The Life and Words of Deaconess Clara Strehlow

One of my recent joys was to finish the biography of Deaconess Clara Elsa Flora Strehlow (1895-1985).

My first acquaintance with Clara was sometime during the early months of 1979, when we were both involved in campaigning for a deaconess training program within The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Clara had a calm voice and seldom spoke, but when she did have something to say, everyone listened. We regarded her as a mentor who gave sage advice gleaned from a life of genuine diaconal service in the Lord’s name.

Her experience was broad. She cared for orphans, organized Sunday Schools, worked at a home for the deaf, make countless home visits in the community, and starting in 1958, served as the first housemother of Deaconess Hall at Valparaiso University.

Here was a woman who had seen it all in the Church. When we met she had been a deaconess for 52 years – a founding member of the Lutheran Deaconess Conference of the Synodical Conference at the beginning of her career – and a founding member of Concordia Deaconess Conference – Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the twilight of her career.

Sources for this biography include pieces written by Clara herself; her family’s oral history; the memories of her friends; and other articles and common domain historical documents. Some great photos add a fun dimension to the text. If you are looking for an easy and inspirational read - about how one dedicated deaconess lived her life in service to the Lord in her neighbors - this could be the book for you!  It's available from Lutheran Legacy Publishing, at http://www.lutheranlegacy.org/index.php/publications/20-the-life-and-words-of-deaconess-clara-strehlow

DOXOLOGY for Deaconesses

The first "DOXOLOGY for Deaconesses" - specifically for women who serve as deaconesses in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod - took place at the Siena Retreat Center in Racine, Wisconsin, October 29-31, 2015.

In the Lutheran church, DOXOLOGY usually refers to a liturgical expression of praise to God.  DOXOLOGY: The Lutheran Center for Spiritual Care and Counsel helps professional church workers acquire and improve the skills they need to provide effective spiritual care in their vocations. [Being blessed with an increased capability to care for our neighbors indeed gives cause to express praise to God!]

The conference presentations covered a variety of engaging topics, for example, "Putting the Best Construction on Everything;" "Christians after Christendom;" "Diaconal Service and the Care/Cure of Souls;" "Depression, Dysfunction and Despair: Clinical Realities;" "Spiritual Responses to Discouragement;" "Ethics and Caring;" "The Problem of Suffering;" "The Silent Epidemic: Compassion Fatigue." One can see, just from these titles, that the 35 attendees received much food for thought, as well as renewed encouragement and dedication to the task of addressing the needs of those whom they serve.

For more information about DOXOLOGY and the study retreats they offer, please see http://www.doxology.us/

KFUO BookTalk Interviews

These last several months since my dear father's departing to his heavenly rest have been very busy - and hence my lack of posts here on the blog. But activity in the realm of deaconess history has continued! In January I was interviewed three times on KFUO radio - A station located on property adjacent to Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. BookTalk host Rod Zwonitzer did a marvelous job of interviewing me about In the Footstep of Phoebe, as well as encouraging his listeners to think seriously about diaconal work in their own churches. The good news is that you can hear these recorded programs simply by accessing the archived BookTalk section of the KFUO website: www.kfuoam.org, Archives, Book Talk, Jan. 14 (Part 1), Jan. 21 (Part 2), Jan. 22 (Part 3). After the interviews I wrote a 30-second advert for deaconesses, which is now airing daily on KFUO 850AM and streaming worldwide. The hope is that this will generate some interest to create more positions for deaconesses in LCMS congregations. Since recruitment programs for deaconess students have done their jobs well, we have a lot of women graduating from our LCMS deaconess training programs! Now the placement directors and the church as a whole need to keep up with finding enough appropriate places for these women to serve. This is a matter that we can keep in prayer! I hope you enjoy listening to the archived interviews!

Concordia Deaconess Conference 2011

Concordia Deaconess Conference - Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (CDC) - a 'Recognized Service Organization' of the LCMS - holds annual conferences to provide its members with opportunities for personal, spiritual, and professional growth. This year's conference, held at Concordia University, Nebraska, from June 15-18, centered on the theme: Lutheran Spirituality: A Life of Receptivity.

Among the 2011 conference participants were two deaconess students from The Lutheran Church in Southern Africa, a partner church of the LCMS. The conference mission offering was designated for the support of a new deaconess training program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Tshwane (Pretoria, South Africa). CDC member, Deaconess Deborah Rockrohr (pictured above with the two students), recently accepted a call to serve as Director of this program.

