Skip to content

Called to Serve: from Caritas to Diakonia

|

Paul Christian, Family Link Worker at Caritas St Joseph’s, reflects on his journey of faith and service as he prepares for ordination to the Permanent Diaconate on 5 July 2025.

The son of an Anglican priest, I was brought up in the Church of England, in a small village in East Sussex where my father served as Vicar. His parish was Anglo-Catholic, and very much a place of statues, smells and bells, where priests were always addressed as “Father.” You could say it was a Catholic upbringing, but within the Anglican tradition; indeed, in my grandmother’s photo album, a picture of the Pope, followed by one of Princess Diana with Princes William and Harry, preceded those of her own grandchildren. 

After reading Theology at university, I trained to be a teacher, and subsequently taught Religious Education at the Cardinal Pole School in Hackney for 16 years.  

I imagine the diocese was not pleased by the fact that I remained an Anglican for 10 years of my time at Cardinal Pole. I think the school was put under some pressure to remove me, but it was their support, and the sense of warmth and camaraderie amongst staff, pupils and parents that gave me a lived experience of Catholicism. Ultimately, that is what led me to become a Roman Catholic. 

While there, I also met a fellow teacher who later became my wife. A few years after our marriage and the birth of our first child, we decided to move to Mayfield in East Sussex, where I taught in a girls’ boarding school.

This was a distinct contrast to Hackney, but once again the school was a living, breathing sign of the Catholic Church at work through education.  

The school’s wonderful ethos was founded on a culture of vocation and the motto ‘actions not words.’ As for me, however, I had little time to think about my vocation; all my time and energy was taken up with teaching and pastoral work at school and looking after my young family at home. 

In 2019 we moved back to London, where our son had been offered a place as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral. I couldn’t get another teaching job, so I decided to become a support worker at L’Arche London. This was another transformative experience; learning to look after people with intellectual disabilities. Here, I was instilled with a profound sense of the importance of being rather than doing, and that true joy can be found in the simple things in life.  

I was privileged to continue to work at L’Arche through the difficult time of the pandemic, where I witnessed first-hand the deep faith that people with intellectual disabilities frequently enjoy. It was during this time that I began exploring the Permanent Diaconate; something I had thought about before but had been too preoccupied with teaching to consider further. I wanted to express my faith in the context of parish life as well as through teaching, but felt I had never had the time to do so. 

Shortly after being accepted for formation to the Diaconate, I began to work for Caritas St Joseph’s. I work as part of the Outreach team, supporting people with disabilities with Sacramental Preparation, training people in Symbolic Catechesis, and supporting families who care for those with learning needs.  

This work is truly diaconal [‘Diaconate’ stems from the Greek diakonia (διακονία), meaning ‘to serve’], and I am very fortunate to have found a role in such a wonderful organisation. My work also has a missionary aspect; taking me to people and parishes all across the diocese.  

I am blessed to support people who, though very vulnerable, have an understanding of faith and an openness to the Gospel that is both inspiring and resounding with life lived filled with the Holy Spirit.

Paul with Dominique and Hadriel, whom he supported with catechesis for First Holy Communion

Working with those with disabilities, being with their families and striving to advocate for them is immensely rewarding. They teach me so much about being human; they embody the mystery of the Incarnation in their very lives. 

Formation for the Diaconate can be quite tough, not only in terms of academic study but also because you have less time to spend with your family. My own family continues to be very supportive, and for this I am very grateful. Preparing for the Diaconate is a bit like getting married; you have an idea of how things might be, but only time will tell how things pan out.  

I do feel there is some sense to the journey I have been on: God puts you in particular places at certain times, and there is a reason why things happen the way they do. Only God knows what will happen next and how my ministry will develop as a Deacon; for now, I can only concur with St John Henry Newman’s assertion that ‘To live is to change,’ and try to be open to any change that God sends so as to serve him as he wants me to in the future.  

Paul Christian is one of four men being ordained to the Permanent Diaconate on Saturday, 5th July 2025. Please keep him and the other ordinands in your prayers, and find out more about the Permanent Diaconate here. 

Find out more about Caritas St Joseph’s here.


Categories:

Tags:

Latest News