Journey to the Diaconate

by Melissa Carter

As my time here at All Saints draws to a close, I thought I'd write a little bit about Saints. One of the beautiful things about this church being named All Saints is that we’re not confined to a yearly remembrance of one Saint in particular (that gets a little boring over time) and there are hundreds of Saints in our world. Many who lived long before us, many who surround us, and many who will come in the future.

Saints are individuals whose lives have borne exceptional witness to the Gospel of Christ, showing holiness, faithfulness, and a significant impact on the Church and the world. They are commemorated not as perfect beings but as people through whom God's grace was powerfully at work. Commemorated individuals include not only Anglicans but Christians from many traditions and eras, showing the church’s unity in Christ across time.

In the Episcopal Church, "A Great Cloud of Witnesses: A Calendar of Commemorations" is one resource for identifying and commemorating individuals considered examples of Christian faith and life. While it does not use the term “saint” in the same exclusive way as the Roman Catholic Church, it provides a broader understanding appropriate to Anglican theology. Saints days honor particular individuals (apostles, martyrs, teachers, etc.) whose lives reflect God’s work in the world. Their commemoration is not about elevating them to divine status but about giving thanks and learning from their witness.

In the next weeks you’ll read about St. Phoebe of Cenchreae, who is mentioned by Paul in his letters to the Romans, and Anna Ellison Butler Alexander (c. 1865 – 1947), who was born in Georgia and who, in 1907, became the first and only African American deaconess in the United States.

“Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.

Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”

Bishop Michael Curry