By Bishop Michael Rinehart
I recently met with some of our deacons. They are a talented and diverse group. Some are musicians, some youth workers, some administrators, some chaplains. Right now we have a growing number of theologically-trained deacons.
People are still getting used to the idea. Deacons often get asked a lot of questions about their role. Sometimes they get asked, “When are you gonna complete your education, go all the way, and be a pastor?” The question assumes a hierarchy and conveys a need for more education around the role of deacon. Deacons are church professionals, clergy, not of Word and Sacrament, like pastors, but of Word and Service. Some deacons may indeed sense a call to pastoral ministry (like Pastor Cindy Robles), but most do not. Many of them have become deacons because they feel the call to proclaim God’s Word and serve as a bridge between the church and the world. The church needs pastors. The church also needs committed, theologically-trained leaders who are not pastors, people with an expertise in other vital roles.
L-R: Deacons Aimee Elles, Jessica Noonan, Peggy Hahn, and Beth Hartfiel
To this end, we are going to do a series this year on deacons, written by deacons. Here’s the plan:
- Sep 1 Connections Bishop Mike Rinehart
- Oct 1 Connections Deacon David Hope-Tringali
- Nov 1 Connections Deacon Aimee Elles
- Dec 1 Connections Deacon Courtney Webb
- Jan 1 Connections Deacon Kinnon Falk
- Feb 1 Connections Deacon Rachel McWhirter
- Mar 1 Connections Deacon Peggy Hahn
- Apr 1 Connections Deacon Ben Remmert
- May 1 Connections Deacon Jessica Noonan
- Jun 1 Connections Deacon Rick Erickson
This is the plan anyway. You’ll learn a little bit about each of these deacons’ journeys: their call, their roles, their understanding. For today, here is something to get your thoughts going:
We get a glimpse of Luke’s understanding of deacons in Acts, Chapter 6, a passage that never appears in the Lutheran lectionary:
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. 2 And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.[a]3 Therefore, brothers and sisters, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, 4 while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” 5 What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread; the number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
Acts 6:1-7
In Luke’s rosy picture, the church is thriving. The number of followers of Christ is increasing. Then, almost immediately, they start having problems. There is no such thing as a church without problems. In this case, the Gentile Christians are complaining because their widows are not getting the same treatment as the Jewish Christians. They are being neglected in the daily distribution of food.
The ordination of Deacon Dorie Jones, with Deacon David Hope-Tringali on the left.
There are several things to notice here. The first is a daily distribution of food. From the beginning, the church is about the business of feeding the hungry, especially the most vulnerable. This is not a monthly or even weekly distribution of food, but daily. Call it socialism if you like. This was the first century church according to Luke.
Second, the problem is one of race, or ethnicity if you prefer. The dividing line between those who are being neglected and those who are not is along ethnic lines: Jews and Greeks. The church has a race issue.
Third, it is a justice issue. The matter is not theological. It is a matter of basic fairness.
It is such a concern that “the twelve,” meaning the apostles, have a congregational meeting to discuss the matter – “the whole community of the disciples.” The apostles seem a bit put out. They appear to be too busy with their missionary activity to have to be bothered with this maintenance issue of race and justice. “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables (diakonein, to serve).” Ouch.
In any case, they instruct the assembly to choose seven men of good standing to manage the food ministry and address the injustice, so that the apostles can devote themselves to prayer and the ministry (diakonia, service) of the word. The deacons will serve food. The apostles will serve in prayer and the word.
They choose the following seven:
- Stephen
- Philip
- Prochorus
- Nicanor
- Timon
- Parmenas
- Nicholas
Stephen and Philip will come up later in Acts. The rest we know nothing about. The apostles pray for them with the laying on of hands. Luke tells us the word continues to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem continues to grow, and a number of priests even become obedient to the faith. Problem solved.
So, are deacons just table servers? Are they simply in charge of food ministries, while the apostles serve up the word? The stories of Stephen and Philip suggest otherwise. Acts 6 and 7 continue immediately with the stoning of Stephen.
Stephen gets killed by a mob, the first martyr. Paul is part of the mob. But why? Luke tells us he did great wonders and signs among the people. Like Jesus, he is accused of trumped-up charges and dragged before the council of elders. He preaches to them. His sermon covers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the Pharaoh, Moses, the Exodus, then Jesus. Good preaching and teaching. Might’ve been okay if he had not called them stiff-necked people at the end. They stoned him to death. As he was dying, they cried, “Do not hold this sin against them” (echoes of Jesus on the cross) and “Father forgive them for what they do.”
