The following article is from the November 1999 issue. To receive a copy of the entire issue, click here . It s been 20 years, a mere two decades and just a blink of the eye for a church looking at its third millennium. But the impact of the diaconate, begun in a formal way just 20 years ago in this diocese, would be difficult to measure.
Numbers can tell a fraction of the story.
From the half dozen deacons who met with Bishop Vincent Harris in 1979 to begin a formal training program for the Austin Diocese, today more than 150 deacons and their wives serve in Central Texas. Next June it is expected that Bishop John McCarthy will ordain 34 more men. But that is only part of the story. The ordained deacons and, in many cases, their wives are serving in a myriad of ministries, from homeless shelters to baptismal classes, from building retreat centers to working with the deaf. The number of lives they have impacted is immeasurable.