Bishops can grant sacramental authority to deacons in 2009

A petition that allows bishops to grant a deacon authority to administer the sacraments – Holy Communion and baptism –within their primary appointment in the absence of an elder was approved by General Conference delegates.

“This legislation is an effort to extend the mission and ministry of the church in extraordinary circumstances, when an elder is not present,” said the Rev. Mary Ann Moman, associate general secretary, Division of Ordained Ministry, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. “The legislation is a reminder of the importance of the sacramental ministry in the church and the world. It is fair to ask why elders aren’t present in the places where the sacraments are needed.”

The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry presented legislation to the General Conference, through the Study of Ministry Commission, which proposed a continuation of the denominational conversation regarding ordination and sacramental authority for four more years. Although the General Conference voted to create a new commission to continue that conversation, it also approved this legislation allowing sacramental authority. The legislation as passed by General Conference has the potential to compromise the deacons’ ordination to Word and Service, Moman said.

The petition amends the Book of Discipline to add: “For the sake of extending the mission and ministry of the church, a pastor-in-charge or district superintendent may request that the bishop grant local sacramental authority to the deacon to administer the sacraments in the absence of an elder, within a deacon’s primary appointment.” (¶328.)

Moman said GBHEM staff will confer with the Council of Bishops and work with them as they address the issues of implementation – exactly what situations would require this local authority for deacons.

The Rev. Anita Wood, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry’s director of Professional Ministry Development, said GBHEM staff will get information out to deacons, chairs of orders, and annual conference Boards of Ordained Ministry when the information is available. The legislation, which takes effect in January 2009, was approved by 67 percent of the delegates voting.

The Rev. Sharon Rubey, director of Candidacy and Conference Relations said the legislation gives the authority to “extend the means of grace for the missional needs of the church, and not a means of convenience.”

Wood said the heart of deacon ministry remains the call to connect the needs of the world to the ministries of the church.

“Deacons are called to the responsibility to serve in specialized ways that bridge ministries of the congregation with the needs of the community. Sometimes that may call for sacramental authority, and many times, not,” she said.

Wood said articulating the connection between the ministries of the deacon and offering the means of grace through sacramental authority will be important and will require much discussion and discernment about how to implement this new authorization.

“Informal conversations have already begun,” Wood said, adding that she and other staff at GBHEM will be happy to guide this discussion toward implementation with input from deacons who were present at General Conference.

*Brown is associate editor and writer, Office of Interpretation, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.