Cathedral Deacons’ Monthly Meetings

By Deacon Kenneth Matela

The second Monday of the month is a day marked in the calendars of the Cathedral deacons.  For several years now, they meet together on this day at seven o’clock in the evening at the Rosario Dee Hall.  This used to be a quarterly meeting with the Primate that later on became a monthly meeting and was handed over to Fr. Patrick Gatan as the presider.  Lectures are conducted on the writings of the early church fathers, on teachings extracted from books authored by Christian writers, and sometimes, with personal meditations of the Scriptures.  Last year, Fr. Patrick started giving the task of doing the lectures to the seven Area Deacons.  Topics were pre-determined with sources and materials provided to the assigned lecturer.  This year, the task is expanded to deacons other than the Area Deacons.  These sessions help the deacons enrich their knowledge about the Kingdom of God with focus on understanding their ministry better.

The second part of each session following the lecture is fellowshipping.  Here, the deacons mingle together with no specific groupings but each one gravitates toward those he feels he should interact the most.  Stories are exchanged, experiences shared, advices given, and jokes thrown at each other.  Laughter – a good medicine for the heart - is a staple in these gatherings.  All these happen while the deacons enjoy a simple but truly delightful meal.  In one recent lecture, the deacons were reminded how important it is to have meals together.

Every now and then, the leaders give special announcements about certain church activities, new ordinances, or just simple reminders on things that deacons should know or should be reminded, and how as a group they should work together in building up the church.

There are more things to do, more hurdles to overcome, more mountains to climb, but in all these, the deacons are up to the challenge and will surely prevail knowing very well that it is not by their might, but by the Lord’s Spirit.  And these the deacons do, all for the glory of God!