the powerless invitation

The deacon is one who waits. He is never in charge. He is the servant of others–of God, of his bishops, of the congregation. He is a voice: it is his task to read the Lord’s Gospel, not his own….He is a servant: it is his task to wait at the Lord’s table….It is others who preside; he is the waiter, the attendant. Is there anything at all that is peculiar to the deacon? Is he given powers that are given to no one else? The answer is “No.” There is notihng he can do which nobody else can do. But that is just what is distinctive about him. He has no power. He is a servant. he is entrusted with the ministry of Christ who washes his servants’ feet. He embodies the service of the Lord who has made himself the servant of us all.

— Anglican bishop-theologian Mark Santer.