May Tower Echoes: Calling a Deacon
When you receive a lighted candle at your baptism, you are commissioned and charged to let your light so shine before others that your neighbor may know Christ. Prior to this, you were washed and anointed with the indelible sign of the cross and the mark of the Spirit. God set you apart to be part of God’s mission in the world. Each of us carries out our baptismal calling differently, as we seek to let the light of Christ shine through our unique gifts.
Some people in the church are called to ordained service, or, what our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America calls “rostered ministry.” The ELCA recognizes two kinds of rostered ministers: Word and Sacrament and Word and Service. Pastors are called to Word and Sacrament. Deacons are called to Word and Service. There is no hierarchy here. These ordained ministries serve different purposes. And these particular baptismal callings are not any better than the calling of any other baptized person. They are unique offices and callings within the community of the baptized, set apart to lead and serve the community.
Currently, we are in a call process for a Deacon. This is somewhat new territory for PRLC, as well as the ELCA generally. The “Word and Service” roster was approved only a few years ago. Though it may be new to many of us, the office of deacon has been around for a very long time. Read the story of the first Deacon, Stephen, in the book of Acts. Historically, deacons are those who lead the church is serving neighbors in need. While pastors are called to shepherd the flock and feed the with the gifts of Word (preaching and teaching) and Sacrament (stewarding baptism, eucharist and pastoral matters), deacons are called to be the lynchpin between church and world. Deacons preach and teach and lead the church in matters of service.
Bishop Katherine Jefforts Schori once described deacons as “holy nags.” They are set apart to keep the matters of justice in the forefront of the church and, in fact, to lead the church in matters of service and justice. Deacons are the vital link between the congregation and the neighborhood, liturgy and justice, Christian formation and the call to work for the things of peace and reconciliation.
Deacons may best serve a congregation in its communal and individual baptismal calling to “serve all people, following Jesus’ example,” and to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth.” Service is strong in the DNA of PRLC and, in recent years, the call to justice has become more fervent. The time is right to call a Deacon and the we are now in the call process.
Our outreach minister, Patrick Meagher, has been with PRLC for over a decade. Patrick himself has been in the process of becoming a deacon and was certified by the Northwest Washington Synod candidacy committee. Serving PRLC has sharpened Patrick's discernment around becoming a deacon. Meeting neighbors in need, shepherding the food bank and other outreach efforts, working with matters of justice, as well as occasionally preaching and teaching are all very much aligned with what deacons are called to do. It goes without saying that Patrick is at the top of the list.
Please join your Deacon Call Committee (Pastor Bryon, Pastor Anne, Shannon McCarthy, Brian Kreger, Don Swisher, and Barbara Mockett) for the Adult Forum to hear about the process, and learn more about who deacons are and what they do on May 16th at 11:15 a.m.