CDC members thanked the outgoing Spiritual Counselor, Rev. John Berg, and four outgoing officers, Deborah Rockrohr, Carol Schroeder, Linda Cosgrove, and Lorraine Groth, for their hard work over the last several years. Newly elected officers include Sara Lemon, Vice President; Kim Schave, Treasurer, Jana Peters, Member-at-Large for Annual Conference Logistics; Heidi Bishop, Member-at-Large for Membership. Rev. William Weedon was elected as the CDC Spiritual Counselor for the next three years.

More information about the conference, membership applications, copies of the CDC newsletter, and so forth, are available at http://www.concordiadeaconesslcms.org/

First Deaconess-in-Training in WELS Sister Church

Pieter Reid, a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), serves as "a pastoral friendly counselor" to the national Indonesian church known as Gereja Lutheran Indonesia (GLI). According to Reid's Oct. 7, 2010 blog on missions in Indonesia, GLI is making history by training its very first deaconess.

Reid explained, "One goal of the sister church of WELS in Indonesia is to get the women of GLI active in serving the Lord and serving each other. For this to happen and continue, there needs to be a GLI woman who can be trained to assume this leadership role. ...

"Ibu Heni, one of the pastor’s wives, started attending the GLI seminary two years ago. She didn’t do it to become a pastor, but wanted to grow spiritually. Ibu Heni is taking all of the courses required of the seminary students. Besides being very gifted and faithfully applying herself, she understands the teachings of the Bible, has leadership ability, and the heart of a servant. Ibu Heni has the gifts to become a deaconess and help all the women of GLI to serve the Lord and serve others.

"The leaders of GLI were approached and asked if Ibu Heni could be designated as a Deaconess-in-training. She will continue taking all the seminary courses for the next two years. She will have all the doctrine courses, counseling courses, courses on family life, and all the other courses a pastor will have taken. Work has begun to train and prepare Ibu Heni to become a Deaconess who will oversee the entire ministry of women within GLI and prepare these women to reach out to those who do not yet have Jesus as their Savior. What a blessing a Deaconess will be to this church body!”

It will be interesting to watch this new development, and to note whether the next stage of training - to prepare the women of Indonesia to "reach out to those who do not yet have Jesus as their Savior" - will indeed produce a second generation of deaconesses for this church body.

We wish them every blessing with this endeavor!

Reflejo de Cristo - The Call of the Deaconess

A beautiful visual of Renate Gibbs highlighting three aspects of diaconal ministry: spiritual care, works of mercy, and teaching the faith.

LCMS World Mission Deaconess in Hong Kong

The "Mission Blog" - official blog of LCMS World Mission - is a great place to browse for inspirational stories about the synod's foreign mission fields and the people who are working in those fields.

One of the new posts is from Deaconess Carol Halter, who has been in Hong Kong for many years. Carol's account of her witness to a woman she met at a family reunion she had been invited to speaks volumes about her commitment to Christ and her primary focus whenever she is with people... a focus on planting the seed of the Word of God in the hearts of those who still need to be reached for Christ.

Have a look for yourself at http://tiny.cc/ok7oh and enjoy the stories of Carol and other LCMS missionaries like her.

Photos of ULCA Deaconess Motherhouse in Baltimore

Archivists for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have uploaded an interesting collection of photos which include images of the Lutheran Deaconess Motherhouse and Training School in Balitmore, Maryland.

Many of the photos were taken during the "1960 Triennial Conference" held at the Motherhouse. Even though such photos may not relate directly to one's own church history, it's fun to see what the deaconess movement looked like in other pockets of American religious history. Particularly enjoyable are photos of the deaconesses, their garb, and their faces as they interact with one another and their environment.

To take a closer look, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/elcaarchives/4858186450/in/photostream/

New President for The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

In 2002, Rev. Matthew Harrison, Executive Director of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) department of World Relief and Human Care, secured funds to create a Deaconess Task Force for the purpose of promoting diaconal ministry in the LCMS. The Task Force reviewed current ideas and literature on the diaconate, pursued ideas for student financial aid, produced PR materials on deaconess ministry, and promoted deaconess professional care.

Since 2002, Rev. Harrison has remained interested and involved in the development of deaconess ministry in both the United States and abroad. His support and encouragement of the deaconess community has meant a great deal to deaconesses in the field.

