Brothers,

In the Gospel we have been praying with, Jesus begins His public ministry with a simple but demanding call: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is not merely a moral correction; it is a turning of the heart toward the light. It is an invitation to step out of darkness, our own and that of others, and allow Christ to meet us there.

That movement from darkness to light echoes powerfully in the life of John Newton, the former slave-ship captain who later wrote Amazing Grace, 

amongst many other Christian hymns. Newton never denied his past. He did not minimize the harm he caused. Instead, repentance became the doorway through which grace reshaped his life. His conversion, which also led him to become a Pastor, did not erase his wounds, it redeemed them. And those redeemed wounds became the place from which he accompanied others.

That is precisely the heart of our recent PEER Support certification training.

As deacons, we know that ministry often places us beside people sitting in darkness; trauma, grief, moral injury, exhaustion, shame, and fear. As clergy, we are no different.  PEER Support reminded us that accompaniment to our deacon and priest brothers begins not with answers, but with presence. Not with fixing, but with listening. Not with distancing ourselves from pain, but with the courage to remain close.

Like the fishermen by the Sea of Galilee, we too are called while we are “mending our nets”- tending to our own limitations, histories, and vulnerabilities. PEER Support does not ask us to be immune to suffering; it forms us to walk with others through it responsibly, humbly, and faithfully. It teaches us how to establish trust, honor confidentiality, recognize trauma, and know when to accompany and when to refer; all while remaining rooted in Christ.

Jesus calls the fishermen as they are and then sends them outward: “I will make you fishers of men.” The mission always flows from conversion. The light we receive becomes the light we offer.

Brothers, PEER Support is not an added ministry; it is a concrete expression of our diaconal identity - servants who stand in the shadows with others until the light of Christ breaks through. Like Newton, may we never forget where grace has found us. And like the apostles, may we have the courage to leave our nets daily, trusting that the Kingdom truly is at hand.

In Christ the Servant + Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Receive + Believe + Teach + Practice