Beloved Friends,

Next Thursday (June 3rd at 7:00pm) our soon-to-be Diocesan Curate, Megan Allen will take the next step in her vocational journey as she is ordained a “Transitional Deacon.” I am thrilled to have been invited to travel to Akron and be among a handful to witness and celebrate this wonderful day. I invite all of us to tune in to the Livestream of the service that evening via the Diocesan FB page. (You may even recognize a certain priest you know chanting the Litany for Ordinations- just sayin’.)

Some of you are familiar with this order of ministry and some may not. Some of you may be wondering why Megan is being ordained to the transitional deaconate if she is on her way to being a priest. So, I thought I would take some time today to not only explain just a bit about this process but also to invite us to remember her in your prayers as she prepares for a day that will change her life forever.

In accordance with the canons of the Episcopal Church, a person called, prepared and educated for the priesthood is first ordained a deacon and usually after a minimum of six months is then ordained to the priesthood. These persons are referred to as transitional deacons. That is the path that Megan is on. She will be ordained firt to the transitional deaconate and then within this coming year, will then be ordained a priest. Others are called, prepared and educated for the ministry of the vocational diaconate as there permanent vocation- and once ordained they are referred to as permanent deacons.

The role of all deacons- transitional or permanent is to help keep all of us connected to both the work of the church gathered and the reality of the world found outside the walls of our building and our community; deacons are called to be both pastoral and prophetic. Some have put it well explaining a deacon stands, metaphorically, with one foot in and one foot out helping us bridge the gap that sometimes happen between our religious lives and the world we live in. Others have described the role of a deacon as one who “comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.” I like it!

Some of you know that I am the daughter of an Episcopal deacon. My mom has lived her life as a (permanent) deacon for over 45 years, and before retiring served for many decades at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor. Ordained to this ministry when I was in high school, I have spent a lifetime watching, absorbing and learning about what that intentional and beautifully sacrificial servant ministry looks like from her perspective and lived experience. I have come to honor and respect this order of ministry as a very high calling and when engaged deeply is the absolute reflection of what Jesus calls us to emulate in our day to day lives as well. Feed, tend, serve, give seeking nothing in return and you will be following the Way of Love.

The role a deacon plays in the liturgy in the Episcopal church is also very particular. When there is a deacon in our midst, they read the gospel in order to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ in our community. Often they offer the Prayers of the People as well reminding us of the pastoral needs that live in our community and in the world to which we are called to be God’s love. When there is Eucharist celebrated, they are the ones who set the Table of Love making the preparations of getting everything ready before the priest offers the prayers on behalf of the community. And finally, it is the deacon who offers the Dismissal- sending us out into the world. One of my favorite deacon dismissals goes like this: “Our worship has ended, our service begins! Go in Peace to love and serve the Lord!” A kinda holy way of saying: “Now get out there and get about the business of seeking, finding and offering God’s love!”

So, for the first chapter of our tenure with Megan when she arrives in July, she will live into this ancient and honorable role serving the ministry as a Transitional Deacon. It will be a wonderful time for us all- seeing and remembering how servant ministry is not only the vocational call of that particular order of ministry, but an element of who we too are called to be in the world as we follow Christ.

Megan-
Our prayers are with you in this coming week as you prepare to kneel before our Bishop as so many have before you for the ancient rite of having the hands of apostolic succession laid on you inviting you to join us in a new order of ministry. Prepare to surrender anything keeping you from embracing a life in service to others and to a God who loves you beyond your wildest imaginations. You are being held in our prayers.

And may you never forget that you are loved.
Lisa

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