Lutheran Diaconal Association

“The best kept secret in the Lutheran Church”, says Lisa Polito, Executive Director of the Lutheran Diaconal Association. Three years of educational preparation will welcome a doctor, nurse, a teacher and a hospital chaplain to become a deacon or deaconess. Join Lisa and host John Cain in this stimulating discussion of diaconal ministry.

Transcript

The following program is sponsored by evangelical life ministries.

Welcome to engaging truth, the manifestation of God's word and the lives of people around us. Join us each week. As we explore the impact of his message of spiritual renewal from the lesson of forgiveness forged and the crucible of divorce, to the message of salvation learned by an executioner from a condemned killer to the gift of freedom found in the rescue of victims of human trafficking. This is God's truth in action

And welcome to another edition of engaging truth. I'm your host pastor John Kane today with us on the program, we have a Deaconess DEA, Lisa Polito. She is the executive director of the Lutheran diaconal association located in Val perso, Indiana. Welcome to the program, Lisa,

Thank you so much. It's fabulous to be here and to be able to talk about what deacons is and deacons do.

So what are they, who are they and what do they do?

So I always say that, uh, we are the best kept secret in the church and for 103 years, the LDA has been forming women for ministries of service. But we also train men now too, because men are called to a life of service in the same way. And so we do just a variety of different kinds of ministry, um, where people who serve God's people, um, like Jesus washed his disciples feet and told them to do the same. So deaconesses and deacons go about and do that type of foot washing ministry, serving Christ by walking with people who are often forgotten and overlooked, the marginalized, the poor, the powerless of the sick. And so it's a really exciting opportunity to serve God and to serve God's people.

So you mentioned walking with people in their faith walk, uh, let's explore that a little bit and talk about some of the roles or functions, uh, that deacons and deaconesses commonly take

Sure, many deaconesses serve in congregations and they serve often as sort of a bridge between the community and the church building. So they see what are the needs out here in my individual community and how can my congregation reach out and find ways to serve people? Um, I think one of my favorite examples is the Deaconess who serves in my own congregation she's recently retired, but she does the food pantry ministry. And part of what they did was they realized that the people who were coming to the church who needed food, didn't just need physical food, but they needed spiritual food. And so found people to sit, um, with the men and women who were waiting to pick up food and do ministry with them. She also would, as new members came into the church, she would sit with them and talk about what were their gifts and what were the kinds of things that they loved to do that God was calling them to do. And then she would find small groups and opportunities for people to use their gifts and reach out into our community. But our deaconesses and deacons do even more than working, just in congregations, their chaplains, their, um, nurses, their teachers. They're just doing such a wide variety of different types of ministries these days.

So being a deacons or a deacon is we would say a calling from God, it's also a training there's education involved. And there's a, a vocation, there's a, a job at involved in this also. So where would you like to start? <laugh> how, how does a person know that maybe they have the calling for this?

Well, that's a great question. So oftentimes, um, people come to us because there's a deacon or Deaconess and they say, oh, that is what God is calling me to. They might see an example. Other times it's other people call that out in them. Maybe a pastor says, you know, you have the gifts of being a deacons or a deacon. You care about people. You help them become involved in activities in the church. You are a good listener. You, um, you help people tell their story about how God is working in their lives and you care for children and on and on. And so then people find us. And so we have a very lengthy discernment guide that is actually full of prayer. It's full of opportunities to have conversation with other people, including deaconesses and, and then once people apply and are accepted, um, then we begin a process.

We call formation and formation is centered around theological study, work, ministry, spirituality, and community. So the theology, there's obviously theological classes. You need to take, uh, the work ministry, there's field work. Uh, we have an internship requirement and clinical pastoral education CPE, which is, um, which is really training around becoming a chaplain, but it's training on how to listen to people and, um, to hear their stories and, uh, to bring God into the midst of them. Um, spirituality of course, is deepening our own faith journey. And our walk with God and community is one of the things that often sets the LDA apart from other DIA admits. And it is about, uh, deaconesses and deacons gathering together. Next week, there will be 110 of us in person in, uh, Vancouver, Washington, that's in August and, um, 60 more people joining in via zoom. And it's how do we support one another? Because ministry, isn't always easy and it's important to have other people who are supporting you, praying for you, challenging you and encouraging you. So those are the pieces of our formation process here at the LDA.