Then in Acts 8, we read about Philip, who goes to Samaria “proclaiming the Messiah,” converting Simon Magus and the Ethiopian eunuch (a phenomenal story, but there is no time to exegete it here). Philip even baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch.
So, these two deacons did signs and wonders, preached, taught, sacrificed their lives, witnessed, comforted, converted, and even baptized. The job seems more complex than Acts 6 lets on. Deacons are preachers.
The role of deacon is one of service. In our tradition, we say pastors are ministers of Word and Sacrament, while deacons are ministers of Word and Service. The role eventually developed into an office, or an order, in the church. It was part of an ascending hierarchy from minor orders (first porter, then lector, exorcist, and acolyte), then three major orders (deacon, priest, bishop). Priests were selected from among deacons. Bishops were selected from among priests. This is why today in some traditions (Catholic, Episcopal), one is ordained a deacon first, before becoming a priest. This is a transitional deacon, as opposed to a permanent deacon, who is not becoming a priest.
Prior to the ELCA, our predecessor church bodies (the ALC, LCA, AELC, et al) had lay offices: deaconesses, diaconal ministers, and associates in ministry. These were theologically trained professional leaders in the church. In 2013, the Word and Service Task Force recommended the unification of these three rosters into one diaconate. While there was sadness by some who mourned the loss of their particular identity, there was consensus that this was the right thing to do. There was less certainty about whether these should be considered lay offices or clergy offices. In the end, the Churchwide Assembly voted that it would be a clergy office. So, deacons are considered clergy in the ELCA.
As clergy, deacons may wear clerical collars. They preach and teach. They can do many of the same things some pastors do, with the exception of the sacraments: baptism and communion. Pastors are Word and Sacrament. Deacons are Word and Service.
Deacons function differently in the various denominations. As already mentioned, some traditions have deacons who are ordained as a step toward the priesthood. We do not. The Episcopal Church, with whom we are in full communion, is one such denomination. Most permanent deacons in the Episcopal Church are unpaid. They are bi-vocational leaders in the church. Because of this, we have not been able to fully work out the interchangeability of deacons between our denominations.
Just recently, the United Methodist Church voted to extend sacramental leadership to their deacons. They are still working through the logistics of this, but it will also present some challenges for the interchangeability of deacons.
In the ELCA, deacons lead the church’s service in the world. They do it in a myriad of ways. In our synod, a quick survey of our deacons illustrates this. Our deacons have served in the following ways:
- Pediatric ICU chaplain
- Coordinator of chaplains
- Executive Director
- Associate Director
- Disaster Ministry Coordinator
- Director of Youth and Family Ministry
- Director of Music
- Director of Congregational Engagement
- Church Administrator
- ELCA Youth Gathering Staff
- Cantor
- Deacon of Pastoral Care
- Other duties as assigned
These deacons preach, teach, direct, serve, feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, and more.
Deacons in Our Synod
Currently we have eight called, active deacons:
- Aimee Elles (Director of Congregational Engagement, Christ the King, Houston)
- Peggy Hahn (Executive Director, LEAD)
- Beth Hartfiel (Event Logistics and Administration, ELCA Youth Gathering)
- David Hope-Tringali (Executive Director, Tree 4 Hope)
- Dorie Jones (Gulf Coast Synod Disaster Ministry Coordinator, TX-LA Gulf Coast Synod)
- Jessica Noonan (Associate Director, LEAD)
- Ben Remmert (Deacon of Children, Youth, and Family Ministry; Christ the King, Houston)
- Courtney Webb (Pediatric ICU Chaplain; Texas Medical Center, Houston)
These folks are happy to talk with you about the ministry of deacons.
In addition, we have a number of retired deacons:
- Lynette Bartel
- Karen Davidson
- Bruce Elijah
- Rick Erickson
- Sandye Fletcher
- Sandra Guthans
- Marcia Kugler
- Gay Zimmerman
We also have six un-rostered deacons. These are folks who were trained in the diaconate from another tradition, such as deaconesses in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, who aren’t in our roster, or folks who were on our roster but are currently inactive on the ELCA clergy roster.
- Lisa Donahue
- Rochelle Manske
- Debra Stibritch
- Tim Stibritch
- Debra Sweeden
- Jennifer Tinker
Finally, since the ordination of Dorie Jones, we now have five deacons in training:
- Kinnon Falk (Kindred, Houston)
- Rachel McWhirter (Christ the King, Houston)
- Michelle Mote (Messiah, Cypress)
- Brandi Painter (First, Galveston)
- Sharon Schwartz (Christ, Brenham)
That’s 27 folks! I believe more are coming. Churches need not only pastors, but well-trained, theologically educated ministers of Word and Service, called to a variety of ministries that bridge the church and the world. We call them deacons.