Deacons were set apart in the Bible, early in the book of Acts. If you read Acts 6 – you’ll learn that the first deacons were selected to care for the Greek-speaking widows.  That is the outsider’s outsider - the outcast of the foreigners. Deacons were an integral part of the early church and have been important along the full history of Christianity.  

The word ‘deacon’ itself comes from the Greek word for service, diakonos.  Deacons are called to service in the church and in the world – and to traverse those two spheres with grace. 

You need not be considering seminary and becoming an ELCA Deacon to live out this call to diakonia (service).  As disciples of Jesus, we are called to serve the outsiders.  We are called to radically welcome others into our community - to reach out to the foreigners and widows and those on the edges of society.  As Christians, we are called to offer the open arms and the gentle mercy of the Savior that we have experienced. 

May you embrace the call to live in the power of love and to share God’s loving kindness in the world.