"It's about time!" was the joyful sentiment expressed by over thirty deacons from the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and Yukon who gathered together for the first time at Sorrento Anglican Conference Center in early April.

"So many of us work in isolation in small communities. It's good to get together and find some mutual support," remarked Deacon Walter Majola of Pelly Crossing, Yukon.

Coming from Vancouver Island, Yukon, Northern British Columbia, the Cariboo, the Okanagan, the Kootenay region and New Westminster, deacons soon discovered the common threads that bind them together as servants of the love of Christ.

Joyful worship led by Flo Masson, Director of Emmanuella House of Prayer, was interspersed throughout the weekend with inspiring teaching and discussion.

The Rev. Dr. Richard Leggett of the Vancouver School of Theology led sessions on "Diakonia and Leitourgia in Times of Conflict," and "No Sex Please, We're Anglicans" - a reflection of deacons' roles in the church in light of the release of the Windsor Report.

Director of Deacons, Archdeacon John Struthers, the Rev. Richard Leggett, the Rev. Chris Ross of Kelowna, and Bishop Gordon Light, at the Deacon’s Conference at Sorrento Centre. (Kathy Yeo photo)

The "Bishop in Residence" for the weekend was the Right Reverend Gordon Light, Suffragan Bishop of the Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior, who preached at the Sunday Eucharist and served as part of a "Ministry Panel."

The panel included Archdeacon John Struthers of New Westminster, the Rev. Chris Ross of Kelowna, Mary Dove, a member of the Provincial Synod Ministry Committee and of the national Faith, Doctrine and Worship Commission, plus Masson and Leggett.

In workshops, Masson led a session of Centering Prayer, and Ross dealt with "Dancing on the Edge - Your Well-Being as a Deacon."

Another part of the gathering gave an opportunity for deacons to contribute to the Rev. Jeanette Scott's resource project which is generating a "readers' theatre" script.

Scott, deacon at St. David's/St. Paul's in Powell River, is an English and Drama specialist. Her work is based on deacons `telling their stories' which are then blended and arranged for impact. It will be a tool for diaconal formation.

"It was certainly a full weekend, and hopefully, the first of many," remarked Archdeacon John Struthers.

Thanks go to the Provincial Synod of B.C. and Yukon and to the Anglican Foundation for making this gathering possible.

Bishops of several dioceses subsidized those attending. A special thanks, too, goes to New Westminster's Diocesan Council for making it easier for people to attend.

"Wow, what a wonderful experience for me as one exploring the diaconate," commented Wally Shea of St. Laurence. "I had no idea that diaconal ministry is so varied and reflects such dedication. I certainly feel confirmed in my call to the diaconate."