The Deacons Episcopal Diocese of Newark Vol. 2 June 2010

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1 The Deacons Episcopal Diocese of Newark Vol. 2 June 2010 Who are the Hungry? Archdeacon Deborah Rucki Drake The congregation of St. Agnes Church in Little Falls has been collecting food for the food pantry at St. Paul s Episcopal Church in Paterson for many years. St. Agnes rarely had anyone come to our doors asking for food. The economic hard times has brought people to the doors of St. Agnes asking if we have any food. Unfortunately there are no food pantries in the nearby vicinity to where we could direct people so St. Agnes decided to set up a small emergency grocery pantry. We came up with a list of food items such as peanut butter, cereal, coffee, juice, rice, beans, etc. and filled up two grocery bags for each person coming to our doors. The parishioners of St. Agnes supply the food by shopping for the items or by donating the funds for another volunteer to do the shopping. We have also identified the need for sundries such as toothpaste and shampoo and we can now supply those items along with the food. We are now able to give some food to those who come to our doors and are hungry. Deacon Roles in Confirmation Two deacons are present for every Confirmation and serve as Deacon of the Word and Table Deacon. The Deacon of the Word reads the Gospel, the Prayers for the Candidates and if needed also serves as Bishop s Chaplain and Eucharistic Minister. The Table Deacon sets the Table, gives the dismissal and if needed serves as Eucharistic Minister.

2 Deployment Process of a Deacon Archdeacon Peter Jackson The sending of a deacon to a congregation is a process of mutual discernment between the deacon, the Bishop and the congregation, with the involvement of the Archdeacon for Deployment. The process aims to find the best match for the deacon and the congregation, in which the deacon could give full expression to his/her true gifts and talents and allow the congregation to benefit in significant ways from the service of a deacon. It involves an application process for requesting congregations; indication of interests, gifts and talents by the deacon; conversations between the deacon and the congregation and the Bishop; and mutual discernment by the parties. The stages of the transition are: a. Notification by the Archdeacon of deacons in the transition process based on their current letter of Agreement or other extenuating circumstances. b. Indication by deacons of particular interests, gifts and talents 1, and geographic location. c. The submission of application 2 for the services of a deacon by interested parishes d. Conversations between deacon and interested parishes. e. Conversation between deacon and Bishop. f. Submission of recommendations to Bishop and decisions by Bishop. g. Approval by Bishop of the assignment 3 of deacon. h. Negotiation of a formal Letter of Agreement 4 between deacon and congregation. Signature of letter of Agreement by deacon and Rector/Priest and submission to Bishop s Office i. Issue of formal assignment letter by Bishop. 1 Deacons should indicate their special areas of interest, possible future ministries, any geographic limits to their assignment, and any other relevant information. 2 This can be a formal application, which can be found on the diocesan website, or a letter by the Rector or Vestry, copied to the Archdeacon for Deployment and the Bishop s Administrative Assistant (Ms. Kay Lark), stating the expected role of the deacon and anticipated ministries. 3 The assignment is considered in force when the Letter of Agreement is signed by the Bishop, who will issue an official letter of appointment indicating the congregation to which the deacon is assigned and the period of the assignment. 4 The formal letter of Agreement should be concluded soon after the Bishop has indicated the congregation in which the deacon will serve. The Agreement should state clearly the functions and expectations of the deacon, specific ministries and those deacon expenses the congregation will be willing to pay for.

3 A NURSE S JOURNEY: NANCY READ Nancy Read s first job as a young nurse was in a maternity ward s nursery, cradling newborns. Today, she has come full circle. Nancy is a registered nurse and serves as a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark. Nancy is a hospice nurse and the terminally ill are her new charges. To walk with the dying to the edge of their life, and gently hand them over to yet another journey, is a gift that they share with you, she said. A hospice nurse needs to recognize that helping birth their patient into death is just as important as the day that person was born into this life. Nancy s journey took her to Clinical Pastoral Education at Christ Hospital in Jersey City to further strengthen her call to what she calls soul nursing. Her present pastoral assignment is at Grace Episcopal Church in Nutley. She was recently named to the board of The House of the Good Shepherd in Hackettstown, a continuing care retirement community. Nancy joined the Clifton Roadrunners Club and runs marathons. NEW WEB SITE FOR DEACONS Go to Diocese of Newark home page and click on the Ministries and Resources menu to visit the Deacons page for various listings regarding the diaconal community.

