Installation of the Rev. Mary Louise Hintz, Deacon
Sept. 23, 2007
The Ven. Kathleen J. Van Sickle
Archdeacon for Deacons, Diocese of California

Today is a day of celebration. We celebrate with thanksgiving all God has done for us. We give thanks for Jesus Christ in our lives. We remember Jesus’ death and celebrate his resurrection. We are also doing something rather unusual today. We are celebrating deacon ministry. Why is this unusual? How many of you have ever been to the installation of a deacon? This is actually my first. Twenty, twenty-five years ago this was unheard of. Twenty-five years ago in seminary, my friends liked to tease me by quoting from the ordination service in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer about being obedient in that “inferior order”, until I was raised up and exalted as a priest.

Twenty-five years ago we were still defining the diaconate, by what a deacon could not do; diaconal ministry in the negative, defined by the old ABCs: as a deacon you cannot absolve, you cannot bless and you cannot consecrate. Well, shoot…That is true, but if we had looked at the positive; that left us with a whole lot that could be done. At that time we had not even begun to imagine the scope of servant ministry or the idea of servant leadership and how it could change the face of the church. We had only allowed ourselves to think inside a box and not allowed ourselves to color creatively outside the lines with bright, bold crayons.

When we talk about deacons today, we still pull out the ordination rite in the Book of Common Prayer, but it is the ’79 version this time and it says: “God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood directly under your bishop. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are to serve all people, particularly the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely (I guess that means that priests get to minister to the healthy, wealthy and socially active)….You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns and hopes of the world”, etc. And we continually use the bridge metaphor, deacons linking the Church and the World. It is true that deacons function this way and deacons are called to care for the sick, the poor and the weak, but they are also called to so much more; to bring their unique gifts to bear in this office.

The deacon is called among you as a servant leader, to proclaim the gospel, to encourage and inspire the ministry of the congregation, and to articulate issues of justice. The deacon’s voice can have a prophetic edge, turning the church’s attention to look for the roots of injustice; the prophetic voice that tells the truth regarding uses and abuses of power, resources and wealth, a prophetic voice that makes the poor and vulnerable visible again.

Rod Dugliss in his booklet, “Seeing the Deacon in Our Midst” says of the “Deacon as Icon of Service: Deacons have a limited yet powerful function in liturgy and in the life of the congregation to act out, model, show the symbolic way to the concrete ministry of service in action.” That acting out would be in a positive way, not acting up. It is the deacon who invites others into diaconal ministry.

There are three deacons I want to highlight briefly this morning: Stephen, Laurence and Ephrem of Edessa. Stephen of course was one of the first deacons called in the Book of Acts to help with the daily distribution of food for the poor, but that is not what he is most known for. We don’t remember him for waiting tables. Verse 8, chapter 6 begins: “Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people”. Hmmm….We do remember Stephen’s long speech in the Book of Acts where he takes to task the rulers of his time… recounts salvation history and he calls them out…he tells the truth and they can’t handle the truth. For that he forfeits his life.

Laurence was one of the seven deacons of Rome in the 3rd century when he defied authority. He was told by the Roman Prefect to gather the treasurers of the church and he did. In truth he presented the church’s treasurers: not gold or silver nor jewels, but the poor, the weak, the sick and the lame. For his actions, he was martyred. In the 4th century, Ephrem of Edessa also cared for the poor and those in need, but was better known as a poet, teacher and hymn writer. In the Syrian Church, Ephrem was known as the “harp of the Holy Spirit” for his many hymns. Each one of these Saints was a deacon who cared for the poor, the sick, those in need, and each was so much more, bringing their gifts of speech, writing, and prophetic voice in service to the kingdom of God.

There is one more deacon to talk about, Mary Louise Hintz, whom you have welcomed into your midst. Three items symbolizing her ministry in this community were presented to her: a towel and pitcher, a gospel book and a dalmatic. The first two are rather easily identified and understood: the towel and pitcher which Jesus took to wash the feet of his disciples and proclaim his servanthood and the book of gospels which the deacon uses to proclaim the good news and she will do that among you. The third item, the dalmatic is less recognizable as an identifier of the deacon because certain practices and customs in English Cathedrals, beginning around the mid 1500s, vested nearly everyone in a dalmatic, including acolytes and thurifers.

Side bar – a brief history here: The dalmatic came into full use in about the fourth century. The garment is supposed to have come from Dalmatia in the second century and had become a fashion statement for the Roman upper class. From there it then moved into the ecclesiastical business and became the deacon’s distinguishing outer liturgical vestment. Now lest any deacon think too highly of themselves, dressed in hoity toity couture of the upper classes, Abbot Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz offered the earliest symbolical interpretation of the dalmatic at the beginning of the ninth century: Because of the cruciform shape and at that time the red ornamental stripes, he regarded it as symbolical of the sufferings of Christ and said that the vestment admonished the servants of the altar to offer themselves as an acceptable sacrifice to God. Now in the Roman rite, a deacon is clothed with the dalmatic at ordination by the bishop, who says: “May the Lord clothe you with the garment of salvation and with the vesture of praise, and may he cover you with the dalmatic of righteousness forever.”

The pitcher and towel, the gospel book and the dalmatic are all symbols to remind us of Jesus’ servanthood, his role as foot washing servant, bearer of the Good News of God and his sacrifice for us on the cross. And today we begin celebrating diaconal ministry here at All Souls Parish. In this, we celebrate the ministry of us all. We are nothing with out God, and surely we are nothing without each other. It is the ministry of all the baptized and everyone here has unique gifts to share. Some of you may be called to take up various roles in the congregation, such as warden, treasurer, musician or lector to help build up and sustain this community. And all ministers, every one of us is called to continue to seek and serve Christ in all persons and strive for justice and peace in the world around us.

But stop and think, what unique gift and distinct skill do you bring to share with this congregation? Have you learned new skills or abilities in your everyday life that you might share with this community for the sake of the reign of God? How many of you know that besides working on outreach to those in need and being on various boards, that Mary Louise has other gifts to share? Did you know that she is also a gifted, creative liturgist and writer of prayers? There are many gifts and skills among you, some maybe yet unrealized. Think about it. Pray about it. Discern it with one another. So, Mary Louise… take the towel and pitcher to wash the feet of many, take the gospel book and proclaim the Good News of Jesus and when you wear the dalmatic remember the suffering of Christ… be an acceptable sacrifice to God, clothed in the dalmatic of righteousness. And, parish of All Souls… you have committed yourselves with this deacon to seek and serve Christ in all persons and have prayed for hearts and minds and hands to be fruitful ministers of God’s household. As you work together with Mary Louise, may God bless you in your journey.