The role of the deaconess in the ELCA is first and foremost to act as a bridge connecting the church with the needs of the world.
According to Megan Ross, an ELCA deaconess serving in Balige, Indonesia, “Our image is that of washing feet. As Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, so we, too, are called to humble service.”
In the spirit of that humble service, Megan is working with a school through the Protestant Christian Batak Church in the Sumatra region of Indonesia to train women to serve as deaconesses like herself.
The school, supported in part by gifts to Mission Support — the percentage of weekly congregational offerings that is shared with synods and ELCA churchwide ministries — provides training the women need to serve their communities and be that connection to Christ that many of their communities desperately need.
“In Indonesia, some of the deaconesses live in villages far from what Americans would consider a comfortable life,” Megan says. “But here, village life is the way of life for many people, so the diaconal heart and humble serving encompasses all of life and those in need.”
Training them as Jesus loves us
The women at the school learn theology, community organizing, pastoral care, first aid and English language skills. They serve in ministries designed to help those in need.
“After they graduate the headquarters office sends them to different places, so we train them as Jesus loves us,” says the school’s director, Serepina Sitanggang.
“Nowadays there are many ministries we are doing in the Batak area in Sumatra like mining ministry, children’s ministry and elderly people ministry.”
“The culture here is more centered on hospitality and community rather than the individualism of the United States,” Megan says.
“The rules here are strict, but they smile even as they clean or do other daily tasks. They are deeply committed to their faith,” Megan continues. “The students come here out of a greater sense of calling to serve God and all God’s people.”
A learning experience
While Megan is having quite an impact on students as a teacher at the school, the experience is having a significant impact on her own life, as well. The experience is teaching Megan a lot about her own calling and reinforcing what it means to be a deaconess in new ways.
In addition to the teaching she does in the classroom, Megan is eager for opportunities to go out and serve alongside her students.
“I was with some of the students as they visited the sick in the hospital across the street from the school,” Megan says. “We sang hymns and prayed. As is customary here, we greeted everyone in the rooms with a handshake, then touched our hand to our heart.”
“The students served with such joy, sang in beautiful harmony, and so gracefully prayed and talked with the patients,” she continues. “I was asked by the mother of one of the patients to pray in English for her daughter and new infant granddaughter. My prayer was then translated into Batak.”
And, surprisingly, though she was called to teach English, Megan has found a use for her German language skills.
“As it turns out, my ability to speak German has been of use here. Some of the Indonesian deaconesses have spent time in Germany, and for a few, their German is better than their English. So I have been delighted that I can use my German skills and communicate with women for whom I might otherwise need a translator.”
It’s these experiences that have only reinforced Megan’s belief in her calling. “I believe the Spirit led me here,” she says. “There are many things that are different about life in the U.S. and life in Indonesia. What is the same, what transcends the language barrier and other differences, is our desire and common calling to love God and love neighbor.”
“Even though there was so much unknown, I felt peace in coming here,” she continues. “And that, I believe, was the Spirit.”
