RI Deacons to Celebrate 30 Years of Ordained Ministry!

 

Join The Rhode Island Diaconate in Celebrating

30 years of Ordained Ministry!

 

May 30, 2015 2:00 PM

St. Martin's Episcopal Church

50 Orchard Ave., Providence, RI, 02906

 

 

 

On July 13, 1985, Bishop George Hunt ordained the first class of Deacons who completed their formation and academic preparations at the Diocese of Rhode Island School for Deacons.  This was the beginning of the revival and resurrection of the vocational Diaconate in our Diocese.  Since that time, there have been 42 people ordained to this order and several others who have transferred their orders to our diocese for a total of 46 vocational deacons to serve here.  Some of these have moved to other dioceses or denominations, some renounced their orders, and others are deceased.  Today, there are 27 canonically resident vocational deacons in Rhode Island, with nine active and eighteen retired.  All active deacons serve in a parish or mission in collaboration with the Rector, Vicar or Priest-in-Charge.

 

2015 is being designated as a year of celebration for this outstanding ministry in our diocese.  There is a Diocesan wide diaconal ministry event being launched to raise funds for St. Mary's Home for Children, with the current deacons working with parishes and missions to raise funds for this vital work in our community, and to raise awareness of the financial needs of the agency to sustain this work.  The fundraiser was kicked off with the collection of $534 from The Episcopal Church Women's Annual Meeting designating their loose offering collection during their Eucharist for this initiative!  Parishes are being asked to do creative activities to raise money throughout the winter and the spring which will be gathered and presented to St. Mary's at a Festive Eucharist on May 30, 2015 at 2:00 PM at St. Martin's Church, Providence.

Deacon's 30th Anniversary Celebration

 

 

Join the RI Diaconate in Raising Funds

For

St. Mary’s Home for Children

 

On July 13, 1985, Bishop George Hunt ordained the first class of Deacons who completed their formation and academic preparations at the Diocese of Rhode Island School for Deacons.  This was the beginning of the revival and resurrection of the vocational Diaconate in our diocese.  Since that time, there have been 42 people ordained to this order and several others who have transferred their orders to our diocese for a total of 46 vocational deacons to serve here.  Some of these have moved to other dioceses or denominations, some renounced their orders, and others are deceased.  Today, there are 27 canonically resident vocational deacons in Rhode Island, with ten active and seventeen retired.  All active Deacons serve in a parish or mission in collaboration with the Rector, Vicar, or Priest-in-Charge.

2015 is being designated as a year of celebration for this outstanding ministry in our Diocese.  There is a Diocesan wide diaconal ministry event being launched to raise funds for St. Mary’s Home for Children, with the current deacons working with parishes and missions to raise funds for this vital work in our community, and to raise awareness of the financial needs of the agency to sustain this work.  The fundraiser was kicked off with the collection of $534 from the Episcopal Church Women’s Annual Meeting designating their loose offering collection during their Eucharist for this imitative!   Parishes are being asked to do creative activities to raise money throughout the winter and the spring which will be gathered and presented to St. Mary’s at a Festive Eucharist on May 30, 2015 at 4:00 PM,  at St. Martin’s Church, Providence. 

The ritual for the ordination of deacons expresses with particular authority the understanding the church has regarding the ministry of deacons:

 ... God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood directly under your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. … You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world. … At all times, your life and teaching are to show Christ's people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself. BCP page 543

The deacon is the bridge between the church and the world.  Over the last thirty years, deacons in Rhode Island have contributed to their ministry beyond the walls of our churches in many and diverse ways.  A few samples of their ministry include serving the homeless and hungry through the George Hunt Help Center, soup kitchens, food banks and other initiatives. They have provided chaplaincy in hospitals, prisons, for people affected by HIV & AIDS, and on college campuses.  They have provided ministry at the LADD School, visited those in nursing homes, and worked with people suffering with mental illness and addiction. They have ministered internationally in Romania and Haiti, as well as the Dominican Republic. 

Deacons contributed to the governance of the church by serving on Diocesan committees and commissions, and have been delegates to General Convention.  Their commitment spans the church and the world in many ways because they are deacons in everything that they do!

