This year, I’ve had the privilege of co-leading Co-Curricular, a program for a group of people called postulants, in the second year of the ordination process to become a deacon in our diocese. Co-Curricular provides dedicated space and time for postulants to interact with deacons and to learn about a variety of topics pertinent to the diaconate.

This group of people, like many before them, have said yes to answering a call to serve. Saying yes is one of the first steps – and a very important one – in the intentional and life-long process of discernment, whether in lay or ordained ministry.

Deacons in the Episcopal Church are members of one of three distinct and equal orders of ordained ministry along with priests and bishops. According to the Book of Common Prayer (p. 856), “The ministry of a deacon is to represent Christ and his Church, particularly as a servant of those in need; and to assist bishops and priests in the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the sacraments.”

The word “deacon” comes from the Greek word diakonos, which means “servant.” A deacon’s doing and being happens at the intersection of world and the church and is indeed about serving – especially the weak, the poor, the sick, and the lonely – those people on the margins of society.

After a three-year discernment process – and hopefully ordination to the Sacred Order of Deacons – a permanent deacon is no longer a member of a parish but is on loan, so to speak, from the diocese to a church. If not retired, deacons oftentimes have secular careers (I am in this camp), therefore the role of the deacon in the church is usually non-stipendiary and part-time.

When present, a deacon has particular roles during a service: reading the Gospel from the center aisle (among the people gathered), leading the Prayers of the People and intercessions and bidding the Confession (in some churches depending on local custom), preparing the Altar for Communion, assisting with the distribution of the bread and wine, and giving the Dismissal at the end of the service.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the diaconate formation and ordination process – good news! There will be a Deacon Information Session with our Bishops Sam and Anne on Wednesday, November 9 from 7 - 8:30 pm on Zoom. Click here to register for this session: https://bit.ly/DeaconInfo22. If you have questions, feel free to send me an email at parkere@christchurchcharlotte.org or ask when you see me at church.

I’ll close with a quote from author and activist L.R. Knost that was shared at the closing of the 2020 Deacon’s Retreat. If it resonates with you, I would love to hear your thoughts.

"Do not be dismayed by the brokenness in the world. All things break. All things can be mended, not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

With love and light,
Emily+