From Central PA-
After John Hardwood's ordination as an Episcopal deacon on Sunday, the college teacher and administrator will serve in a small Clinton County church.
After Nancy Rementer is ordained a deacon, the retired medical worker will go to work in her own church.
Deacons have "one foot in the church and one foot in the community," said the Right Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, who will ordain six deacons at 4 p.m. Sunday in St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg.
"An Episcopal priest leads by gathering people at the altar," Baxter said. "A deacon leads by taking them into the world."
In addition to assisting priests in worship, Episcopal deacons work in the trenches, doing everything from outreach activities to pastoral visitations. Baxter said the six deacons, trained in the diocesan School of Christian Studies, will fill a special need.
"Small congregations face the challenge of finding affordable ways to provide clergy to serve their people," Baxter said. "A number of congregations are no longer able to afford to pay the salary of a full-time priest."
The new model helps meet the pastoral needs of smaller congregations by using deacons to help out. Deacons work in the world and in their parishes, balancing their secular jobs, family life and church responsibilities.
"I grew up with that model," Baxter said. "People knew my father as a landscaper from the workday world and also as a minister. People felt that 'the pastor is one of us.' It's the same with deacons. Being 'one of us' gives deacons a certain authority and connection. Our new deacons bring a richness to the diocese."
More here-
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/east/index.ssf?/base/news/1288211122159970.xml&coll=1
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