New deacons ordained at Anglican Church

With the support of relatives and friends, including some high ranking officers of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Constable Hanif Johnson and retired civil servant Alison Samuel were officially ordained to the Holy Order of Deacon in the Anglican Church on Wednesday.{{more}}

Johnson is expected to enter into full ministry and become a priest, while Samuel will serve as a Non-Stipendiary Deacon.

Reverend Canon Henderson Guy, Priest in Charge of St Christopher’s Church in Barbados, in his sermon, reminded the two of their new obligation to the church and its members, including the fellow members of clergy.

“You are to assist the Bishop as a deacon and life must revolve around the divine Eucharist,” he said.

Canon Guy added that their new duties called for them to be leaders, but in order for them to be effective leaders they needed to be able to follow.

“You must be able to obey,” he said.

Rev. Guy, however, said that once they became ordained, this did not mean that they were to lose their backbone and replace it with jelly.

But they ought to accept the discipline that comes from the church.

“You are to behave yourself,” he said.

Faith and tradition are both at the centre of the Anglican tradition and this was at the heart of all the members of the church, he said.

He encouraged the new deacons to keep on learning about the church and to be prepared for disapproval.

Lastly, he made the point that there had been a myth that the offspring or the marriages of priests and other officers within the church fall apart, but he encouraged the congregation to continue to pray for the clergy.

“We are what we are because of your prayers,” Rev Guy said.

Deacon Johnson was born and grew up in Grieggs Village. He was the 1992 Valedictorian of the Emmanuel High School, Mesopotamia and subsequently graduated with Second Class honours with an Associate of Science Degree from the UWI Open Campus, SVG. He is a Constable of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF), having worked in several departments. He credits the organizations for instilling in him discipline and obedience.

Deacon Samuel has lived in Paul’s Avenue, Kingstown in excess of 37 years; and as a sworn Justice of the Peace, she has gained the respect and confidence of her community. She is a graduate of the St Vincent Girls’ High School, and pursued her tertiary education at the Barbados Community College, the Universities of the West Indies, and Wolverhampton, England, and at the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators in the UK. She is a retired civil servant having served the government and people for 37 years, and having held several senior level positions within the service. Her last post was that of Registrar, International Business Companies at the International Financial Services Authority. Samuel is a member of the Cathedral choir and the Anglican Church Women Association (ACWA).

It is expected that Deacon Johnson will now return to Codrington College to complete his studies, while Deacon Samuel will serve throughout the archdeaconry of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Ordination was administered by Bishop of the Windward Islands His Lordship The Right Reverend C. Leopold Friday. (DD)