Recruiting more deacons!

In this post, Deacon Peggy Day remembers her own call to the diaconate.  Let’s heed her words and get folks interested.  Your council is working out the details for  an inquirer’s day coming in October of 2017! Stay tuned for the specifics.

“Remember when you first thought about the diaconate, when you first began your journey to ordination?  I do and I remember being approached by the deacon, the Rev. Mary Sleeper, who asked if she could talk to me about a possible call to the diaconate.  It took her a bit to convince me that perhaps God might be calling me to this ministry.  But, I have never forgotten her reaching out to me for that conversation that gently made me reflect upon a possible call.  That call to servant ministry, specifically as deacon, changed my life and deepened my relationship with God and the communities in which I live, work, and play.  Nothing is the same.

I have been a deacon for over twenty six years now and have served under three bishops.   I have seen the diaconate grow in the Diocese of Maine from when we would gather as three to five members for fall and spring community gatherings and we grew to many, many more. We are now decreasing in number as some retire and or move away.  It has been wonderful knowing that our Diocese now, is much more accepting of deacons than it once was.

We need to keep the diaconate, here in Maine, alive.  It is important for us who are ordained deacons to engage in conversations about the diaconate within our communities.  One never knows when a conversation, like the one offered by Mary Sleeper to me, might spark someone to look into the diaconate at a deeper, more personal level.  It might be just what God is asking of that person, but they haven’t been able to discern yet.

I have had this conversation with a couple of people, one of whom has been reflecting upon it.  You may feel uncomfortable, at first, like I was.  But then, I thought about that conversation with Mary.  I remember thinking, “What’s the worst that can happen if I invite the person into such a conversation?  They might learn more about diaconal ministry and/or might begin to go on a journey to ordained ministry as a deacon.

The diaconate is a very important ministry in the church as we seek God in our neighborhoods and we deacons can help lead the way.  We can also help find others, who might make wonderful deacons and help others  in their call as baptized Christians to seek and serve Christ in all persons.  Why not think about asking someone you have thought might make a good deacon into a conversation about how the diaconate has changed your life.”

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