Please join in the fundraiser event for St. Mary’s and plan to attend the Festive Eucharist on May 30, 2015 to celebrate and honor this sacred order.

2nd National Conference for Deacons, June, 1981

2^nd Annual Conference for Deacons

First publication: June, 1981

 

There are 700 vocational deacons in the Episcopal Church today, and the Second National Conference for Deacons, held May 21-23 at the center for Continuing Education at Notre Dame, Indiana, heard the rev. Dr. John. E. Booty challenge deacons to be, “true and lively catalysts of the universal servanthood of all Christians, both in their actions and their inner beings.” 

Dr. Booty,  professor of Church History at the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA, pointed to the revival of the vocational diaconate and the mushrooming numbers of deacons in the church as offering and opportunity to personify, sacramentalize and enable the servant ministry to which all Christians are called to at Baptism.

Approximately 100 vocational deacons and friends of diaconal ministry from 39 states and two Canadian provinces attended the conference.  Twenty Five workshops sharing the diversity of ministry of deacons and and the issues of diaconal ministry were at the heart of the conference.  A previous conference in 1979 explored the theological undergirding of the Diaconate.  The conference was a cooperative part of a six year effort  called for by the 1979 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, directed at raising the consciousness of the church about the work and ministry of deacons, setting up pilot programs and evaluating the national effort.  The conference recommended that province-wide deacon gatherings be held in the spring of 1982, and that another national conference  be held in 1983. 

The worship of the conference incorporated the many ways the deacon serves liturgically and was arranged by  The Associated parishes, Alexandria VA., who co-sponsored the conference  with the National Association for The Diaconate, Boston, MA.

The National Center for The Diaconate, formerly known as the Central House for Deaconesses, is a 35 year old agency working to promote the distinctive, vocational diaconate, to educate the church and to support deacons and others in diaconal ministry.  The Center is located at 14 Beacon Street, Boston, MA., 02108.  The Rev. James L. Lowery, Jr. provides executive services to the Center and Gail D. Hinand is the Administrator.

 

Manual on "The Deacon in the Liturgy" published; April, 1981

Manual on “The Deacon in the Liturgy” Published

Original publication date of this article: April, 1981

 

“The Deacon in the Liturgy” by Deacon Ormand Plater has been published by the National Center for The Diaconate to clarify the Deacon’s role in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer’s restoration of diversity of ministries as a cardinal principle of worship.

In the book’s introduction,  Deacon Plater writes, “…although this booklet may appear to be a manual of ceremony for a limited audience, the Deacons of the Episcopal Church, its deeper purpose is to help deacons be what they ought to be in the liturgy, neither ostentatious nor sloppy, but serving with grace and manners, and to help bishops, priests and lay persons realize the value of deacons in  the life and worship of the church.  …The deacon’s role in the liturgy reveals the true nature of the deacon as proclaimer and evangelist, messenger and bearer of good news to the poor, as well as servant in the image of Christ.

For some 700 vocational (permanent) deacons in the Episcopal Church today, the book will serve as a manual and guide.  The deacon in the liturgy is presented in the total context of all of the church’s services and offices, and a congregation can make complete or partial use of the material.

Deacon Ormande Plater, Ph.D. serves as assistant at Saint Anna’s Church and as medical chaplain at Touro Infirmary Medical Center, both in New Orleans.  A native of New York City, Deacon Plater’s undergraduate work was done at Vanderbilt University.  He received a doctorate in English Languages and Literature from Tulane University.

The book is available from The National Center for the Diaconate, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, MA, 02108, for $6.

 

CONFERENCE SCHEDULED

We also take note that the National Center for the Diaconate and Associated Parishes will jointly sponsor a conference titled, “The Deacon” May 21-23 at the University of Notre Dame.  Registration, due in writing on or before May 14…..For further information, contact either the Rev. James L. Lowery, Jr. or Ms. Gail D. Hinand, 14 Beacon Street, Boston, MA, 02108.

Deacon's History: Meet John Edmunds

In our continuing reprints, here is an article from March, 1982 issue of The RI Diocesan newspaper.

