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Date:         Fri, 2 Oct 1992 09:21:55 HST
From:         "(Len Howard)" <tas@PEGASUS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Deacons
              10:55am)

I have been hesitating making any reply, waiting for a Roman Catholic
response.  I cannot help you with that program, but can tell you about
the Episopal program.  I am currently in my third year of training.
There is no absolute age requirement, nor is there any restriction on
marriage.  There is no gender distinction made.  The original
application is a letter to the Bishop, discribing your call, and
telling him what makes you think you have something to offer the
church that requires ordination.  If he invites you to enter the
program, you start a series of eductational topics, the first one
being Spiritual Development.  Then comes Pentateuch, Psalms and
Prophets, Gospels and Acts, Epistles and Revelation, Ethics, Church
History, Church in Contemporary Society, Theology, Homelietics, and
Liturgics.  After completing your first year of training, if you wish
to continue, you then make application to become a postulant.  This
requires another letter, an evaluation by a psychologist, and five
letters of recommendation.  If these are satisfactory, you (and your
wife) meet with the Bishop's Advisory Committee on Ministry (BACM) for
a 1.5 day group meeting.  You have about an hour interview with a
group from the Committee who will attempt to discern if your call is
valid (a most difficult job) and make recommendation to the Bishop.
During the weekend, there are opportunities to lead Morning and
Evening Prayer for the group, so they can assess your liturgical bent,
and group discussions with the Committee on Ministry Deveolpment.
   If the BACM votes to approve postulant status, you are so advised
by the Bishop in writing, and you continue your course of education.
After another year, you make application for Candidate status, which
requires another letter to the Bishop and another interview and
appearance before BACM.  During this year you have also met with the
Bishop in quarterly Ember Day visits, keeping him informed of your
progress, spiritually and scholastically.
   After one year as a Candidate, and completion of the course of
study, you are eligible to apply to take the Cannonical Exam.  This is
a combined open book essay evaluation that you are given a month to
complete, a spontaneous essay type exam of one day duration, and a
test of pastoral skills assessed by viewing a video of a situation and
writing your assessment.  If you are successful in completing your
cannonical exams, you make application for ordination, and again meet
BACM.  If, after the final interview, all is well, your ordination
takes place.  The whole process takes about four years.  During this
time you are expected to take more and mores responsibility as a
layperson in the operation of all aspects of the Church.  We lead
evening prayer, serve as layreaders, preach on specific topics when
asked by the priest, and develop our plan for ministry as a Deacon.
We are expected to have a ministry that actualizes the symbolic
Servant nature of the Diaconate, i.e. education, healing, counseling,
working in prison ministry, working with the homeless or other such
areas.
   I would suspect that the Roman Catholic program is similar to what
we do in the Episcopal Church.  I would be happy to communicate with
anyone who feels a call to the Diaconate, but lets keep it in E-Mail
as it is a fairly private sort of thing.
Shalom,                         Len Howard
                                tas@pegasus.com
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