Vincentians to be ordained as Anglican Deacons today

Another two Vincentians will be ordained as Deacons within the Anglican church in the Archdeaconry of St Vincent and the Grenadines today, being the feast day of St Michael and All Angels.

Elso Ross and Milton Thomas will be ordained to the Diaconate and will serve as Non-Stipendiary Deacons in the Anglican Church.{{more}}

Elso Ross is a teacher by profession. He has spent more than 37 years in the classroom, most of which were spent at the Belmont Government School. He is a communicant in good standing at the St John’s Anglican Church, Belair and is the son of the late Augustus Ross, a long-standing lay reader of the Church.

Ross was an altar server for many years; he was then licensed as a lay reader and chalice bearer, serving for over 16 years. He currently serves as Eucharist Minister in the Parish of St Paul Calliaqua, with St John’s, Belair. He is a resident of Upper Cane Hall, where he resides with his wife, Carol, head teacher of the Kingstown Preparatory School.

Milton Thomas, who resides at at Bamberaux Road, Layou, is married to retired schoolteacher Susan Seaton-Thomas and is a father of two. He has been a lay reader and chalice bearer with over 19 years of experience and is also a Eucharist Minister.

He is a communicant in good standing at the St James Parish Church, Layou. Thomas was a member of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) for over 37 years and has served as both priest’s warden and people’s warden and as the parish representative on the Island Church Council (ICC). Thomas is a taxi driver by profession.

Upon their ordination today, the Deacons will serve as Non-Stipendiary Deacons throughout the Archdeaconry of St Vincent and the Grenadines. The ordination rite specifies that a Deacon is called to serve the Church of God and work with its members in caring for the poor, the needy, the sick and all who are in trouble. The newly ordained Deacons will also assist the Bishop and priests in public worship and in the administration of God’s word and sacraments, and in carrying out other duties assigned to them from time to time.

The ordination will be administered by Bishop of the Windward Islands, His Lordship the Right Reverend C Leopold Friday and will take place at the St George’s Cathedral in Kingstown, beginning at 5 p.m.

The sacrament will be attended by Anglicans from the Diocese of the Windward Islands, and other Dioceses of the Church in the Province of the West Indies and the Anglican Communion.