Beyond Help: diakonia in the Contemporary Church

ABSTRACT

The argument of this paper is that, partly under the influence of a secularized conception of ethics, diakonia has often also been misconstrued as an activity done by a more privileged group to a needier one. It draws on the witness of the New Testament, and on contemporary Catholic thought, to argue for a vision of diakonia as a ministry exercised by, and not just for, the poorest – and offers Christian engagement in community organizing as an embodiment of that vision.

KEYWORDS:

• Diakonia
• social action
• community organizing
• ecclesiology
• Catholic social teaching
• charity
• mission

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to The Revd Dr Philip Krinks for comments on an early draft of this paper, and to Prof Joshua Hordern, Dr Therese Feiler and the participants in the workshop hosted by the Healthcare Values Partnership at the Faculty of Theology and Religion in the University of Oxford in February 2018, where an earlier version of this paper was presented.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Angus Ritchie is the Director of the Centre for Theology and Community, East London and Assistant Priest, St George-in-the-East.

Notes

1 Collins, Diakonia: Reinterpreting the Ancient Sources.

2 Collins, Diakonia Studies: Critical Issues in Ministry, 157–8.

3 Gooder, “Diakonia in the New Testament,” 55.

4 Ibid, 54.

5 Gaventa, Abingdon New Testament Commentaries, 114.

6 Collins suggests that “diakonien at table” should be construed in terms of the ministry of Word and Sacrament, rather than material provison, but may be an over-extension of his argument, based on less convincing exegesis. See Gooder, op. cit., 44.

7 Fagerberg, “The Lex Orandi of the Ordination Rite” in Keating, The Character of the Deacon.

8 Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, 79.

9 Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, 70.

10 Magana, “Ecclesiology in the Theology of Liberation” in Ellacuria and Sobrino, Mysterium Liberationis, 203–204.

11 P. Rodari, quoted in Rafael Luciani, Pope Francis, 9.

12 Ibid., 9.

13 Pope Francis, interview in El Pais, 21 January 2017, online at https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/01/21/inenglish/1485026427_223988.html.

14 See Chapter 1 of Bretherton, Resurrecting Democracy, and Ritchie, Inclusive Populism.

15 MacLeod, A Practical and Theological Evaluation, 1.

16 Social Integration Commission, Kingdom United, 9.

17 Boyte, Everyday Politics, 58.

18 In conversation with the author, 18 December 2018.

19 Ritchie, Inclusive Populism, 37.

20 Thorlby, Love, Sweat and Tears, 88 and and a forthcoming report from the Centre for Theology and Community on church growth through community organizing.

21 Rodrigues, Realities are Greater than Ideas, 25.

22 Gravell, Lost and Found.

23 In oral conversation.

24 A fuller version of Charlotte’s story appears in Ritchie and Hackwood, Just Love, 107–109.