Sunday, June 27th at Christ Church Cathedral three new deacons were ordained by Bishop Michael Ingham: The Rev. Christopher Dierkes recently appointed Curate at Christ Church Cathedral was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate (he will now await his ordination to the priesthood later in the year), The Rev. Christine Magrega of Holy Trinity Cathedral and The Rev. Robert Mitchell of St. George, Maple Ridge were both ordained to the Diaconate.

Prior to Sunday’s ordination the three ordinands spent the weekend in retreat led by The Rev. Grant Rogers, Incumbent at St. John, Port Moody, who also preached at the liturgy.

Rev. Rogers opened his address by expressing his feelings about preaching at Christ Church Cathedral for the first time in 24 years.

He said that the Cathedral is a place where mission and ministry are birthed for the whole diocese, a diocese where the Diaconate is an essential part of the church. Rev. Grant reminded the congregation that the Gospel (Mark 10:35-45) points out that we must put aside all delusions of grandeur and that goes for bishops, priests and deacons. He cautioned Christopher, Christine and Robert that being ordained can easily become an opportunity to feel entitled and to focus on things that don’t really matter like, “where we sit” and “what we wear.” He went on to tell the new deacons that they aren’t just functionaries and administrators but motivators and catalysts for the whole church.

His message to Christopher, Christine and Robert about the privilege of serving others and by serving others serving Jesus was a powerful one.

These three ordinands each have profound stories concerning their call to ordained ministry. These stories will be explored in the September, 2010 issue of Topic the newspaper of the Diocese of New Westminster.
 
The Ordinands are presented to Bishop Michael. Front Row, Left to Right: Kerry Baisley (Bishop's Chaplain), Christopher Dierkes, Christine Magrega, Robert Mitchell