Shared Ministry
Today I am grateful for joylets like sharing a moment of humor with my son Sam and for the way our dog Oliver stretches himself when he gets up.
I am also grateful for the members of the Shared Ministry team at our church, including my husband Darcy and two others who will be ordained tomorrow.
Darcy will be ordained as a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church of Minnesota. Shared Ministry, in my simplified definition, is a group of volunteers in a congregation taking on roles within the church to allow it to continue to operate and serve. As congregations get smaller and money gets tighter, this team approach allows churches to keep their doors open.
And it allows people like Darcy to stretch themselves, to commit to a worthy cause, to put in many hours of time studying, discussing, serving, planning, reading, sharing. I respect and commend each team member for what they have sacrificed and what they have given back to their faith communities.
Darcy has been involved with Shared Ministry for ten years. He started out as Youth Coordinator and helped for many years with Sunday School, youth group, and mission trips. For the last three years, he has been training and studying to become a Deacon. He has taken on different roles and learned much; from giving sermons, to being worship leader, to altar guild. Part of what he has learned is a confidence in himself.
I am grateful that Darcy has stayed committed to this process. He began in it because we like our church and we wanted Sam to have the experience of growing up in it. Now, we will all share the experience of ordination tomorrow.
I am also grateful for the members of the Shared Ministry team at our church, including my husband Darcy and two others who will be ordained tomorrow.
Darcy will be ordained as a vocational deacon in the Episcopal Church of Minnesota. Shared Ministry, in my simplified definition, is a group of volunteers in a congregation taking on roles within the church to allow it to continue to operate and serve. As congregations get smaller and money gets tighter, this team approach allows churches to keep their doors open.
And it allows people like Darcy to stretch themselves, to commit to a worthy cause, to put in many hours of time studying, discussing, serving, planning, reading, sharing. I respect and commend each team member for what they have sacrificed and what they have given back to their faith communities.
Darcy has been involved with Shared Ministry for ten years. He started out as Youth Coordinator and helped for many years with Sunday School, youth group, and mission trips. For the last three years, he has been training and studying to become a Deacon. He has taken on different roles and learned much; from giving sermons, to being worship leader, to altar guild. Part of what he has learned is a confidence in himself.
I am grateful that Darcy has stayed committed to this process. He began in it because we like our church and we wanted Sam to have the experience of growing up in it. Now, we will all share the experience of ordination tomorrow.
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