Blessed to Serve under Four Bishops in Ten Years

“I’d like you to be the next Archdeacon”, my new Bishop said to me when I had been a Deacon for only three years. The Bishop who had ordained me three years prior in December 2016, had retired, and I was very aware that the previous Archie had done a lot of scheduling of deacons to assist the Bishop at every Sunday service, confirmation, funeral for clergy, or event at which he celebrated. It was a wonderful way for parishioners to see a Deacon at the altar, but I knew that the scheduling was often a nightmare. The Archdeacon had to often fill in when there were no deacons available. At the time, I didn’t have the words or experience to explain that I while I was capable of filling that role, it was not where my energy wanted or needed to be. The three Archdeacons before me, all vocational deacons, each had a different role to play in developing our order from something new in the Diocese to a more respected order, diverse in responsibilities within a parish, then expanding to include a deanery, or the diocese. It had only been two years that the Archdeacon was allowed to sit on the C.O.M. I may have been a new deacon, but I was already realizing that our roles needed to continue to grow outside of the church walls and in collaboration with each other and other entities in the community, if we were to honor and live into our vows.

“What would being the Archdeacon look like?” I asked. The new Bishop replied “We’ll find out as we go along.” That was the answer I needed! What I know about myself is that I have always been the square peg that doesn’t fit into the round hole without a hammer. As a retired art teacher, I could never repeat lessons or events without assessing the outcomes, changing and improving them, while being more creative and above all, engaging more people. Throughout my life, I have had people tell me they run the other way when they see me coming because it means more work for them! Can I assist in liturgical work? Absolutely. But while I love it, and I really do, that can’t be all I focus on; I need time to be serving in the community with marginalized people too. For me, that has always been my call and why I became a Deacon.

I was appointed the Archdeacon in the Fall of 2019 and was eager to discern what I could do in this position. Then the pandemic hit and life was turned upside down. The deacons of the diocese were feeling frustrated and some reached out to me, looking for ways to be productive and feel needed during the shutdown. I organized a weekly zoom meeting and we began a 4 ½ year “season” of gathering every Monday morning with deacons from the Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania, Western New York, and the Diocese of Niagara, Ontario. The Episcopal and Anglican Deacons shared “all things diaconal” as they read and discussed scripture, talked canons, listened to and encouraged ministries, and friendships and a true support system was developed. We even got together in person four times on both sides of the border, discovering that we Deacons have bodies! Just this January, a decision was made that for now, the weekly meetings have run their course and we are taking a long pause, but we will zoom in the Fall and catch up on all that has happened over the months. Everyone’s schedules are filled with funerals, doctor appointments and meetings, travel, family life, and of course the various time-consuming but most needed ministries in the community. As life has resumed to a new normal in the church, it has become more difficult to attend regularly, so it is time to let go of the great season we had and make room for the Holy Spirit to usher in the new. One thing I know with all my heart is that the regularity of the conversation has brought us together as deacons who love what we do and we most definitely love each other.

During my first five years as Archdeacon, a new covenant between the parish priest and deacon was written, we met as a group yearly with the Bishop to discuss what we were all doing and what we needed from the diocese to support our ministries, we were always included in the clergy zoom meetings and yearly retreats, and we had the opportunity to engage in continuing education. I see my role as a gatherer, cheerleader, educator and pastoral support as the deacons of the Diocese discern their next steps when they need to change assignments, begin new ministries, or are changing their mindset from a deacon who serves inside walls to a Deacon who serves outside. As we are all aging, we find that we are looking for new ways to feed our souls and fill our hearts while at the same time, upholding vows taken at Baptism and Ordination and serving our Bishop in the Diocese.

And just like that, I was without a Bishop and the Diocese was in transition mode. This past summer, we enlisted the help of a Bishop Provisional to guide us as we discern and call a new Bishop Diocesan. Our newest Bishop is also very supportive of Deacons and would like to see the process for ordination revised to meet the needs of our Diocese with its specific nuances. Familiar with designing a process, our current Bishop Provisional has spoken with deacons and priests who have done this work before so that we have made some headway towards an ordination process that works for us, before a Bishop Diocesan is called. We have 13 active deacons who were able to meet for lunch with the interim Bishop in October and we are now meeting with him one on one to make sure we are in compliance with the canons and have paperwork in place, especially those of us over 72. We are also trying to present ourselves as a unified body to the Diocese, to both educate those who don’t know what we are really about and inspire lay leaders who are experiencing the nagging of the Holy Spirit to discern if they are called to be a Deacon. The “Just One” challenge, spearheaded by the Deacons, was an opportunity to be visible and include the entire diocese. We simply asked every person in the diocese to give one item of winter clothing to our Cathedral’s Ministry to the Homeless. A suggested offering of $16 was an option for our tiny outlying churches, and it would cover the cost of one “below freezing” sleeping bag. The generosity of folks exceeded anything we imagined as we collected bags and bags of clothing and over $6,000 to purchase necessary items for our most vulnerable. As the Archdeacon, I have become the main transporter of the clothing because I regularly serve and promote
the ministry to the unhoused and poor in the city through a weekly clothing give away, feeding ministry, art program, and a weekly ecclesia service. The ministry itself is growing with the help of two deacons, a
candidate for ordination, and lay people from seven congregations who contribute by making sandwiches, sorting and hanging clothing, and making soup.

A year from now, whether I am still the Archdeacon or not, I will be serving under my fourth Bishop in ten years. As an educator, I learned a long time ago to glean what I could from faculty meetings and school or district conference days that didn’t pertain to my area of expertise at all, because the conversation connected me with the other teachers, and I could empathize with them and support them in their own challenges. Listening to what others know and do, formed me into a better teacher and colleague. I believe that working with different Bishops and Priests is the same for me now that I am a Deacon. Each Bishop focuses on bringing about their own sense of call to the role, and as a Deacon, I always have something new to learn from them. I have been blessed to work with people who have been patient with me, supported my ideas, guided me and listened to my concerns, whether mine personally or those of the Deacon cohort. Each Bishop, with their own personality, brings a depth of knowledge and a wealth of experience that is unique, and I believe that my job as Archdeacon is to remain open and flexible, connecting the Deacons to each other, the wider church, and the Bishop in a way that they can appreciate and value whatever that Bishop expects from us, shares and brings to our table. We in turn are entrusted with the most precious challenge of bringing God’s love and message of redemption to the world in the name of Jesus through the Episcopal Church.

Diakoneo, January 2026 Article
Association for Episcopal Deacons
Written by Archdeacon Diana Leiker