Deacons Dinner Held At Synod
Deacons gathered over dinner at Synod 2019.
Ron VandenBrink
Deacons have been delegates to synod since 2016. This year, for the first time, those deacon delegates were invited to meet together over dinner for a time of fellowship and learning.
“Last year, we realized that synod was a perfect opportunity to celebrate the seating of deacon delegates. So we came up with the idea to host a dinner for the deacons at this year’s Synod,” said Carol Bremer-Bennett, U.S. director of World Renew which co-hosted the event with Diaconal Ministries Canada.
Their purpose for the dinner, which was held on Tuesday evening, was to celebrate and also network the deacons as partners in ministry. Additionally, deacons spent time looking at the changes to the church order, and at the charge to deacons from the CRCNA.
“The evening was a wonderful time to consider the parity of the role of deacon with that of pastors and elders,” said Bremer-Bennett.
“We wanted to emphasize that the role of the deacon is not just an internal role to the church but also an external role that is called to be involved locally and globally,” added Ron VandenBrink, director of Diaconal Ministries Canada.
The dinner was also an opportunity to consider how Diaconal Ministries Canada might inspire and instruct work in the United States.
At its May meeting, the Council of Delegates recently tasked Steven Timmermans, executive director of the CRCNA, to work with agencies and ministries to propose a plan for establishing a U.S.-based diaconal network. Lessons from DMC can inform this work.
“Those who attended greatly appreciated the opportunity to network together and to learn the many resources that are available from World Renew, Diaconal Ministries Canada and other CRC ministries to guide deacons in their efforts to fulfill the new mandate given to them a couple of years ago,” said Ida Kaastra-Mutoigo, Canadian director of World Renew.
“There was a lot of verbal feedback that this would be great to have every year that Synod meets.”
For continuous coverage of Synod 2019 including the live webcast, news, video recordings, photos, liveblog, social media links, and more visit www.crcna.org/synod.
