Get to Know Your Deacs
The Diaconate, Redeemer’s mercy ministry, provides assistance to those in our community with practical, visible needs, while supporting them spiritually. We would like to introduce you to two of our “deacs” (deacons/deaconesses): Kay Bhothinard & Lolita Jackson!Name of deaconess: Kay Bhothinard
Length of time I’ve attended Redeemer: 8 years
Length of time I’ve served on the Diaconate: 2 years
The service I attend: 9:15AM West Side
The last book I read was: The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry
Most people don’t know that I: am a bungee jumping survivor
I grew up in: Oregon, Thailand and Missouri
My New York neighborhood is: the Upper West Side
My favorite way to spend a weekend is: sleeping in, reading, cooking, being outdoors, sharing a meal with good friends
The most unique thing that has happened to me in New York City is: At last, the proverbial pipe under my kitchen sink burst, soaking the kitchen floors in my apartment and all the apartments below it. I live on the fifth floor. This was not a good way to get to know my neighbors.
I love New York because: of its unbounded energy
How the Lord has been preparing me to serve as a deac: He has given me amazing and wise friends who have loved me through lots of my own ‘stuff’ and persistently pressed the gospel into my head and heart. They are models for me in my work on the Diaconate.
Memorable experiences from my time as a deac: I struggle with how hard the hard stuff really is—a heartbreaking prayer request, immense material need, poor mental health, bad patterns that won’t break. These remind me again and again that the Bible is right—we’re grimly broken people in need of Jesus’ rescue.
Name of deacon: Lolita Jackson
Length of time I’ve attended Redeemer: 13 years
Length of time I’ve served on the Diaconate: 2 years
The service I attend: 6:00PM East Side Evening
Hobbies: Singing, international travel, charity/volunteering (nonprofits), WATCHING FOOTBALL
The last book I read was: True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George
Most people don’t know that I: am a football fanatic (!! am a total Anglophile; am obsessed with penguins (I’ve seen them in Australia, South Africa, and plan to go to the Galapagos Islands in 2009 to see them)
I grew up in: Somerset, NJ
My New York neighborhood is: the Upper East Side
The most unique thing that has happened to me in New York City is: being in the World Trade Center both in 1993 and on 9/11 and walking out without a scratch.
I love New York because: it’s a living, breathing organism, constantly changing.
How the Lord has been preparing me to serve as a deac: I can often empathize with clients due to having similar experiences in the past. I’m able to help them see God’s presence in the midst of crisis and suffering.
Memorable experiences from my time as a deac: Praying with a woman and feeling so filled with the Spirit that I truly felt God flowing through me to talk to her, to tell her the message she needed to hear from Him. It moved me to tears.
If you have a financial or other practical need, please call the Diaconate Helpline, (212) 726-1334. To learn more about the Redeemer Diaconate, visit www.redeemer.com/diaconate.
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