Lamar Moss Nottage Ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons

The Rt. Rev’d and Rt. Hon. Laish Zane Boyd, Bishop of the Diocese, served as Chief Celebrant in a solemn and celebratory Eucharistic service, joined by clergy, laity, family, and friends from across the Diocese. The Rt. Hon. Canon Sebastian Campbell, Priest-in-Charge of St. Augustine’s, San Salvador, delivered a rousing and prophetic sermon centered on relevance, renewal, and the responsibility of ministry.

Drawing from the Gospel and the witness of Christ’s Transfiguration, Canon Campbell charged the ordinand—and the entire Church—to be agents of hope in a hurting world. “Be like Jesus,” he declared, “and be an instrument of liberation… even if it means bucking your toe.” He urged, “For God’s sake, be relevant. This world doesn’t need any more lukewarm preachers. We need ministers who inspire hope—not condemnation.”

Canon Campbell warned that prayer must remain central in ministry: “Transfiguration happens at the point of prayer. If you’re not a person of prayer, you’ll be mashed up and destroyed.” He further emphasized, “A praying church is a church in the process of transfiguration. A praying minister is one being daily transformed.”

His sermon was also a clarion call to social engagement. “Preach relevant sermons,” he said. “Have a relevant ministry. Obesity, suicide, and education—these are the mission fields of our time. Too many young people—and old people too—can’t read or write, and the Church must be on the frontlines.”

He highlighted the public health crisis facing the nation, declaring, “Obesity rocks this nation to its very foundation… Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure—we need ministers who speak to the body and the soul. The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, not a trash bin.”

And he did not shy away from confronting sin and systemic injustice: “There is evil in the church, outside the church, and around the church. Gossipers, slanderers, and hypocrites—these are the devils we face. Ministers must call them out, not join them.”

Quoting 2 Corinthians 3:2, Canon Campbell offered the night’s enduring charge: “Lamar, you are a letter. A letter of God’s love to this sinful and broken world. Let every line of your life be filled with the love of God.”

He concluded with a pastoral encouragement, drawing from his decades of ministry: “You won’t always be popular. People will criticize. But stay the course. Go where you are sent. Stay where you’re put. And never stop praying. Pray that God will show you the specifics of your calling.”

During the rite of ordination, Mr. Nottage affirmed his call to serve, stating, “I believe that God has so called me.” Following the solemn oaths and the laying on of hands, he was vested with the stole and dalmatic and presented with a New Testament—symbols of his new ministry of Word, Service, and Sacrament.

Mr. Nottage, a graduate of St. Anne’s Anglican School and the University of The Bahamas, has been actively involved in the life of the Church for many years. A faithful son of the Diocese, he has served at St. Gregory the Great in numerous capacities and completed his three-year vocational formation in preparation for ordained ministry.

He now joins the clergy of the Diocese as a Deacon, with a sacred charge to assist the Bishop and priests, to proclaim the Gospel, and to serve as a visible sign of Christ’s compassion and justice in the world.

We pray God’s continued blessing on Deacon Nottage as he begins this new chapter in faithful service to the Church and the people of God.

Photo by Mark Ford, Diocesan Communications Ministry