 

The new face you often see at Diocesan House, either punching away at a typewriter or bending in deep devotion before the copy machine, belongs to The Rev. John Edmunds, director of our just-launched Diaconate Studies Program.  His task at the moment is to pull together the curriculum, faculty and finances which, God willing, will place our diocese at the forefront of re-establishing the Deacon as a full and complete ordained minister of the church, with functions complementary to-- yet distinct from-- those of bishop and priest.  These are not deacons on the way to the priesthood, but (as in Apostolic times) people set apart by ordination to live and serve Christ and His Church in our Lord's example: "I am among you as One who Serveth."  In parishes, institutions and in the secular world, the ministry of this diocese will be thrillingly enlarged.  And John is the man who is charged with getting all of this going.
Born in Concord, New Hampshire, John grew up in Saint Paul's School, where his father was a master.  His interest in the priesthood began in Saint Paul's lovely Gothic chapel -- "Not the religion, but the aesthetics."  The beauty of the place, the stateliness of the liturgy, and mostly the excellence of the music (under Channing Lefebvre, former organist at St. John The Divine, New York City) all touched him deeply.  Intellectually, an assigned term paper on the Oxford Movement and the Catholic revival in Anglicanism drew him on.  Attending Carleton College in Northfield, MN., he was introduced to Kiierkegaard, and Fear and Trembling familiarized him with an even deeper appreciation of the Christian life.

By graduation time, he had decided to go on to seminary, but the bishop of Massachusetts wanted him to have a more diverse experience and sent him to work in the Youth Ministries Program of the Church of the Redeemer, Houston-- a once prosperous inner city parish which was in  transition.  "This was my gas station ministry," he says.  "To support myself I pumped gas.  The station was a gathering place for poor whites and Hispanics and Episcopalianism, with a pentecostal flavor appealed to the gangs who lived there."  The parish grew and John grew. 

He entered ETS (now EDS) in Cambridge in the fall of 1965, shortly after seminarian Jonathan Daniels was martyred in Mississippi-- a profound experience for the students and faculty there.  John Coburn,( now Bishop of Massachusetts ) was dean at ETS at the time and assigned John to the Mattapoisett General Hospital, a geriatric hospital just outside Boston and also worked on a text for the Diocesan Human Relations Committee while in seminary.

He was ordained a priest and served for several years as curate in South Weymouth.  Then followed 4 years as chaplain at the Pomfret School in Connecticut and an equal time doing Clinical Pastoral Training in the Washington area, first as Chaplain Intern  at the Medical College in Virginia, then as Chaplain of the Delaware Street Hospital and at the Bethany Medical Center.  These provided him with experience in the problems of minorities, criminals and adolescents.

In late 1978, he acquired a house in Barrington, RI, and a position in C.E.T.A. as a director of the East Providence Self Help Program.  When budgetary problems reduced this program , John was introduced to the waste removal problems in Barrington, and became one of the most highly educated  "Sanitation Engineers" ever to work in that community.  (Be it known that "sanitation engineers" go by much less exalted titles in less affluent areas!)  He availed himself of the parish consultants training offered by our Diocese.  Now in addition to his new responsibility, he is currently interim rector of St. George's, Central Falls.

"My vocation is the be a priest and an educator," says Fr. Edmunds, "and I am happy and content  in doing what I am doing right now."

We feel assured that his varied experience has prepared him well, and will watch with prayers and keen interest his leadership in the Deacon's Training Program.



A New term for Our Deacon Students

Thanks to Ed Dean, here are the pictures of the first weekend of Deacon School.  Best wishes to all students!

What's New through Diaconal Ministry at Saint Augustine's Parish

The Deacons’ School: An Historic Account

The following comes from The Rev. Shirley Woods, who became the first Dean of the School for Deacons, Diocese of California in 1979.  She, with the help of Fr. Richard Fabian, writes about deacons:

DEACON: Enabler, Facilitator

--Enabler: One who provides opportunities and makes possible the work of others.

--Facilitator: One who paves the way, gives instruction and makes hard work easier.

