The Vocational Diaconate: Caring for Gods People
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- The Diaconate
- A Call To Speak: John Wesley
- A Call to Help: Saint Rita of Cascia
- A Call to Serve: Holy Virgin Mary
| The Vocational Diaconate: Caring for Gods People
by Rick Wright Rick Wright is in the discernment process for the Vocational Diaconate, that is, to be an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church. In recent years, the diaconate has been seen as a step along the way to the priesthood when in actuality, the diaconate is an important vocation in itself. The Diocese of Atlanta explains the vocational diaconate in this way: A deacon is one of three distinct orders of ordained ministers (bishops, priests, deacons) in the Episcopal Church. Within the Anglican Communion an individual becomes a deacon by being ordained by a bishop after having completed a course of study and formation. This is in contrast to other traditions that use the title for lay persons elected to responsible governing positions in their churches. The word deacon derives from the Greek Diakonos meaning servant or minister, and the biblical concept of diakonia is commonly defined as service, particularly to the poor, sick, and oppressed. The deacon’s service is a sign or sacrament of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. Jesus is the model for the servant leadership a deacon is called to exercise in a variety of ways, including encouraging and enabling others to serve. A deacon has “one foot in the world and one foot in the church.” We asked Rick to share some of his story and his influences with us. The Diaconate What is my personal theology of the diaconate? I believe that in Jesus we find the perfect example for the ministry of a deacon. He, though the greatest, humbled himself and willingly became a servant. Interestingly, not long after Jesus’ ascension in the Book of Acts, the apostles saw the need for the institution of an order of ministry to “serve tables” (Acts 6:3). Seven believers were chosen and blessed by the Holy Spirit to begin a work that has evolved though the centuries to what we commonly call the diaconate. Typically, caring for the elderly, those orphaned, the sick, the poor, and those in distress have been the responsibilities of deacons. But that ministry has been shaped by the times, the cultures and the deacons themselves. Because God’s gifts are uniquely given severally among the Church as He chooses, the ministry activities exercised by each person in the diaconate differ accordingly (1Cor 12:10-11). Some stress teaching, some stress distribution of food to the poor, some stress care for the aged. The Book of Common Prayer says that the Deacon is to interpret the needs of the world to the Church. For me that is very interactive. For the last ten years, in my professional life I have been privileged to work with some of the poorest of the poor in the heart of Atlanta. I lead the Atlanta Fulton Public Library system’s adult education/ literacy effort. Daily we help adult learners with no reading skills all the way up to earning their GED. My desire to teach started when I was only twelve when I started teaching the adult Sunday School at my grandfather’s church. His church was eighty to eighty-five percent illiterate, so the fact that I could read God’s Word meant that even at a young age, I could facilitate a learning environment. At about 12 years of age, Jesus also led a group of adult learners in the temple by asking questions, much to his mother's surprise. I am currently finishing my last year of deacon formation. My ministry activity during the years of formation has been at the Church of the Common Ground, a congregation of mostly homeless men and women in downtown Atlanta. Amazingly, many of the homeless that are a part of the Common Ground community are some of the friends I have been fortunate to serve in my secular job teaching in the library system. It has been particularly rewarding to see the same faces in a worshiping environment outside my work. Actually, I do not think it is by some sort of accident of fate. Deacons in the Diocese of Atlanta are encouraged to keep their fulltime jobs making for an interesting dynamic of seeing secular work as spiritual and church work as humanitarian. The following are three people of history that influenced my understanding of diaconal ministry and three major ministry activities or categories that I see as a part of my diaconal ministry. A Call To Speak: John Wesley I was born in Blount County, Alabama hearing the echoes of an eighteenth century Anglican priest named John Wesley. To this day the good folk of that part of the country continue under the resounding influence of a life lived long ago. There Wesley’s children go by such labels as the Church of God, United Methodist Church, Church of the Nazarene, the Holiness church, and a few smaller groups. Collectively, they make up the largest number of Christians in the county. The theology is straightforward and simple. “You must be born again” (John 3:7) and “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). The doctrine of soteriology, or the study of sin and salvation, becomes pragmatic and heartfelt. In Anglicanism, we talk about the “three-legged stool” in which doctrine and Christian growth are built upon scripture, reason and tradition. Wesley added a fourth leg called experience, and it is often the driving force behind the Wesleyan groups of today. Wesley’s followers continue his teaching of a two-dimensional theology of experience: after spiritual regeneration one must seek sanctification, that is, to be made holy. For Wesley it occurred at the now famous Aldersgate prayer meeting when he felt his “heart strangely warmed” within