Deacons celebrate milestones as their role evolves
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie (center) celebrates Holy Communion at the
final worship service of the International Clergywomen’s Consultation
last August. Assisting her are deacons Jeannie Trevino-Teddlie (left)
and Margaret Ann Crain. A UMNS photo by Vicki Brown.
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A UMNS Report
By Vicki Brown*
Feb. 15, 2007
In the decade since the Order of Deacons was created, ordained
deacons have taken The United Methodist Church outside its traditional
brick walls and stained-glass windows. They have ministered to the
homeless, worked with labor unions and served through fields as diverse
as health care, education and even advertising and communications.
“Deacons are trying to put a swinging door on churches, going out
into the world and serving and bringing people back into the church,”
said the Rev. Anita Wood, a deacon who is director of professional
ministry development at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education
and Ministry.
The church created the Order of Deacons to enable United Methodists
to answer the call to an ordained ministry that connects the church with
the world – both by work outside the church and by involving
congregations in ministries that heal the world’s hurts. Such a call
resounds with both young people in seminary and many second-career
candidates for ministry.
According
to the board’s Division of Ordained Ministry, 1,659 people are
currently candidates to become deacons within The United Methodist
Church. If most are ordained, the number will more than double.
Currently, there are 1,381 active deacons and 213 retired.
Deacons and diaconal ministers will gather April 19-22 in Orlando,
Fla., for “Celebrating Diakonia,” a convocation sponsored by the higher
education board to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Order of
Deacons and the 30th anniversary of the Office of Diaconal Ministry.
What do deacons do?
Even as they celebrate, deacons and candidates for the diaconate say the church is confused about their role.
“Folks are still learning what deacons do. I have to educate the
people who are mentoring me,” said the Rev. David Brown, an associate to
the senior pastor at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in
Philadelphia and a probationary member. “As an African-American man,
I’ve been pushed to become an elder. Could I do that? Sure. Is that true
to my calling? No.”
The role of deacons has evolved since the 1976 General Conference
created the Office of Diaconal Ministry. When the 1996 General
Conference created the Order of Deacons, many diaconal ministers were
ordained as deacons.
The Book of Discipline provides for ordained deacons “called
by God to a lifetime of servant leadership,” while elders are “ordained
to a lifetime ministry of Service, Word, Sacrament and Order.” Both are
clergy, theologically trained and have full membership in their annual
conferences. However, elders can administer the sacraments of Holy
Communion and baptism, while deacons may assist. Elders are appointed to
jobs by the bishop, while deacons generally find their own employment
and then are appointed by the bishop. Many deacons do specialized
ministry within congregations in areas such as music, education or youth
work, but a growing number serve in other settings.
The Commission on the Study of Ministry acknowledged confusion over
the diaconate role in its recent draft report about the ordering of
ministry. The draft recommended further study of the order, saying it
now falls short of the work envisioned by the definition in the Book of Discipline.
“The church needs to identify the barriers, challenges, and
possibilities for realizing the full potential of this office,” the
draft report stated.
‘Amazing potential’
The Rev. Matt Hunter, who is in his final probationary year as a
deacon, said further study of an issue is a typical United Methodist
approach to such matters.
“I still think the church does not quite know what to do with
deacons,” said Hunter, executive director of Shepherd’s Way, a ministry
to homeless families in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “The order has amazing
potential once we figure out how to achieve it.”
Hunter concedes he could do his current job without ordination.
“But the schooling I received, the theological training, has been
really helpful in what is in many ways a ministry of reconciliation,”
said Hunter, 36. “I just felt passionate about being committed to the
church, and ordination is a very deep commitment.” He also believes “the
reason for my longevity is that I consider this a calling.”
The Rev. Sharon Rubey, a deacon and director of candidacy and
conference relations for the higher education board, said the order is
“still in its infancy.” She notes the commission report is a first draft
and that the commission, of which she is a member, is “encouraging and
expecting the church to talk back to us” through an online survey at www.gbhem.org/studyofministry/index.html.
“In a sense, we are still living into a new understanding of the
ordering of ministry in The United Methodist Church,” Rubey said.
Wood said she would like to see the church “fully embrace the order
and affirm it.” She recognizes that stumbling blocks exist, including
fears about lack of accountability. “The structure is there for
accountability, and it can be done,” she said.
“There is also still confusion about whether it’s an order that
serves in a local church. We need to affirm that the ministry of the
deacon is in and beyond the church,” Wood said.
Ordaining a ministry
The Rev. Bob Carlisle, who was a diaconal minister before being
ordained a deacon in 1997, said the 1996 General Conference action
creating the Order of Deacons “validated the ministry in a way that only
ordination could do.” He agrees, however, that United Methodists do not
know enough about the order.
“We need to work to let people know that they don’t have to take the
pulpit to be ordained,” said Carlisle, who is semi-retired and works
part time with Christ United Methodist Church in Franklin, Tenn. “We
need to continue to educate people in local churches and annual
conferences.”
Grace Estell, a retired deaconess and diaconal minister, never saw
the need for ordination. Estell was consecrated a diaconal minister in
1978 and served as a church and community worker for the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
“I think it’s better to remain lay,” said Estell, 82, of Asheville,
N.C. “You have more freedom. If we remain lay, we are closer to the
people in the pews.”
Brown, who owns his own advertising and public relations firm, works
in an inner-city church in Philadelphia and views his special mission as
communication — currently in a cross-cultural setting. His is a
primarily African-American church with a white senior pastor.
“Communication helps to bring people to the church. As a deacon, I
recognize that there are more people outside the church than there are
inside,” Brown said.
The Rev. Alice Helfrich, 75, was one of the first three diaconal
ministers ordained a deacon in 1997 at the New Mexico Annual Conference.
She recalls that many did not welcome the Order of Deacons with open
arms.
“Our district superintendent told us he did not approve of what the
General Conference had done, but if we wanted to go ahead, he would
support us. I was afraid to turn around and see who voted to accept us,
but 99 percent of the conference, including that district
superintendent, voted for us.”
To learn more about Celebrating Diakonia, or to register online for the April 19-22 meeting in Orlando, visit www.gbhem.org/convocation07.
*Brown is an associate editor and writer in the Office of
Interpretation, United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry,
Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Linda Green, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470.
Related Article
United Methodists examine future of ordained ministry
Resources
Ministry of the Deacon
Celebrating Diakonia |