The Great Enabler was Jesus.  When questioners came to Jesus with problems, He did not hand out answers from the Teacher’s Answer Book.  How many times did He preface His answer with, “What do you think of this case?” or, “Have you not read…?”  Jesus had the skill of stating the problem in new terms or in such a way that the answer became apparent to the listener, who could then reply and then act for himself.  The Christian experience is one of liberation; it does not demand the rote following of commands and fiats.

We often hear the plaintive question, “What can the deacon do that no one else can do?”  The answer is another question: “What is it that the deacon cannot do that others can do?”  The answer (to the latter question) is, “Precious little.”  The deacon is the palace official, member of the kitchen cabinet, the man behind the scenes, whose job it is to see that all runs smoothly.  It is true that upon occasion one might see a deacon all dressed up in a brocade dalmatic (most likely it is borrowed).  But usually the deacon is standing in the background, giving orders with a nod, a raise of the eyebrow, or a gesture, making sure that everyone else in the show does his part.  So also out in the world.  Our deacon friend may not be the keynote speaker at the meeting, but it is he who found the keynote speaker.  He also found the table, the lectern and the chairs.  (Let us hope that he found a group of young people to set up the chairs.)  Should the speaker be late, the deacon will get up and tell a few jokes or lead us in a song.  It is true that the deacon may occasionally end up giving the speech.  Just so, the deacon is often found on a mid-summer day when everyone else is off on vacation, presiding at a funeral.

I have heard deacon candidates in worrisome voices, trying to tot up their talents and abilities.  They make lists: (1) can visit convalescent homes; (2) can take old ladies to church; (3) can babysit young children.  When the list is finished, the candidate in frustration is ready to throw the whole idea out the window.  Deacons don’t really want to take old ladies to church and babysit young children.  The list should read, (1) Can bring together persons who would profit by visiting convalescent homes, and train them; (2) Can organize convalescents to visit each other; (3) can organize car pools; (4) can raise money to buy a church bus; (5) can organize a group of nursery school teachers.  In other words, “Can run things.”  Perhaps another word should be added: “Unobtrusively.”

Those first deacons in the Book of Acts were not asked to cook meals; they were asked to round up the food and distribute it.  I hear a lot of inquiry , “What is the difference between a deacon and a lay person?”  Or, more bluntly, “What can a deacon do that a lay person cannot do?”  The unimaginative answer is, “Read the Gospel.”  But everyone knows that almost anyone can read the Gospel, and the4 deacon feels he has been thrown a sop.  The deacon’s job is to organize the laity, to get them moving.  It has been noted that the laity often have other fish to fry; the deacon will find that he has to do the job himself if he doesn’t get his organization into gear.  One deacon cannot visit all the convalescent homes, but One Deacon has become a facilitator for helping others to visit.  One deacon is only a drop in the bucket so far as rehabilitating alcoholics goes, but One Deacon has a study to define the problem and to set up a center for dealing with the problem.  A deacon can offer sympathy to a parent with a mentally disadvantaged child, but One Deacon has set up classes for such children and has taught others  how to teach them. 

Jesus said, “The man who holds out to the end is the one who will see salvation.  This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a witness to all the nations.”

Via The Rev. John Edmunds,

who will become the first director

of the School for Deacons in Rhode island

Next time:  Learn more from our history, as we hear about The Rev. John Edmunds and his background and vision for the School for Deacons

Celebrating 30 years of Ordaining Deacons in RI!

Over the next year, the Diocese of Rhode Island will celebrate that we have been ordaining deacons for 30 years.  It is a very special time for us, as we look back on the rich and sometimes colorful history of the Diaconate here in RI. 

In addition to our other blog entries, we will reprint articles and photographs from  our Diocesan newspaper, beginning in 1980, covering the establishment of the School For Deacons, the directors, teachers, students and others who, from time to time, weighed in on the establishment and development of the Permanent/Vocational Diaconate here in Rhode Island.

The photographs are taken directly from the pages of the archived newspapers, so may appear a bit grainy, but will be great to see just the same!

We hope you find these articles interesting, informative and inspirational, as we do what deacons don't always have a lot of time to do:  look back and be amazed at our incredible and rich history.