Yesterday, delegates at the LCMS synodical convention in Houston, Texas, elected Rev. Harrison as their next President. This is an historical moment for the synod, and I also predict, an historical move for the future of deaconesses in the synod.

May God bless Rev. Harrison as he prepares to take office. May the Lord give him courage, wisdom, discernment, joy, and peace in all that he will need to carry out for the Lord and His Church, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be preached and made known to all peoples.

Not Quite Right, UCC!

Having chanced upon an interesting article posted on April 29, titled "The End of an Era" - which reported the February 25, 2010, death of the last deaconess in the United Church of Christ, I was amused to see the author's parochially short-sighted conclusion. Since the "comments are closed" on this article, even though it was posted only yesterday (!), I felt compelled to write a comment here.

The first two paragraphs of the article started out well enough - with a short historical statement...

"In the late nineteenth century, St. Louis was the American center of the Deaconess Sisters, a movement that traced its spiritual roots back as far as Paul’s first letter to the Romans. This order of women, founded in Germany in the 1830s, dedicated their lives to caring for the sick and the poor. They were established in America in 1889 by a group of St. Louis Evangelical pastors who wanted to respond to the needs of the poor in their community.

"The Deaconess Sisters of St. Louis, which included 200 women, launched Deaconess Hospital and a nursing school and worked with children, seniors, and the homebound ill. Their work continues today through the ministries of CHHSM members including the Deaconess Foundation, Deaconess Parish Nurse Ministries and the International Parish Nurse Resource Center in St. Louis."

The next paragraph is the amusing one:

"Now the Deaconess movement in the United States has passed into history. On February 25, 2010, Sister Marie G. Lee, the last Evangelical Deaconess Sister in the United States, died in St. Louis."

This is a good example of the ignorance that can easily develop in any Christian denomination when its members forget, were not taught, or do not recognize the fact that the cumulative history of the Christian Church can exist outside of their own denomination!

[The rest of the article contains interesting information about the deceased deaconess and may be found at http://tiny.cc/vrlji]

Wesley's Famous Words

I've known for a while that the United Methodist Church has a long history of deaconess service, but have never read much about that history. Today I stumbled across an inspirational article about Deaconess Clara Ester, an African American deaconess who served for many years as the executive director of Dumas Wesley Community Center, a United Methodist Women-supported national mission institution, located in the Crichton neighborhood of Mobile, Ala. [See http://alturl.com/3d4q]

One of the interesting things in this article is the citing of some "famous words" of John Wesley, which are credited with having a profound influence on Deaconess Ester. Simple and direct, the quotation reads:

Christian service
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.” -John Wesley

That about sums it up!

Prayed by Deaconesses

The website for the Order of Deaconesses in the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) includes a couple of beautiful prayers appropriate for the personal prayer life of a deaconess:

O GRACIOUS FATHER, we here dedicate both our souls and our bodies to thee and thy service, in a sober, righteous, and godly life: in which resolution, do thou, O merciful God, confirm and strengthen us; that, as we grow in age, we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy handmaidens who call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Anglican Deaconess Association (ADA) which is affiliated with the REC describes itself as "an organization for the promotion and support of the traditional Order of Deaconesses." Interestingly, this association also includes a prayer for deaconesses on the back of its publicity tract:

O LORD of souls, who hast chosen and called us to service in thy Church; all our trust is in thee, for in thee are the springs of our life. Abundantly give us of thy blessed Spirit, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, and use us as it shall please thee for the glory of thy Name. Empty us of self and fill us with the meekness of wisdom. Increase our faith, mellow our judgment, stir our zeal, deepen our affections. Do thou choose for us the work we do and the place in which we do it, the success we win and the harvest we reap. Preserve us from jealously and impatience, from self-will and depression. Make us faithful unto death, and give us at last the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I have emailed the deaconess listed on the REC website to ask for the sources for these prayers, and will add that information when it is received!

Order of Deaconesses in Reformed Episcopal Church

It can be interesting to take an occasional look at the deaconess movement in other Protestant denominations in the United States. As recently as 2002, the Reformed Episcopal Church adopted a Canon to officially recognize the Order of Deaconesses and establish requirements for candidacy. But this action was really a restoration of the vocation that existed in the church more than a century earlier.