him. This moment changed the course of Protestant Christianity. At the age of 17, I accepted the call to the ministry in the Church of God and preached my first sermon on August 19, 1981. The service was hosted by a prayer meeting group led by a lady evangelist named Irene Works and met at the old Mount Carmel Methodist church. Inspired by Wesley’s theology, my first sermon was entitled “Is It Really Possible to Live a Victorious Christian Life?” It was then that my Christian voice began to take shape. A Call to Help: Saint Rita of Cascia While at Lee University, a dear friend and I went rummaging at a local thrift store one day. I happened upon a rather captivating painting of a nun with a thorn in her forehead. A small brass label at the bottom of the frame simply identified the subject as Saint Rita. The image remained in my thoughts for days as I grappled with what could be the possible meaning. Research revealed that she was born near Cascia, Italy, in 1381, and her name was Rita Lotti. She felt a call to become a nun as a child but yielded to her parents’ wishes to marry Paolo Mancini. He was a riotous man who died at the hand of enemies. Her two young sons became ill and died shortly after their father’s murder. While mourning these tragic loses, she remembered her original call to religious life. She served forty-four years as an Augustinian nun at the Convent of Saint Mary Magdalene. The most intriguing part of her story is that of her personal theology of ministry. It brought articulation to the very thoughts of my heart. She took great care to live and show her faith through small acts of kindness. Rita was known to wash clothes and cook for the poor villagers surrounding the convent. Amazingly, miracles of healing began to occur in the lives of those she helped. Further, while praying to God that she might identify with the servanthood of Jesus, a stigmata of a thorn became manifest in her forehead. The stigmata remained with her for the last fifteen years of her life. Additionally, a miracle of the roses in the snow is said to have occurred during the last winter before her death. Bedridden, she requested that one of the sisters bring her a rose from the Convent’s garden. Puzzled, the nun went out to the snow-covered garden. To her surprise, the rose bush was blooming. She cut a rose for Rita and laid it upon her chest. Therefore, the saint is typically seen holding a rose and manifesting the stigmata of a thorn lodged in her forehead. Her feast day is May 22 commemorating the day of her death in 1457. Understanding Saint Rita’s rule of life brought definition to my ministry. Suddenly, my passion for visiting nursing homes and hospital patients took on new meaning. I began to see roses blooming in the tired faces of those with whom I prayed. A Call to Serve: Holy Virgin Mary My maternal grandmother, Earleen Bates Bailey, nearly died during my second year at Lee after suffering severely for months. So it was not surprising when Pastor Jerry Fleming, under whom I had served as an Associate Pastor, called me in Cleveland with sobering news. He said the doctor had called the family into the hospital and had given my grandmother little chance to survive the night. Her ten adult children and scores of grandchildren began to call out to God earnestly. My cousin Lisa Wright Harris, a pastor’s wife, stood vigil beside her bed reading Scriptures aloud. Grandmother had slipped into a comatose state hours earlier and was connected to various life-supporting apparatus. Suddenly, the bleeps on the heart monitor went flat. Hospital staff frantically cleared the room and began standard CPR procedures. Grandmother shared with me later that it was at this point she appeared before the Virgin Mary who was dressed in blue with her hair up. As Grandmother questioned her, Mary pointed to an entryway similar to the door of a church. As she walked inside, Grandmother marveled at the large gold-filled expanse. She said the room was covered top to bottom with gold. Soon she realized that departed loved ones were there as she saw my late grandfather, John Bailey, and uncle Ezra Waldrop, who had recently died. When my grandmother saw him after his death, he pointed her back to the entrance of the gold-filled room. Suddenly she was before the Virgin a second time. This time Mary’s hair had been let down and was long and flowing. Grandmother asked her what was going on and Mary again answered by pointing. This time she directed my grandmother to look upon an enormous Bible. The size of a house, the Book was opened and the wind was rustling its pages until it rested upon John 13, the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. As soon as Grandmother realized that it had stopped on John 13, she awoke fully healed. What was the result of the apparition? For my grandmother it brought wholeness and healing to a frail, sick body. She lived her last nine years in strong health physically and spiritually. For me it brought Scriptural direction and ecclesiastical focus. What is the lesson of John 13? Over the years, I have become convinced that John’s lesson is meant to establish the nature of ministry among God’s people. I believe Jesus was illustrating that servant ministry is to be the reflection or result of communion with him and the community of faith. After Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the Scriptures testify to its importance in the assembly of believers on several occasions. However, foot washing as a part of the Eucharistic ceremony is not mentioned again. For me the lesson is the perfect paradigm for the diaconate: Humble assistance in the cares of this life for God's people and humble assistance during the sharing of Eucharist. 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