So being a deacon or deacon, we might broadly say it's a church work career, but it doesn't always happen in the setting of a local congregation,

Correct? Correct. We have, um, some amazing people who are serving in, in classrooms. We have people who are doing camp ministry. We even have some, uh, deaconesses who are lawyers and are serving God's people through the, the legal system. Um, one of our first deaconesses who was a lawyer was, was working in a, in a senior care facility. And she realized that along with being a chaplain, the people who were there needed an ombudsman, someone who would fight for their rights, their legal rights. And so she became a lawyer and integrated those two types of, uh, work and vocation together, uh, to serve the people who God had called her to serve. And so, um, we have people who are engineers who are looking at how are we caretakers and stewards of God's creation. Um, we have people who are musicians, um, uh, people who are amazingly gifted in, uh, the organ and leading God's people in music and those kinds of things as well.

So let's explore just the different, uh, callings that we might say. How, how would you describe that? A Deaconess let's say is different than the call to be a pastor or the call to be a, uh, director of music or let, let's hone in a little bit on the uniqueness of the position of deacon or Deaconess.

So we say that in baptism, the holy spirit calls every Christian to a life of service, every Christian to a life of, of caring for God's people. And so just like Jesus, uh, fed the hungry, touched the untouchable, uh, washed feet. Each of us is called to do that, but that, um, even though we're all called to it ever since the beginning of the Christian Church, the church has set apart people on purpose for, uh, public dicon ministry. And so, um, it's one of the ways that the church is, is carrying out its task effectively and pointing to all of the baptized that we are all called to that. And the greatest is the one who is servant of all. And so it's different than the call to ordained ministry where the pastor, I often say, uh, his primary role is, is, uh, preaching and administering the sacraments and teaching where the Deaconess or deacon is sort of out there doing a lot of the nitty gritty kinds of, uh, getting your feet wet and getting your feet washed kinds of ministry. And so I often say that, um, the call to be a Deaconess is way more fun than the call to ordination for pastors.

So what kind of, uh, organization should really look at adding a, uh, a Deaconess to their staff?

Sure. I think social service agencies in particular, um, because deaconesses and deacons come in with, um, really a deep understanding of the needs of the world and finding ways to meld that with what God calls us to do and how God calls us to care for one another. Um, I think, um, all congregations, every congregation would benefit from having a Deaconess or a deacon. Um, and ES especially I think about, um, there are so many, uh, times in the life of a church where a, a woman is an important part of the kinds of ministry that needs to be done. I mean, I, I think about situations where maybe something traumatic has happened to a woman and, um, to have, uh, the pastor, just the pastor come in, if you could have a, a woman who has trained theologically and spiritually, um, to come and help minister in those kinds of settings, like that's one of the reasons I think it's really vital for congregations to think about having deaconesses. Um, and I truthfully, I think everywhere should have a Deaconess

Well coming out of a time of COVID and all of the lockdowns, the things that kept people apart, all of that kind of, uh, societal unfairness, I guess I would call it, uh, there were lots of hurting people coming out of that. There was just a lot of trauma in the midst of that. Do you have any stories about how, um, you know, Deaconess has helped or is helping people, uh, get back into society?

Sure. Um, yeah, you know, one of the, one of the things we really did was we sort of stepped up our, our zoom presence. And so we're offering lots of opportunities. Um, there were people in different congregations who were finding ways to, to gather the women together for Bible study and things like that. Um, the, the food pantry at my church, that's now run by one of our deacons students. They found ways to still carry on their ministry and to continue to do things. One of our deacons, um, who is a, a senior care facility chaplain, he kept meeting with the seniors, uh, on a regular basis in his facility via zoom. Um, one of our deaconesses who is, um, actually a hospice chaplain, she continued to be, uh, the voice of God as people were dying, when she would go into rooms, as people were dying, she would hold the phone.

