wfn.org | The New Order of Deacon

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3396 notes).

Note 3395 by UMNS on Jan. 27, 1997 at 15:48 Eastern (1847 characters).

SEARCH: deacon, United Methodist, servant, ministry, church
 

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following story may be used as a sidebar to
UMNS #40 {3394}

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                              41(10-71B){3395}
         Nashville, Tenn.                            Jan. 27, 1997

The new role of the deacon 
in the United Methodist Church?

     The new order of deacon in the United Methodist Church will
be a servant ministry, said the denomination's book of law.
     According to paragraph 319 in the 1996 Book of Discipline,
United Methodist deacons are "called by God to a lifetime of
servant leadership, authorized by the Church and ordained by a
bishop." 
     The Discipline also states that deacons "fulfill servant
ministry in the world and lead the Church in relating the gathered
life of Christians to their ministries in the world, interrelating
worship in the gathered community with service to God in the
world."
     Other functions of deacons include:
     * leadership in the Church's life;
     * teaching and proclaiming the word;
     * assisting elders in the administration of the sacraments of
baptism and the Lord's Supper;
     * forming and nurturing disciples;
     * conducting marriages and burying the dead;
     * leading the congregation in interpreting the needs,
concerns and hopes of the world.
     In both person and in function, it is the distinct ministry
of the deacon to "embody, articulate and lead the whole people of
God in its servant ministry."
     Deacons are accountable to the annual conference and the
bishop for the fulfillment of their call to servant leadership.
                              #  #  #

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