What does a permanent deacon do? These were questions which I never really grasped during my three years of formation. Oh yes, I read the books and did the studying but no amount of formation or study could have prepared me for what I have experienced over the past year. When I embarked upon the course of study and formation I thought that the three years of preparation was a very long time, at times I thought that they would never end. But as I approached the last few months and I received a date for my ordination it all seemed to be rushing towards me. I questioned my worthiness, my readiness and even my willingness. During these times I relied on the support of those close to me. First among these is my biggest supporter and my biggest critic, my wife Sarah. Following my ordination I started to learn about being a deacon. I am still the same person but within the parish community I soon understood that people expected more from me. This was immediately evident when, very soon after my ordination our parish priest, Fr. Tony Jones, announced that he was being moved to another parish and Fr. Giles Goward was to be appointed as his successor. However, there was to be a gap between parish priests and it was my responsibility to be the bridge spanning that gap. So, along with many others in the parish we kept things as normal as possible. We were blessed that we never had to be without a priest for any weekend. Since my ordination I have experienced such a great sense of love from the people of the parish. They have shown me, in so many ways, that the love of God is alive and well in Caversham. I hope that during this time my ministry in the parish has developed and, with the help of the Lord, been for the benefit of the people of the parish. The focal point of my ministry has, of course, been the liturgy. Proclaiming the Word of God and assisting the priest ~Mass is so wonderful that my words cannot describe the joy that I have at each Mass. Preaching is a daunting experience which requires much planning and prayer and a kind of surrender to the Holy Spirit who constantly reminds me that the people do not want to hear my words, they want the words of the Lord to touch their everyday lives. Visiting the people of the parish in their homes is a great joy; sharing a part of their lives as I try to bring Christ to them. The celebration of the sacrament of Baptism is special to me, I shudder every time I say the words, "I claim you for Chrisf'. I have yet to celebrate a marriage in our Church, although I have been involved in the preparation of a number of couples and have preached in an Anglican Church when a parishioner married a lady of that denomination. At the other end of the spectrum I have had the honour of conducting funerals, being there for the relatives of the deceased both before and, more importantly, after the service. In all that I have done I have tried to bring Christ to people in the form of comfort, love and understanding. I know that I am a long way from living up to the words of the Archbishop at my ordination, I probably will never be able to, "excel in evety virtue" but I will keep trying! In everything that I have done I have received nothi98 but support and encouragement from Fr Giles. He not only allows ml to exercise my ministry but he positively insists that I do! The last word must be for my wife, Sarah. Without Sarah's support I would not now be a deacon. She encourages me and nags me but most of alii know that she loves me. Her sacrifice is the 'unknown' part of the married clergyman because, while I am out ministering to the needs of the parish, she is home alone. Unlike a priest in the parish, I am not supported by the parish therefore I have to work for a living. But, being in full time employment and spending as much time as I can exercising my ordained ministry does not leave much time for being a husband. Together,Sarah and I are still working on the time management side of our life, we're getting there but there is still some way to go. So please remember, if there is a deacon in your parish there is probably also a deacon's wife sitting at home. And that which the deacon’s wife gives to the deacon, she is giving to the Church and to the Lord. So please say a prayer for Sarah and for all deacons’ wives because without them there could not be deacons in the Church. Rev. Michael Return to Testimonials Media%20Testimonials.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
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