The Order of Deaconesses was revived in the Church of England by the Bishop of London in 1861, and subsequently in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America in 1889. And in 1920, the denomination's Lambeth Conference encouraged the restoration of an Order of Deaconesses throughout the entire Anglican Communion. However, in 1976, the specific Order of Deaconesses in the United States "dissolved into the Diaconate" when the Episcopal Church voted to allow the ordination of women.

A year later, in 1977, a large group of traditional Anglicans adopted The Affirmation of St. Louis as a confessional charter to unite Continuing (Traditional) Anglicans around the world. Among other assertions, this charter recognized the need for a special ministry for women, and declared "as one of the 'essential principles of evangelical Truth and apostolic Order: The ancient office and ministry of Deaconesses as a lay vocation for women, affirming the need for proper encouragement of that office.'”

Since adoption of the confessional charter, several women have been admitted to the Order of Deaconess in Traditional Anglican jurisdictions. The training program for new deaconesses is housed at Cranmer Theological House, just north of Houston, Texas. (A review of the Deaconess Studies curriculum there reveals some intriguing course titles, including "Biblical Womanhood.") One of the House's website pages states, "Cranmer Theological House is distinguished by its strong commitment to the Holy Scriptures as God's infallible Word, its adherence to the theology of the English Reformation as expressed in the historic Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, and its commitment to the worship and polity of the greater Anglican tradition."

Quotations taken from: http://www.recdss.org/index.html

Lutheran Orphan's Home in Des Peres, MO

Two days ago I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from a deaconess friend who lives in St. Louis. The surprise is a plate depicting the 100th anniversary of the Lutheran Orphan's Home in Des Peres, MO, from 1868 to 1968. The back of the plate is inscribed: "In Memorial to the 100th Anniversary of the Lutheran Orphans' Home Celebrated July 21, 1968. Dedicated to all the Children, Housemothers, Fathers, and to the Glory of God. 1868-1968."

I'm not sure where my friend found this treasure, but I'm delighted with it. [Of course it is already 41 years old, which makes it even more precious!]

In chapter one of In the Footsteps of Phoebe I make reference to the very first Lutheran orphanage - which opened in Des Peres, Missouri, in 1868. This venerable institution has several connections with deaconesses.

1. We know that at least one deaconess from Germany worked at the orphanage in its early days;
2. We know that in 1934 Rev. Herman B. Kohlmeier, superintendent of deaconess training for the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America, took a long road trip that included visiting the orphanage;
3. We know that Deaconess Florence Storck was assigned to work at the orphanage at the time of her commissioning in 1937, and worked there until transferring to the St. Louis Lutheran Mission in 1940.

My guess is that there are other connections between the deaconess community and the Orphans' Home that are still waiting to be discovered. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the plate! Thank you, Pam!

Community Life of the Beguines

As I progress through the little volume titled, "Deaconesses in Europe and Their Lessons for America" (by Jane Marie Bancroft), I am fascinated to discover that even though the office of deaconess may not have been continuously present in either the Eastern or Western Churches, there were many ways (outside of convents) in which women were banding together to give service to God and their fellowman.

One case in point is the various communities of "Beguines," who are known to have lived from the 12th century onward, in the Netherlands, in Belgium, along the Rhine River, in Switzerland, and in eastern France. During the first half of the 13th Century, there were thousands of Beguines. For some reason they began to be persecuted, nuns disliked them, and the Pope withdrew his "protection" of them. At the time of the Reformation, many of these women became Protestant, but continued to resemble sisterhoods of Catholicism.

As for the life and work of the Beguines, Bancroft explains:

"As a rule they lived alone, in separate small houses build closely together and surrounded by a wall. Each house bore on its door the sign of the cross, and with every Beguine court there were invariably two large buildings - a church and a hospital; the one for the worship of the sisters, the other the field of their self-denying ministrations. At first they were in no wise distinguished in their dress from other women, but in time they wore a habit which varied in color with each establishment, but was generally blue, gray, or brown. The veil was invariably white. The sisters had to earn, or partly earn, their own livelihood. In the time remaining they rendered essential service in performing acts of charity. They received orphans to bring up and educate, taught little children, nursed the sick, performed the last offices for the dead, and bound themselves by good deeds closely with the lives of the people. They were in no sense isolated from the world, but lived busy, useful lives in the midst of the world. They could leave the community at any time, and after severing their connection with it were free to marry. They also retained control of their own property."

This strikes me as a pretty modern arrangement for women in the 13th-19th centuries! And except for the living together in groups of houses, pretty close to how some deaconess communities serve today.