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Educational Requirements | Internship Requirements | Leadership | Acceptance | Accountability Grandparenting | Participation | Future Issues . |
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6.1 As a minimum, applicants for the synodical diaconate will have a high school diploma or its equivalent (GED Certificate). Other educational background or experience, whether academic, business or other, will be taken into consideration in relation to the applicant’s proposed areas of diaconal service.
6.2 In addition, they will have completed a program of special ministry training and theological formation, such as Diakonia (an educational program recognized by the Metropolitan New York and New Jersey Synods). The two-year program offered by Diakonia will be used as the baseline standard for determining the theological preparedness of applicants. Other forms of theological and ministerial preparation will be evaluated during the application process, and additional preparation will be recommended as needed.
6.3 Members of the synodical diaconate will be expected to engage in ongoing continuing education, to develop ministerial skills and expertise, and to remain connected to the vision of the diaconate as a community of theological reflection. Voluntary adherence to the ELCA GEM model for annual continuing education negotiation between congregation and ministers is recommended for congregations and members of the synodical diaconate.
7.1 All applicants for the synodical diaconate are expected to complete a supervised internship of at least nine to twelve months duration. Normally this internship will begin after the conclusion of a program of study and formation, official approval of the applicant’s application, and acceptance as a candidate for rostering. The purpose of the internship is: to enable the applicant to experience the kind of service that would be expected and undertaken as a member of the diaconate; to test the person’s skills, interests, commitment, and acceptance as a member of the diaconate; and to help the applicant continue in training and formation under the supervision of an experienced pastor.
7.2 The first step in such an internship process is the completion of an Application process, agreement of the congregation (through its church council) and pastor to host and sponsor such an internship, and acceptance of the internship proposal by the Synod Diaconate Council (SDC). The congregation will receive from the applicant a proposal for diaconal internship, approved by the pastor-supervisor, specifying tasks to be completed and hours to be spent. Only upon church council approval, and acceptance by the SDC, will the internship officially begin.
7.3 In order to assure the highest standards for the synodical diaconate, the general policies and procedures of the ELCA Associates in Ministry candidacy process will be used as the basis for diaconal internships. Supervisors and interns will be given these materials, along with consultation by the SDC on their use.
7.4 It is expected that each applicant’s internship supervisor will be a rostered pastor, who is directly related to the ministry being undertaken during the internship. This supervisor will assist the intern in establishing goals and expectations for the internship; who will meet with the intern no less than twice monthly, to discuss specific assignments, development, progress and concerns; and who will submit written evaluations of the intern and the internship to the SDC.
7.5 It is also expected that all applicants will submit written evaluations of their internship, describing the nature of the experience, as well as personal reflections on that experience.
7.6 To provide a third voice in the evaluation process, the applicant will also relate regularly to a 3-5 person support committee comprised of members of the candidate’s congregation and appointed by the candidate’s pastor/supervisor and church council. (In some cases the deacon-candidate may be serving an internship in a setting other than the home congregation. Then the members should be drawn from the agency or institution which the candidate is serving, and should be chosen in consultation with the candidate’s pastor and onsite supervisor). The support committee will provide the SDC with written evaluations of the candidate’s internship at the midpoint and end of the internship.
8. Leadership of the Synodical Diaconate
8.1 Seven members of the synodical diaconate, plus two clergy and two lay members of the synod who are not members of the diaconate, will be appointed by the Bishop to serve as a Synod Diaconate Council, to organize and conduct the business and activities of the diaconate. Officers of the council will be a chairperson and secretary, to be elected from within the council each year. Terms will be limited to six consecutive years on the Council and two years as an officer. The Council will relate to the Leadership Support Committee of the synod, and a member of the Council will attend Leadership Support meetings to give progress reports and maintain contact and communication with other leadership activities of the synod.
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