What Is a Deacon?
I grew up in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) and wasn’t familiar with the role of deacon. In fact, I’ve never been part of a church that had a deacon. So I certainly never thought about becoming one until the idea was brought up in 2013, by the new pastor at the ELCA congregation where I was a fairly new member and the secretary, Good Shepherd in Brevard.
Technically, the pastor asked if I’d ever thought about working for the church as an ordained leader - a pastor or a deacon. I had always been interested in serving others, which is why I’d formerly worked as a social worker and was involved in Good Shepherd’s outreach work in the community and beyond. I was completely taken with the idea of being Christ’s hands and feet in the world, in taking part in God’s work of making all things new and inviting others to join in. So, once I realized God really was calling me to be a leader in the church, discerning between the possibility of becoming a pastor or a deacon was easy.
Deacons in the ELCA used to be known by different titles: deaconesses, associates in ministry and diaconal ministers. These titles came from the different denominations that together formed the ELCA. Those who served in these roles ministered at the intersection of the church and the world.
In 2017, these three separate roles were combined into one and the title became deacon, or minister of Word and Service. (ELCA pastors are ministers of Word and Sacrament.) The training for deacons also changed at this time to include master’s-level education, clinical pastoral education (CPE) and an internship. Within the ELCA tradition, both pastors and deacons, once they receive an official call, are ordained and are rostered leaders of the church.
Stephen is the first named deacon in the New Testament, who worked with others to serve people in need. While the role of deacon has changed over time, deacons have typically worked with the poor, marginalized or sick. Unlike a pastor’s stole that is worn around the shoulders and hangs down the front of the body, a deacon’s stole hangs over one shoulder and fastens at the side, demonstrating a readiness to serve (see picture).
Some of the responsibilities of ministers of Word and Service include: “Being rooted in the word of God, for proclamation and service; advocating a prophetic diakonia [ministry of service] that commits itself to risk-taking and innovative service on the frontiers of the church’s outreach, giving particular attention to the suffering places in God’s world; speaking publicly to the world in solidarity with the poor and oppressed, advocating dignity, justice, and equity for all people, working for peace and reconciliation among the nations, caring for the marginalized, embracing and welcoming racially and ethnically diverse populations; and equipping the baptized for ministry in God’s world that affirms the gifts of all people” (from the ELCA Candidacy Manual).
I completed the education and training requirements to become a deacon and was approved as a candidate for minister of Word and Service in the summer of 2022. God certainly does work in surprising ways. The past 12 years have brought much challenge and blessing to my life. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for me next.
Kimberly Dunbar
Interim Ministry Associate
