By the grace of God, and with the consent of the Bishop, I will serve All Saints’ as your Deacon beginning on July 5^th, 2009.  In addition to liturgical duties, my role at All Saints’ will be to provide leadership as Minster for Christian Formation.  This encompasses a broad set of responsibilities and possibilities.  I look forward to learning from each of you how I can serve you, so that All Saints’ can better serve God’s people. 

As you may know, Deacon is one of the three ordained ministries in the Church, along with Bishop and Priest.  Deacons are best described as having one foot in the Church and one foot in the world. We bring the needs and concerns of the world to the Church and we bring the Church out into the world.  In our ordination vows, Deacons are called to serve all people, particularly the poor,the weak, the sick, and the lonely; or better yet, anyone in need.  To exemplify my diaconal role, my participation in the liturgy will include reading the gospel, bidding people to prayer and confession, assisting at the altar, commissioning lay Eucharistic visitors, and dismissing the people for service.  I will also preach on occasion.  I am especially looking forward to serving with the acolytes.  

My secular vocation is working in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry.  As Director of Worldwide Clinical Data Management at Becton Dickinson, I oversee the process of creating methods and systems to collect clinical data, which are validated and analyzed to determine if a new device or drug should go to market.  With my leadership philosophies and management style, I bring the Church into the corporate world. 

After moving to Middletown from Virginia,we found a lovely small church in Keansburg. At St. Mark’s, I had the privilege of serving in a variety of capacities, including outreach projects, Christian formation,altar guild, vestry, reader, chalice bearer, and as a lay Eucharistic visitor.  With the help other concerned parents, we started the Bayshore Youth Group for the tweens and teens of St. Mark’s and St. Clement’s in Belford.  My children, Diane and Joseph, were always willing to provide feedback, mostly on what should be done differently. 

As a deacon intern, I was assigned to St. Peter’s in Freehold.  We moved from a small parish with a typical Sunday attendance of twenty people to a parish celebrating three services with around two hundred people on any given Sunday.  A very important transformation took place in how I view my own ministry.  I came to the realization that my calling is no longer to have ministries of my “own”,but my responsibility as Deacon is to help others live out more fully their ministries.  In order for ministry to be successful, it needs to belong to and be owned by the laity. 

My growth into the diaconal life will evolve, with your collaboration and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  As your Deacon, I hope to be a reminder to you that we all must be willing to serve the changing needs of the world around us.  In serving others, we are serving Christ. 

Let us go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Deacon Rose