I was sitting in my first clergy conference with a group of Deacons gathering to meet with Bishop Megan, when someone walking in called us a Disturbance of Deacons! What??? I had never heard of such a term. Just like a Flock of Sheep, or a Herd of Goats, a group of Deacons when gathered is indeed called a Disturbance! How striking!
What is a Deacon?
So what exactly is a Deacon?? In our Episcopal Church, a Deacon is a separate but equal order to a Priest called to exercise “a special ministry of servanthood” directly under the Bishop serving all people and especially those in need. Both orders play powerful and distinct roles in God’s work through the Church. The Deacon is called to interpret the needs, concerns and hopes of the world to the Church so the Church can make Christ’s redemptive love known to the world by meeting those needs. The Priest is called to gather the people to Christ, to nourish God’s people and strengthen them to glorify God in this life and the next.
There are over 100 uses of the terms diakonos, diakonia, and diakoneo in the New Testament –which reference forms of service, servant or servanthood. Yet there is no specific verse or mandate clearly establishing the early church office of Deacon unlike the establishment of the Apostles by Jesus (Mark 3:14, Luke 6:13). Paul references ministers as “diakonos” including Tychicus (Eph 6:21), Epaphras (Col 1:7), and Phoebe (Rom 16:1-2). Philippians 1:1 references Bishops and Deacons, and 1 Timothy 3:8-13 ascribes the required qualities of Deacons. Thus, our true mandate is our spiritual call “to love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mt 22:37-40).
The practice of the early church was to ordain a Deacon “not to the priesthood but to the servanthood, ‘diakonia’ or ‘ministry’ of the Bishop” (Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition). Christian Deacons were agents of the Bishop, often with oversight of both charity and practical matters for the Bishops. The Diaconate grew in the first four centuries (AD) and Deacons had tremendous influence as representatives of Bishops administering the church’s resources. Their dominance led to tension with both Priests and Bishops, who ultimately issued mandates leading to the Diaconate becoming a lesser order restricted to only liturgical roles for the next 1400 years. In the mid-1800s through the next 150 years, wars led to growing cries for civil rights and social justice in the US – leading to a resurgence of the Permanent Diaconate within the Episcopal Church. Today Deacons are ordained as a full and equal order.
As stated in our ordination vows, Deacons are called specifically to serve all people, but particularly the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely. We are created to live out Christ’s love in the world, with and without words, amongst those with whom we live, work, and worship. Our role is to inspire, encourage, engage, and prepare God’s people to join God’s mission to restore and reconcile the world to Himself. We do this by interpreting the world’s needs for justice, love, and mercy to the Church. “Deacons mobilize the church, especially for works of love in the world.”[1]
Since ancient times, the liturgical functions of Deacons have suggested the activity of angels: The Deacon models the servanthood of Christ through proclaiming the Gospel, bidding the Creed and the Confession, setting and clearing the Eucharistic table, and dismissing the people of God to go out into the world. Canonically, Deacons can absolutely preach, teach, and lead worship! They can lead the Liturgy of the Word, if needed, as can the laity. “The role of deacons in the liturgy reveals the nature of deacons as proclaimers and evangelists, messengers and bearers of good news to the poor, and servants in the image of Christ.”[2] Deacons act as sacred messengers, agents, and attendants. Deacons are the prophetic voices to the church! We are by design, a disturbance!
A Deacon serves at the pleasure of the Bishop. Unlike a Priest who is called by and to a particular parish, the Deacon is appointed by the Bishop to serve wherever there may be need, often serving as emissaries and deputies of the Bishop. Where the Bishop appoints a Deacon to serve in a particular parish, they serve under the administrative authority of the Rector yet continue to report directly to the Bishop.
The Great News!
There are moments in our life in community when God calls. And if we are careful in our listening, not only do we hear Him, but we respond with a deep soul felt “yes”. “Yes. I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants” said Mary (Luke 1:38). “Yes Lord, I am listening” responded the child Samuel (1 Samuel 3:10). When the Lord called me into this ministry six years ago, before I even understood everything that meant, I said “yes”!
As we know, the Deacon is called in a specific way to make “Christ and his redemptive love known, by word and example, to those among whom we live, and work, and worship.” If I am honest, I have felt this call since the beginning of my life. I believe I have been living a diaconal life – all my life. I was called to the mission field in my 20s, out of the field into the secular corporate world in my 30s, into serving the poor and needy through my secular work in my 40s and early 50s, and to new work in caregiving, serving the elderly, and back in corporate leadership in my late 50s and early 60s. Today, I serve as the Chief Risk Officer for a wonderful bank in Los Angeles, where I strive to live out Christ’s love in the secular world.
And the great news is, that as of July 1, the Bishop has appointed me to serve as the Deacon for Grace Episcopal Church! I am both surprised and delighted that this might be the case. Over these last six years, I have felt deeply affirmed that I am to live out this diaconal call in specific and highly visible ways through our amazing church. I stand in awe and wonderment at what God will do next at Grace! I am looking forward to our next chapter together and creating a holy disturbance with you all!
By His strength, in His power, for His glory…
Amen
— The Rev. Diana Deen
[1] Ormonde Plater – Deacons in the Liturgy, pg 6.
[2]Ormond Plater – Deacons in the Liturgy, pgs 6-7
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