{"id":29676,"date":"2014-02-07T06:43:52","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T11:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=29676"},"modified":"2016-09-30T15:58:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T19:58:18","slug":"in-canada-former-anglican-takes-leap-of-faith-in-ordination-as-catholic-deacon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2014\/02\/in-canada-former-anglican-takes-leap-of-faith-in-ordination-as-catholic-deacon\/","title":{"rendered":"In Canada, former Anglican takes “leap of faith” in ordination as Catholic deacon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From The B.C. Catholic<\/a><\/strong> in Vancouver:<\/p>\n

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began with a joyous occasion for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. In the presence of 100 parishioners and his fellow converts to Catholicism, Michael Shier was ordained a deacon Jan. 18.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, celebrated the ordination Mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral. Among the concelebrants were vocations director Father Joseph Nguyen and chancellor Father Bruce McAllister.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore Our Lord died for us, He prayed that His followers would all be one. In the diaconal ordination of Michael Shier, we are experiencing one such answer to His prayer,\u201d the archbishop began his homily.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael: you have demonstrated great courage and deep faith in undertaking the journey from a familiar and loved home into an unknown future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shier, a former Anglican Catholic Church of Canada clergyman, hopes to be ordained a Catholic priest later this year. With 11 members of his former congregation, he converted to Roman Catholicism in June 2012.<\/p>\n

Shier told The B.C. Catholic after the Mass that since then, he has felt \u201cpart of a machine that actually works.\u201d Many well-wishers had been asking if he was excited: \u201cI\u2019m not excited, I\u2019m relieved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Father McAllister, an Anglican who converted to Catholicism in 1998, clarified why Deacon Shier felt relief: his studies had taken an intense 18 months, and resulted in a dossier being sent to the Vatican for the Pope\u2019s approval. A positive response came in November 2013.<\/p>\n

The priest also said Deacon Shier had been ordained a transitional deacon, or one who expects to be ordained to the priesthood, and not a permanent deacon.<\/p>\n

Another convert, Christine Schmitt, thought it would be \u201cwonderful to see him go back to his former ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe sings with us in the choir, too. We hope we don\u2019t lose him as a bass,\u201d she quipped.<\/p>\n

In his homily Archbishop Miller called Deacon Shier\u2019s ordination a historic occasion and praised his \u201cleap of faith: a leap into the light of Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described St. Luke\u2019s account, in Acts 8, of the deacon Philip asking an Ethiopian if he understood what he was reading. The foreigner replied, \u201cHow can I, unless someone instructs me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this way, the Ethiopian discovered the answer to his yearnings and questions in the person of Christ,\u201d the archbishop said.<\/p>\n

Father William Ashley, the pastor of Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish, recalled meeting the deacon five years earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael sought me out, along with a few other Anglican clergymen,\u201d to chat about joining Catholicism, Father Ashley said.<\/p>\n

He slowly got to know the community, and with Archbishop Miller\u2019s permission, preached twice for the Rev. Shier\u2019s congregation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the rest.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Congratulations, Deacon Shier, and welcome. \u00a0Ad multos annos!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From The B.C. Catholic in Vancouver: The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began with a joyous occasion for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. In the presence of 100 parishioners and his fellow converts to Catholicism, Michael Shier was ordained a deacon Jan. 18. Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, celebrated the ordination Mass at Holy Rosary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anglicans","category-converts","category-deacons"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Canada, former Anglican takes "leap of faith" in ordination as Catholic deacon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From The B.C. Catholic in Vancouver: The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began with a joyous occasion for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. 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