Part of the Heart of Our Mission

57TH ANNUAL EPISCOPAL MEN’S RETREAT

Get your name in early for the 57th Annual Episcopal Men’s Retreat at the Cathedral Domain.
It will be held on Friday, Oct. 7, beginning with the evening meal at 6 o’clock and ending with the noon meal on Sunday.
The Rev. Alan Sutherland will be the Retreat Leader.
The price for the weekend is $45 per night, plus a tank of gas. So invest in a tank of gas and come.
Bring bed sheets, a blanket and your towels and wash cloth.
For more information call Jay Wolff at 859-363-7995.
Please do not call Andy Sigmon

FALL RETREAT AT THE CATHEDRAL DOMAIN SPONSORED BY THE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING 4 P.M. SEPTEMBER 22 – 2 P.M. SEPTEMBER 23

All women are welcome!
Optional day on your own- Thursday, September 22.
Program: Praying the Psalms, led by the Rev. Dana Hardwick.
Cost: $75 — Thursday-Saturday (two overnights, Friday dinner and two meals
Saturday).
$45 — Friday-Saturday (one overnight, Friday dinner and two meals Saturday).
$18 — Saturday only (with lunch).
Reservations due by Sept. 14: $15 deposit sent to Barbara Crain, 443 Bellaire Drive,
Harrodsburg, Ky. 40330; 859-733-0008; wbcrain@bellsouth.net.

St. Agnes House and Reading Camp Directors Hired

Bishop Sauls is pleased to announce that the Rev. Margaret Shanks (Deacon) has accepted the position as Director of St. Agnes’ House. Laura Newsome has accepted the position as Director of Reading Camp.

Shanks was ordained a deacon in the Diocese of Lexington, and has served in that capacity while working for the Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Division of Water in Frankfort. Newsome has been a Director of Events for Meridian Communications in Lexington, heading such projects as the tri-city Toyota Women’s Conference and other major events.

Both positions are founded independently of the operating budget of the Diocese, and will have no effect on that budget. The St. Agnes’ House directorship is a previously existing position, funded by the St. Agnes’ House budget. The Reading Camp directorship is a newly created position funded by designated Reading Camp gifts and grants.

Laura Newsome began work as Director of Reading Camp on Sept. 1 and Margaret Shanks began work as Director of St. Agnes’ House on Sept. 12.

School for the Diaconate will begin February 2006

By Margaret Shanks

The Deacons in the Diocese of Lexington have been developing a new program for the formation and training of deacons. The School for the Diaconate will begin this February 2006. Those who believe they are called to the life and work of a deacon are encouraged to consider application to the school. The first step in the process is a conversation with one of the deacons to discuss your interest and to receive the application materials. Deadline for applying is October 1. Following application, there will be a process of interviews and evaluation to determine acceptance into the program.

Although deacons have been part of the church since the very beginning, their role in the church is often not understood. This is not just a modern phenomenon, since the role of deacons has been transformed many times throughout the history of the church. In many dioceses in the Episcopal Church there is resurgence and new emphasis on the ministry of deacons. Although this restoration has been taking place for some time, it is an ongoing process that is never really completed. Even among deacons currently working in this diocese, there is great variety in experience, training, emphasis and
ministry.

Most people that attend diocesan gatherings for worship or have deacons in their parishes are familiar with the liturgical functions of the deacon. These liturgical roles are symbols of the work of deacons and the ministry they are to fill in the church. The real work of the deacon is that of service. In particular the deacon is to minister to all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely. The words diaconate or deacon come from the Greek word for service: diakoneo (noun form: diakonos). The original use of the term referred to the task of serving at the table, the dinner table. The deacon is ordained to a ministry of service as one who waits on the table.

Yet all Christians are called to feed the poor, visit the sick and tend to the needs of those that are suffering, so what is the special role of the deacon that is not shared by all the Baptized? The deacon’s particular role is that of enabling the church to accomplish this transformational servant ministry; to keep God’s people focused on this charge. Deacons lead the people from the church into the world and then bring the hopes and the needs of the world back into the church. In this way, both the world and the church are changed.

The deacon’s role in the Eucharistic liturgy tells the story of the deacon’s ministry. Deacons proclaim the Gospel reminding us of Jesus’s compassionate actions in the world by God’s great mercy and love. They call the people to prayer for their own needs and the needs of the world. Deacons serve at the table. The priest shows Christ broken and poured out for us, God’s living sacrifice; the deacon shows us Christ the servant.

The most important liturgical role of the deacon comes at the very end of the service. The deacon sends the congregation each week out into the world. Go out, get up out of your seats and go out to a hungry, sick, lonely, poor and poor in spirit world outside the doors of the church. Go out there in peace, to love and serve the Lord.

For more information about the Diocesan School for the Diaconate, contact Donna Barr at (859) 269-5144 or Margaret Shanks at (859) 278-0585 or mshanks@iglou.com.

Advocate Online Staff:

Kay Collier McLaughlin, Communications Officer & Editor
The Rev. Philip Haug, Chair of the Department of Communications
Cindy A. Centers, Graphic Designers
Elton Hartney, Webmaster

The Advocate is mailed free to all Episcopalians in the Diocese of Lexington. The Advocate is published 10 times a year (monthly Sept.-Mid-Summer, bi-monthly Mid-Summer-June, July-Aug.) by the Diocese of Lexington, a non-profit organization.

Additional subscriptions: $10 per year and address changes should be sent to: The Advocate, P.O. Box 610, Lexington, Ky. 40588-0610.
The deadline for submitting articles, photographs, announcements, and letters is the last Friday of the month prior to publication. These should be sent to:
The Advocate, Kay Collier McLaughlin, Ph.D., Editor, P.O. Box 610, Lexington, Ky.
40588-0610 (Kcollierm@diolex.org).

Member: Episcopal Communicators; Associated Church Press Office: The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Lexington, Mission House, 203 East Fourth Street, Lexington, Ky. 40508-1515. For information call (859) 252-6527.