deacons
Information about the ministry of deacons and resources for deacons.
Deacons are called by their vows to make Christ’s redemptive love known to the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely (BCP p.543).
Modelling servant ministry in their daily life and work, deacons are icons of servant ministry through their liturgical roles in worship. At all times, by their life and teaching, deacons are to show Christ’s people that in serving others they serve Christ himself. It is also the special responsibility of deacons to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns and hopes of the world. Deacons entrust their gifts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to empower others to name, claim and engage fully the work God gives us all to do.
Archdeacon
The Venerable Jan Brown is the Archdeacon of the Diocese, jbrown@brutonparish.org.
Jan is the Founding/Executive Director of SpiritWorks Foundation, a community recovery organization located in Williamsburg, Virginia.
She graduated from William & Mary with a BA in Psychology, is certified as a Recovery Support Specialist, and is one of four people in the country certified as a Master Recovery Life Coach. Jan is also an Addictions Educator and sought-after speaker on topics of addiction, brain injury and recovery management. She serves on the Board of Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church, the Board of Faces and Voices of Recovery, the SAMHSA BRSS-TACS Steering Committee, and co-chairs the Addictions and Recovery Commission for the Diocese of Southern Virginia.
In 2014 she was appointed by the Governor of Virginia and serves on the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse. In 2015 Jan was appointed by Presiding Bishop to serve on the Commission on Impairment and Leadership. Jan was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons by The Rt. Rev. Herman Hollerith IV, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, in 2016. She serves at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg.
Resources
A Handbook for deacons
Association for Episcopal Deacons
Becoming a Vocational Deacon
We are in the process of creating a new deacon training program in conjunction with Bexley Seabury Seminary, to begin in Fall 2023. Until our deacon training program is in place, persons interested in the diaconate may take one or more of the Bexley Seabury Pathways courses, on which our deacons training courses will be modeled, as a preparation for enrollment in the Diocese of Southern Virginia deacons training program. Those intending to take a course to meet the requirements for our future deacons training course may request authorization to do so from the Bishop by contacting the Rev. Ross Wright, Director of Vocational Ministries, rwright@diosova.org.
Click here for more information about the Ordination Exploration Process for the Vocational Diaconate.