A standing room only crowd at St Andrew's Cathedral has witnessed the ordination of 35 men and women as deacons but also heard strong words of advice for the new ministers.

Archbishop Dr Glenn Davies, presiding over his first ordination as Archbishop, described it as a 'wonderful occasion."

"These men and women are going to schools as well as parishes, ARV (Anglican Retirement Villages) and diocesan organisations" Dr Davies said.

Referring to the crowd which filled the Cathedral and spilled out onto the steps, the Archbishop said " The great number of people who were here today was a testimony to the love and affection with which the ordinands, now deacons, are held by their parishes, families and friends".

Canon Sandy Grant, senior minister at St Michael's Cathedral, Wollongong, encourage the deacons to take 2 Corinthians 4:5 as their job description "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." (ESV)

"The whole Facebook/Twitter thing keeps telling you: get lots of followers and lots of likes" Canon Grant said. "We do not proclaim ourselves. We’re not the heroes of ministry: Christ is."

Canon Grant referred to the variety of positions to which the ordinands would be going including church planting, indigenous ministry, school chaplaincy and parish work. 

"Not all deacons will regularly occupy church pulpits. Some operate in classrooms, by the bedside, around the lounge room. Now I am convinced that consecutive explanation and application of the Scriptures ought to be our bread and butter method in the pulpit" he said. "But the heart of preaching is not a 30 minute monologue. Rather, it’s captured by that alternate word used in v5 for the same reality: proclamation. Preaching is a declaration of the truth".

In a final charge on servanthood, Canon Grant told the new deacons their jobs would be 'messy'.

"And Jesus is Lord, then our role is clear: to serve him. Or rather as Paul puts it here, to serve others for his sake. We look to their welfare. We put ourselves out for them. And that means ministry will be messy and inconvenient. We won't always be able to focus on our strategic leadership tasks in some zen-like undistracted way. We’ll have to get down on our knees and serve."

New deacon, Kate Snell, who read the Bible at the service, is serving as a chaplain at Barker College in Sydney's North. "It is an incredible privilege to share the Christian faith with young people as they make decisions about who they are and how they live.  It is also a great joy to serve staff members through the highs and lows they face in their lives." she said.  "Sandy's sermon and the promises we made reminded me of the importance of charcter and conduct.  I want my life to model the Christian faith I teach in the classroom and at chapel - no easy task and one I'll need God's help with!"   

Another new Deacon, Brett Hall, who will serve in the parish of Rosemeadow/Appin told Southern Cross and sydneyanglicans.net that the service was "a fantastic celebration and recognition of the training and testing that we've been through to see that we might be fit for the service of God's people."

Mr Hall agreed the large crowd from across the diocese was a great boost for the ordinands.

"I had the special joy of having representatives of a number of churches that I've served in attend, as well as the couple who first shared the Gospel with me ten years ago. It reminded me that the journey of training for ministry is the product of God's work in us through many individuals and church communities" he said.