The Venerable Janice Grinnell in the latest edition of Diakonia

Hi Everyone,
The Association for Episcopal Deacons (AED) sends out a quarterly magazine to the national church, to highlight the work of deacons throughout the church.  As it happens, our own Archdeacon, The Ven. Janice Grinnell, has the page one story, which is all about her campus ministry!  I am giving you the direct link to the latest edition of Diakonia below.  Enjoy reading about the efforts of deacons and particularly those of our own Archdeacon.


http://origin.library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102230245650-195/Vol36_Aug14.pdf

Deacon Dorothy Brightman Receives St. Stephen Award

The Rev. Dorothy (Ricky) Brightman was awarded the Saint Stephen Award for her service as a deacon, at Williamsburg, VA., in June, 2013.  The St. Stephen Award is a national recognition by the Association for Episcopal Deacons and is given to a person(s) who has exemplified a ministry in a diaconal sense of service.  It is an award for those who have, by living lives that preach the Gospel, ministered as deacons, supported the diaconal community, or, in other ways, have contributed extraordinarily to the awareness of the ministry of deacons.

 

When asked to characterize Ricky’s ministry, The Ven. Jan Grinnell, Archdeacon of the Diocese of RI said, “Shortly following her ordination in 2006 Ricky Brightman was assigned to St Luke’s, East Greenwich a strong midsize suburban parish. Her commitment to aiding the poor and those in the inner city were soon evident. She carried a can of soup in procession rather than the Gospel book. She invited, cajoled and nudged folks to join her at soup kitchens in Central Falls, the George Hunt HELP Center in Providence and constantly reminded everyone that God is in needy places and needs our help. Even after she left, at the call of a new Rector most of these activities continued.”

Ricky began her journey of service in the Diocese of Rhode Island under the leadership of The Rev. Dn. Ida Johnson.  As a layperson, Ricky served the needs of the homeless and hungry in the city of Providence at The Cathedral of Saint John, which was the focal point of Deacon Ida's ministry.  Ricky says that she emulated her mentor, and that Deacon Ida said that you will "Spiral from there like flowers in the garden.  Who knows where you will be planted?" 

Ricky started with the Soup Kitchen and began looking for other opportunities where she could serve.  In earlier years she had drifted away from the Episcopal Church because she found no models of female leadership or involvement, except as Sunday School and Choir teachers and directors  As the Director of Community Service at Moses Brown School for ten years,  Ricky had become familiar with the needs of the many poor, hungry, poorly housed, excluded and ignored people living in the Providence area.  The model of direct hands-on service that she found in Deacon Ida and other Deacons was a turning point for Ricky, and was an added bonus that brought her back to the Episcopal Church.

Eventually, in May of 2006, Ricky was ordained a Deacon.  She had found her vocation in her church and as a leader, doing those things for which she had and continues to have, great passion. Ricky has worked at The George Hunt HELP Center in Providence, which has provided a safe haven during the day for those who live on the streets or for people who need help or just an empathetic ear.  Clothing and food were distributed there to those who had needs.  Ricky and her colleagues welcomed and accepted many people and helped them to feel good about themselves.  Sadly, the George Hunt HELP Center closed at the end of August, 2013 for financial reasons, but the homeless are still with us in all areas of our state.  Ministry to this population is important and is now addressed in different ways through programs such as Mobile Loaves and Fishes and Church Beyond the Walls. 

Ricky has been part of the birth of a new ministry in our Diocese that is just emerging.   The Episcopal Service Corps has approved the application from Rhode Island to plant the Jonathan Daniels House which will be up and running in the South End of Providence by September, 2014.  This facility will offer a year internship to four individuals who will work in a social service agency, and who will live together from September through June.  As they work in the city, helping those in need, they will form a community at Jonathan Daniels House, where they will live, worship and pray together.  Their work week will be 30 hours in length.  During this time together, they will discern what they will do with their lives.  Ricky has been a part of this ministry from its inception and continues to bring her own brand of no-nonsense reality and faith to its birth.