4 Deacon Sheila Shuford Receives Beacon Award for Excellence On May 13, 2010, The Rev. Sheila Shuford, Deacon, received the Beacon Award for Excellence from the Warren County Human Relations Commission at their Sixteenth Annual Award Celebration at Belvidere High School in Belvidere, NJ. The Beacon award recognized her as an individual who has been involved in an extraordinary manner to advance and promote all facets of diversity. The Commission strives to eliminate discrimination based on race, creed, color, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and physical or mental challenges in any social setting. Sheila was cited for her work as Deacon at St. James' Episcopal Church in Hackettstown, NJ, as well as her recent teaching at "Enable," a conference for clergy and lay people from all faith communities and persons with disabilities. In addition, she was applauded for her work teaching deaf awareness in the community at schools and to scouts, teaching sign language classes that are open to church and the community, as well as her role as chaplain with deaf patients at a Greystone Psychiatric Hospital, Morristown NJ. The award reads, "Rev. Sheila Shuford In recognition of commitment and service to promoting the dignity of humankind." The Association of Late-Deafened Adults, Garden State Chapter (ALDA-GS) congratulates Sheila on this truly high and esteemed honor. Sheila is currently ALDA-GS Member at Large, but she has also served the group in many other capacities over the years. She was President twice!

5 Make me an instrument of your peace: Deacon Erik Soldwedel Making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the Bond of peace. (Eph 4:3) Conflict and struggle are not a 21 st Century phenomena or a passing fad in the church. The belief that in God s house and with the family of followers there is complete harmony is a misnomer. Yes, the Episcopal Church we call home is full of opinions and disagreement within the harmony epitomizing Hooker s three legged stool a very key part of our DNA. Early last month Greg Jacobs, Canon to the Ordinary, the Rev. Dr. Sandye Wilson and I journeyed to Hartford Ct to participate in a program given by the Richard Blackburn and the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. Mediation Skills Training Institute was five full days of training that included intensive theory and practice. Role play filled each day with conflict scenarios that brought back memories for all the participants. Utilizing what we have learned through CPE and our education applying the theories of Family Systems was and remains a key component in conflict resolution. The week gave us the opportunity to meet and work with ordained and lay people from the region, and as far as England. The participants were Lutherans, Methodist, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Mennonites and Episcopalians all with the common thread of conflict. What we know and accept is that conflict is normal and inevitable whether in our homes, schools, communities, churches and workplaces. Being leaders in our church we often have the responsibility to help others work through their conflicts. For me, this is an integral part of my ministry. Upon my return from CT the opportunity to apply what I had just learned was placed before me in a call back to a church where I had facilitated a Vestry Retreat a few months earlier. God is wonderful and the vineyard we get to tend is filled with FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. I look forward to sharing more with you all in the months ahead as we continue to learn from one another.

6 Children s Ministries at The House of Prayer in Newark Deacon Kathleen Ballard Children are an integral part of the ministries at the House of Prayer in Newark. Our youngsters are also involved with youth activities at the Diocesan level. We have a Children s Saturday program consisting of youngsters from the ages of 4-16 years. Our children have an active role in each Sunday morning service serving as readers, ushers and acolytes and also in Altar Guild assistance. They are also involved in preparing programs during the year for special events, such as Christmas, Black History Month, Pentecost, Mother s and Father s Day and for graduation time. We have an active street ministry where we take announcements of our programs to the neighborhood buildings. The children make door hangers for the neighbors announcing our special services such as our 160 th anniversary, Palm Sunday, Easter and Christmas services. One our activities were to decorate paper lunch bags for a press conference in Trenton emphasizing the need for funding for the Child Nutrition programs in the schools. For the first time in many years in 2009 we had a Vacation Bible School for the neighborhood children who are members and non-members of The House of Prayer. This year we have planned another VBS and we will conduct a wider canvassing of the neighborhood. Our children also participated in our Third Annual Health Fair. Part of the children s activities was to do the face painting of the visitors and to play games with the children in attendance.

7 Deacons In the Episcopal Diocese of Newark Deacon Bill Bailey Deacon Kathleen Ballard Deacon Lloyd Batson Deacon Lynn Czarniecki Deacon James Delaney Archdeacon Deborah Rucki Drake Deacon Karen Eberhardt Deacon Jane Ellis Deacon Paul Fitzpatrick Deacon Barbara Harriman Deacon Jeanette Hile Deacon Hal Hurley Archdeacon Peter Jackson Deacon Christine (Chris) McCloud Deacon Joanne O Neill Archdeacon Liz Ostuni Deacon Lind Phillips Deacon Tom Piccate Deacon Nancy Read Deacon Diane Riley Deacon Sheila Shuford Deacon Lizabeth Smith Deacon Erik Soldwedel Deacon Herb Tinning Editor: Archdeacon Deborah Rucki Drake Contributing Writers: Archdeacon Peter Jackson, Deacon Erik Soldered, Deacon Kathleen Ballard, Deacon Nancy Read, Deacon Sheila Shuford, Archdeacon Deborah Rucki Drake and Deacon Kathllen Ballard.