Rt Revd Terence Patrick Drainey, Bishop of Middlesbrough, ordained Br David to the diaconate on 17th February, with the prayerful support of many parishioners and friends.
The sacrament of Holy Orders has three parts: Bishop, priest, and deacon. The deacon assists the priest at the altar, proclaims the Gospel, and may also baptize, and officiate at marriages and funerals. In the Acts of the Apostles we read that the Apostles were overwhelmed by the demands upon them, and so they laid hands on seven 'helpers', whose role in particular was to carry out the Church's charitable works. The first of the deacons was St Stephen, the protomartyr.
