Revesby: Deacons serving together

(photo: Minister Shane Gooch and Deacon Linda Lindsay.)

Deacons have been part of Revesby Presbyterian Church for about 15 years. Currently there are two deacons, a married couple, who are training another three people to assist them, including two women.

Shane Gooch, minister at Revesby, in Sydney’s south-west, says the diaconate shows how men and women work together.

“The deacons are gifted in mercy ministry,” Shane says. “They are proactive in working behind the scenes to help with the temporal needs of people in our congregation, such as visiting, helping out with meals, driving people to appointments, and showing hospitality. They are servant-hearted.”

“Being a deacon gives us the chance to work as part of a team ministering to the needs of our church family using our combined strengths and abilities,” Deacon Linda says.

“It’s a very tangible experience of what it means to work and live as the body of Christ,” she says.

There are many examples, but one stands out for Shane. An elderly lady in the congregation, Lilian*, has no family to help with the care she needs. Lilian receives some government support but has ongoing physical and health issues. Deacon Linda initiated a conversation with Lilian, including Shane and two other women in the church. The conversation revealed Lilian also had no will, no advanced care directive and no enduring guardian. Through their help, Lilian now has these set up.

“Deacon Linda, a mental health nurse, led and guided this conversation sensitively and gently,” says Lyn, one of the church members supporting Lilian. “It brought significant practical outcomes for Lilian.”

Revesby’s deacons are also involved in nursing home ministry, in making hampers for students and people who are struggling, and in coordinating fellowship lunches after the morning service on select Sundays. Shane has seen the role of the deacons “organically developing over time, and expanding,” in response to the needs of people in the congregation.

“As people have experienced the hospitality and kindness of the deacons, they are themselves doing that to others,” Shane says.

“This is a beautiful example of women and men working together to use their gifts to serve each other in the church.”

Newcomers to the church have shared how the deacons made them welcome by visiting them, offering hospitality, even helping them find work and driving them to interviews. Having a male and female deacon working together has helped newcomers integrate into church life.

Shane reports, “I have learned my role is to minister to everyone. I have a good relationship with the deacons, male and female.”

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