Ricky currently serves as deacon at Church of the Epiphany in Rumford, alongside presbyters, Jennifer Pedrick and Edmund Harris, another key player in the development of the Jonathan Daniels House. In addition to these ministries, Ricky serves currently with Church Beyond the Walls, which offers Holy Eucharist on Saturdays in Burnside Park in Downtown Providence.  After the Eucharist, a meal is also shared with the congregants. 

Ricky serves as Chair of the Diocesan Mission Task Force and serves on the Hispanic Mission Committee. It seems as if the seeds of Ricky's work will continue to be sewn, even beyond her own work.  That is probably the best thing that can be said about a deacon.

When asked why she recommended Ricky to receive the St. Stephen Award, Archdeacon Grinnell said, “Ricky is a wonderful example of a deacon with a prophetic voice for the poor and the oppressed through her bold actions within and outside whatever parish she is serving.  She empowers the laity to join in her ministry and offers ways to make this sustainable when she moves on.”

The community of Deacons in Rhode Island offers its congratulations to Ricky on her accomplishment and prays that her ministry may continue for a long, long time!



Deacon Ted Hallenbeck receives 2013 Steere House Legacy Award and is named Autumn’s Promise Honoree

On Friday evening, October 4^th, at 7:00, The Rev. Dcn. Ted Hallenbeck will be honored to receive the Steere House Legacy Award.  For the last 17 years, Ted has served on the Board of Directors of Steere House, a 120 bed skilled Nursing care facility on the campus of Rhode Island Hospital. The last 7 years he has also been treasurer, as they have worked through an assortment of difficult issues, until his retirement this year.

 

Ted has served as a trustee for South Providence Neighborhood Ministries and became a board member in 1998, and a year later he became a board member of Ocean State Assisted Living, a joint effort between Steere House and Scandinavian Home.  Steere House has awarded Ted Hallenbeck the 2013 Legacy Award and named him the Autumn’s Promise Honoree.

 

Ted has been a deacon in the Diocese of Rhode Island since 1985.  He came to Rhode Island in 1957, working in college and university administration.  He helped to create the Community College of Rhode Island and helped to improve and upgrade both URI and RI College.  He was involved in the building of the Bristol campus of Roger Williams College.  After that, he helped to create the nationwide University Without Walls, which is an alternative higher education program.

 

After working in organizational development and fundraising with churches, nursing homes and agencies, he began to feel a call to serve as a deacon.  He has worked on various diocesan groups, including Diocesan Council and its Executive Committee, Commission on Finance, Program and Budget Committee, Episcopal Charities Board and the 2015 Task Force for Strategic Needs and Planning.  Ted says of his time and work in these areas, “This is a very healthy and exciting time as together with a new Bishop we figure out how to work together effectively and tackle an assortment of issues, some new, some old.  And it looks like 2013 and 2014 will be a busy time!”  He is pictured here, with other deacons at the Diakonia of the Americas and the Caribbean (DOTAC) conference in Trinidad.  Ted has served for 17 years on the Executive Committee and 8 years as Treasurer of DOTAC.

 

Ted serves The Fund for the Diaconate as its President, and works especially on Grant Coordination with the Ven. Bill Jones.  The Fund focuses on improving the ways we assist and support deacons.

 

Ted says of their work through the Fund, “Recent experience has shown us that we can be of assistance that is not necessarily financial. We need to broaden our support pattern and linkages to involving others in assisting deacons.”

 

Ted has also served as Executive Director of the North American Association for the Diaconate from 1989 to 2004.  Today, he is a retired deacon at Saint Luke’s Church, East Greenwich, and helps as needed.

 

Pictured here with Dutton Moorehouse, past editor of Diakonia, at the 2006 TEC General Convention in Coilumbus, Ohio.

 

 

Ted’s wife, Pat taught New Testament in the RI School for Deacons for many years.

 

Ted ended our time together by musing a bit about the future.  “Arriving at age 86 and encountering an assortment of limiting health related concerns, means that I cannot do what the younger folks do, or I once did.  I limit my commitments and activities, now primarily focused on Diocese of Rhode Island groups, which I am delighted to serve and will continue to do so as long as I am able and useful.”