Hi, my name is Ruth and I’m one of the Inclusive Church Regional Ambassadors for London. I’m also a Methodist Deacon and have been asked to write a bit about that.
The Methodist Diaconal Order (hereafter MDO) has its roots in the 19th century, when it began as the Wesley Deaconess Order, with women who felt called to the ministry of witness and service in the Methodist Church. Many of them were also teachers, nurses or social workers, and used their skills alongside their church ministry in reaching out to people with God’s love and compassion and practical care. There is more about the history here: https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/the-diaconal-order/the-history-of-the-methodist-diaconal-order/
The current form of the MDO has evolved over the years. In the 1960s, Deaconesses could have permission to marry; from1990, the admission of men; and whilst Deacons were Ordained from the 1930s, the understanding from 1990 is that Deacons, whilst being a Religious Order, are also Ordained Methodist Ministers, in ministry which is parallel and complementary to that of Presbyteral Ministers.
Methodist Deacons are, I believe without exception, obsessed with inclusion, justice and equity in its many forms. Long before ‘EDI’ was a ‘thing’, we’ve always been working for justice and thinking about the people who are not already here, and prepared to ask the difficult questions and make awkward suggestions about how we might make our churches and communities more able to be accessible in every way.
As you might imagine, this gathers varying responses. Deacons are ‘direct stationed’ so are sent to wherever the national church (known as the Connexion) prayerfully considers we can best serve. Churches* must apply for a Deacon, from a limited number (we are almost ‘like gold dust’!) and so there must be a demonstrated will to work with us. When this is the case, we are sent to churches or contexts where people are keen to impact their community with love and service, and ready to adapt and change to enable that.
It can also be the case that in the asking of those questions or awkward suggestions, that even though ministers ourselves, we can become ‘on the edges’ of the community who have asked us to come and work with them. We end up in a liminal space, wanting to bridge the gap and ‘open wide the doors’ to sometimes find we are on the other side of them ourselves. There is no blame in this – it is a human thing. I recall a cartoon of 2 pictures of a preacher in a pulpit and a congregation. In the 1st the call is ‘who wants change?’ and every person’s hand is raised. In the next, the call is ‘who wants TO change?’ Every hand stays down.
Perhaps we all resonate with this, at least in some areas of our life and beliefs. When at ‘point A’ we may all want to get to ‘point B’, but it can be hard to do the journey to get there.
Being the person whose call it is to sometimes be an irritant in a church we love is sometimes a difficult space to inhabit. One of the very great blessings of being part of the MDO is its strong network of support for each other, who understand that this happens, and is perhaps inevitable. Whilst there are national leaders, and an annual Convocation gathering, the support is most obvious at local level where every region/district has an ‘Area group’ where Methodist Deacons meet for support and sustenance (and usually biscuits!). It is then the relief of walking into a room full of people I know already ‘get it’ and where I need not explain myself. We may share our woes and joys and be understood without trying. This is blissful! We also share a Rule of Life, which also brings sustenance and is something we can hold each other accountable to in life-giving ways. When I began, the Rule of Life seemed to me to be a list I needed to learn and acquiesce to, but over the years has become a treasure for our life and ministry in the MDO.
I am generally excited by the overall ‘direction’ of the Methodist Church. Whilst we can be painfully slow in making important changes, I feel there is a will to journey. On the whole, it is not a stagnancy, but an intention to make it a journey on which we can all go. This can be painful for those who either wish the journey were much quicker, or those who wish it were not happening. But, we are travelling.
Some of the recent progress includes permission for Methodist Churches to choose to be authorised for any legal wedding, the writing and implementation of the Strategy for Justice, Dignity and Solidarity, which is being worked out in practical ways across the church; ongoing learning for the church in neurodiversity and disability; a ban on conversion therapy in any Methodist Church; more inclusive approaches to evangelism and discipleship.
Whilst there is always more to do, I feel we’re making some progress. I hope that the MDO is part of that, in encouraging and enabling churches* in their ongoing calling, and sometimes, yes, asking some of the awkward questions. It can be easy to look for what we might like to happen, but we are called to follow where the heart of God is leading us.
For more information on the Methodist Diaconal Order: https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/the-diaconal-order/
*There are many contexts in which Deacons may be stationed to serve, and some do not directly involve a church.
Deacon Ruth Yorke