Ryan Hawk is ordained deacon
Congratulations to Revd Dr Ryan Hawk who has been ordained deacon for an internship in Holy Trinity Ballylesson (Drumbo). Bishop David ordained Ryan along with four others at a service in Willowfield Church on Sunday 1 September. The address was given by Revd Richard Moy, National Director of SOMA UK.
Ryan’s journey to ordination
I am Ryan. I’m 41, married to Sarah and we have two boys Liam, and Jude. I am the assistant at Holy Trinity Ballylesson where I look after community, youth and family ministry (and where I will serve my deacon internship). When I was five, I asked Jesus into my heart. My Sunday school teacher was called Joy, and she was truly joyful. I don’t know what the theological rationale was for my decision; I knew that I wanted Joy’s friend Jesus to be my friend. He seemed like someone who was a good friend. I was part of that church from birth to eighteen, when I moved across the country to go to university to study theology and youth work and ended up starting a band.
A few years into my recording artist days in Nashville, I went to seminary because I wanted to better understand the story that I was writing songs about and serve the church in this type of ministry alongside my role as a discipleship and small group pastor at our church. However, after having children and enjoying the classroom more than the road, I was encouraged to pursue a PhD. Through a sequence of providence, history, prayer, coincidence, and insanity, we moved our family to the other side of the Atlantic and I began studies at QUB. I also took on several roles with John Brown University’s Irish studies programme based in Belfast. We also made St. Patrick’s Drumbeg our spiritual home, and under the care and direction of this parish, began the process of discernment for vocational ministry in the Church of Ireland and was sent out to serve in various roles at St. Jude’s and then Magheralin.
As I begin this part of my journey as a deacon, my hope is that my background in ministry, music, and academia will serve the community well with intentionality and depth. Discipleship, community, and faith formation are things I am interested in sharing and growing within the life of the church for all ages. It has been a journey of long obedience since that five-year-old kid made a friend in Jesus, and we’re still here, and I keep inviting others to meet him and come along on the journey too.
