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ORDER OF DEACONS
Deacons are clergy leaders who are called by God, authorized by the church and ordained by a bishop to a lifetime ministry of word, service, compassion and justice. Deacons exemplify Christian discipleship, nurture others in their relationship to God, and lead church people to respond to the needs of the needy, neglected, and marginalized of the world.
In the congregation, deacons teach, preach, officiate at funerals and weddings, offer pastoral care, assist the elder in administering Baptism and Holy Communion, lead discipleship development ministries, and help lay people identify and claim their own ministries. Deacons lead the congregation in its servant ministry and equip and support all baptized Christians in their ministry. Through the Order of Deacons, The United Methodist Church affirms this historic, central, and distinct ministry.
Deacons in East Ohio serve on church staff in Christian education, missions, discipleship, and music ministries, as chaplins in hospitals, truck stops, and resident care facilities, college and seminary professors, and leaders at nursing homes. Deacons are working as nurses, leading mission sites and conference committees, advocating for job and community development, counselors, as UMVIM coordinators, facilitators of calls to ministry, on staff in the conference and in the North Central Jurisdiction. God calls us to serve in the world and in a set apart order of clergy collegiality that keeps us accountable and connected to God and each other.
Deacons help to connect the needs of the world to the church and Christ followers. Deacons help to build bridges and on-ramps for people in the world to connect with Christ followers, faith, God, and the Church.
How will we know when we have enough deacons?
When all the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable are met.
When to gather the gifts of the church
and take them to the world –
and to gather needs of the world
and bring them to the church –
has become a habit.
When Deacons, going back and forth,
have worn down the boundary lines
that we use to keep church and world separated.
When Deacons, leading the baptized in and out,
have beaten a path between the altar and the gutter
so that everyone will see the link between
the Blood in our chalices and the blood in our streets.
When all people respond to the challenge to live,
not in love of power but in the power of love …
The 25th Anniversary of the EOC Order of Deacons
Rev. Kathy Dickriede
Chair, Order of Deacons
(330) 842-1048
E-mail
The East Ohio Conference Office:
located in North Canton, OH,
near Akron-Canton Airport.
Address:
8800 Cleveland Ave. NW
North Canton, OH 44720
Phone:
(330) 499-3972
Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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