So that loved ones could have that last opportunity to say that they loved their loved one before they died. And she was also there to minister to, uh, the nurses and to the doctors and to the other people at those kinds of facilities. So there was just some really amazing and powerful stories that were coming out, uh, during COVID. And now as, as we try to find ways to live into the new reality, um, we try to, um, be thinking carefully about what is God calling us to do, and how is God calling us to be, and how can we be caring, uh, for children? Uh, we have a Deaconess who is a neuro education specialist, and she's been doing a lot of work on, um, what kinds of, I think I'll call it harm, um, has happened to our children, uh, because of spending so much screen time. Um, how do we help kids who have different behavioral issues and those kinds of things. And so she's been doing some great work in, um, in helping a lot of kids out.

So let's talk about next steps. Let's say that, uh, a person is interested, what are the requirements, the pre requirements for a study to be a deacon or deacon, and, and what would a program look like that would result in a person having that, uh, title or job description?

Sure. Um, so if somebody is a college age student, we say they have to be at least a junior in college. Um, but we have, um, I think it's pretty similar to a lot of places right now where people are studying for ministry. We have a lot of people who are second career people who are coming through the program. And so basically it's a love for God, and it's a calling and that's about most of your prereqs that, um, you need to do. Um, during the application process, you will need to have a psychological assessment, as well as, um, you know, letters of recommendation from pastors and, um, other people who know you well. Um, so,

So is there a good place to go for, um, furthering this process?

Yes. If you go to our website@wwwdotvlda.org, that's T H E L D a dot OG, um, you can find out lots of information there, as well as, um, all of our contact information. And, um, one of the things I'd like to assure people is that you don't need to move to Indiana to become a Deaconess or deacon. I don't know why you wouldn't want to, Indiana's a lovely place, um, but you don't have to come here. We offer distance programming so that people can take their theology at, at local, uh, universities even, um, or there's a lot of great opportunities through the Concordia system to take online classes. And so there's lots of opportunities and ways that people can make the program work wherever they're located.

And how long does this process take?

So we have an individualized formation process. Typically we say that it takes three years. Sometimes people come into, into the program and have a lot of theology classes already taken. So then, you know, that part is just kind of wiped out. Um, but, uh, typically it takes about three years of formation, but everybody has an individualized program and so that they can go with their own speed. So we've actually had people take five or six years.

That's great. We'll come back to Lisa in just a moment, but first I wanted to invite you to our radio programs, website, Elm houston.org. There, you can read more about us. You may also find shortcuts to our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. So you can also donate to support our work. Uh, also from our Facebook page, you can find podcasts of our past programming. All of our, on the air hosts are volunteers. So your donations go far to help us purchase radio air time. We strive to have a wide variety of interviews with people who are creatively sharing the good news of Jesus Christ at that intersection of where faith meets life. So you may write us also at Elm Houston PO box 5 68, Cypress, Texas, 77 4. Oh. And now back to deacons, Lisa Polito. So one more time, would you let, uh, tell us the, uh, web website where we can find more information about, uh, the program?

Sure. It's, uh, www.vlda.org, T H E L d.org. You'll also find lots of stories about the kinds of ministry that deaconesses and deacons are doing as well. So I encourage everybody to check it out.

How would you describe the ideal heart of a Deaconess?

Oh, that's a great question. I think the ideal heart of a, a Deaconess or a deacon is, is someone who just loves God's people and cares for other people. Um, I think that, um, when we see, um, our, our deacons and deaconesses who are out serving people who just have such tremendous need, and they just, the light of God just shines out of them. It's people who have, um, a servant heart people who recognize when Jesus said after washing the disciples feet now go and do likewise who want to, uh, reach out and care for each other. People who are willing to enter hurting parts of society and bring the light of God's love into that. Um, those are the kinds of people who, uh, are great deaconesses and deacons.

Lisa. We, uh, we thank you once again for bringing this to the attention of our listeners that they might, uh, consider even, uh, for other people, if not for themselves, the opportunities of, of being, uh, Christ presence in the life of, uh, people in need. So we hope, uh, that our, our listeners might consider, uh, checking in or pointing other people to the, the program that to listeners. Thanks for joining us and join us again real for another of engaging,

Listening to this broadcast of, of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time, to help support our ministry, contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 6, 8, Cypress Texas 7 7 4 1 0, or visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook at evangelical life ministries. Thank you.

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