Meet the Archdeacon: Interview with The Ven. S. Jane Griesbach

Meet the Archdeacon: Interview with The Ven. S. Jane Griesbach

The Rev. Vicki Ix, Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times

The Rev. Jane Griesbach was appointed the Bishop’s Archdeacon on April 15, 2021. I spent some time with Jane to find out more about this new role. The following interview has been edited for clarity and scope.

Editor: For our readers and for our culture here in Western Massachusetts, having an archdeacon is exciting and new. What can you tell us about the role of the archdeacon?

Jane: Well, because it’s so new, I’ve been learning as I go along. First and foremost, I see myself as an encourager, someone who encourages on every level. I keep in touch with all the deacons. I listen and help with deployment when that comes up. Now, deacons are allowed to stay six years in one parish. It used to be only three, and then you moved, but Bishop Doug said it can be another three years if everyone is in agreement. So, personally, I will be at St. Francis, Holden for six years because everybody is in agreement and it seems to be working.

Every other month, I hold a Zoom meeting for all the deacons. Everybody gets on, we pray, and we talk about what we’re doing, joys and challenges— personal and with the church. I am also inviting the postulants to join these meetings. I feel that they, more than anybody, need to hear what deacons are doing and see who we are and that we support them and pray for them. I meet with our three postulants every other month. We talk about challenges, what’s going on, and if they have questions. And, I organize an annual retreat for all the deacons. We do that at St. Margaret’s, Duxbury.

When I became an archdeacon, I learned that there is an annual conference of all archdeacons in US and Canada. It used to be in-person and now it’s on Zoom.

The theme this year was how to bring younger people into the diaconate. You don’t have to have white or gray hair to be a deacon. There’s also the Province I Network of Archdeacons and we meet once a month. We talk and we share what we’re doing, and that’s where the “Deacon Crawl” idea came from. I’m always trying to make deacons more visible. The Diocese of Massachusetts said that once a year they have the “Day of the Deacon.” The other dioceses are a little bit more grown up than I am. I thought “Deacon Crawl” sounded more fun.

Editor: Let me ask a deeper question. What is the archdeacon’s role in assisting the bishop in helping people discern an assignment?

Jane: I’m so, so grateful for a bishop who is supportive of deacons. It’s so beautiful. With deployment, we try to keep the commute time between 30-35 minutes, so I start by looking at the different parishes. I go to their websites and see what they’re doing and, if they are doing a bunch of mission outreach, that percolates in my brain. And then I talk to the bishop. I say, “What about these parishes?” Of course, he knows everything that’s going on better than I do. So he can say, “Well, not this one, but that one.” Then he talks with the priest and I talk to the deacon. I say, “What do you think?” Then the Holy Spirit intervenes and we get a match.

The bishop comes up with ideas of what the deacons could do together. Usually it’s something like, “What can you do together as a group for the diocese?” And, we brainstorm that.

Editor: I recall the Pre-Election 2020 prayer services that our deacons led in Springfield and Worcester. A very powerful witness…

Jane: It was freezing in Worcester! Freezing! And the prayer service was, indeed, powerful.

Editor: Let me ask a couple of questions about your journey. How long have you been a deacon?

Jane: Since 2008.

Editor: How did you discern your call to this order in the Church?

Jane: I moved to MA following my secular job. I worshipped at Christ Church, Rochdale for many years. I got married there, buried my husband from there. When I found out about the diaconate, I asked the rector at the time — who was going through a lot of personal turmoil—”What do you think?” “Keep a journal,” he said. “Keep a journal. It will all become clear.” Well, that didn’t help. So, enter the next rector. And that person said, “Why would you want to work for the church? Deacons don’t get paid.” OK. I guess I’ll give up, I thought; it’s probably not from the Holy Spirit. Enter the next rector—so that’s three—and that was Rev. Meredyth Ward. Meredyth came to me and said, “Have you ever thought about the diaconate?” (I wasn’t going to bring it up again. Three strikes you’re out!) I said, “Actually, I have, but I’ve been discouraged.” She was, and still is, a mentor for me, and an encourager for me. She put my name forth and helped me through the process.

Editor: So much has changed. This is a community. The bishop calls it the “community of deacons.” I think that’s so beautiful. It’s just been growing and growing.

Jane: Because I went through the process alone—it was just me going through the whole preparation—I said, “That will never happen again.” I would try to get people together and encourage others to look at it. The birth of the Province I School for Deacons opened things up. It is an amazing program. The Dean now is the Rev. Dr. Lynda Tyson from CT. She’s a gift.

Editor: How long does that preparation take?

Jane: School for Deacons is two years. It’s a very robust program, and the discernment takes at least a year beforehand to go through the formalized steps.

Editor: The diaconate today must feel different from 2008 – not just here in WMA, but the place of the order in the Church. Tell me what you’re seeing – what is the overarching place of the deacon now?

Jane: What I’m seeing across the United States is that deacons are more aware of the universal call for all people to live into the Baptismal Covenant and to serve. In every sermon I give, which is once a month, the Baptismal Covenant comes up because it’s all right there. Deacons today are called to more prophetic preaching and to call people in the congregation to their Baptismal Vows and into the ministry of diakonia across the board. You don’t have to be ordained to serve.

Editor: What do you love most about being a deacon?

Jane: All the expensive, uncomfortable clothing we have to buy. (Laughter.) Only kidding. I love most being in the world as someone who can bring God’s love, and using that as an icon calling others to service.

Editor: What are your hopes for the community of deacons in our diocese? Ten years, twenty years; what are your hopes?

Jane: I read this, so these are not my words: “How will we know when there are enough deacons? It’s when every marginalized person knows the love of Jesus.” So my hope is that the community of deacons continues to grow, in God’s time, of course. And we have all these people just hitting the streets and going out to the world and coming back to the church. You know, Church, this is what we need to do. How can we help these people who need the love of Jesus? A deacon in every church, and a deacon on every street corner. (Laughter) ♦