And (you can tell I’m running out of steam here), it could even be a set of matching crockery of all things. For car owners, it’s the annual maintenance of their vehicle. For homeowners, it can be a utility such as gas, electricity, or water. And in other vocations it’s the length of time that they have stayed with that particular employer.įor lawyers, service is the formal delivery of legal documents such as a summons. For the military, it’s their employment, i.e. For the religious, a service is a ceremony of worship. For sports fans, a good service is a critical part of tennis success. For such a simple word it sure can mean a lot of different things to different people. But what about what service is? Think about it. And they are, I’m sure, fully aware of what enterprise service management is. Their son, Dana, a landscape designer, died in 2003 at age 27.In light of the global pandemic of 2020-21, many organizations have accelerated their digital transformation initiatives – through the use of enterprise service management. They have an adult daughter, Lara, who works as an environmental consultant in Indianapolis. He is also a certified facilitator for the Center for Courage and Renewal.ĭodge and his wife, Patti, have been married since 1971 and currently reside in St. Dodge also has served as a director on the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, and currently serves as a director on the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women’s board. Mark UMC in Pensacola Director of Children and Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church in Coral Gables Minister of Program and Administration at Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville Executive Director of the Center for Clergy Excellence of the Florida Conference and Assistant to the Bishop of the Florida Conference, before retiring in 2016. He was consecrated as a diaconal minister in 1977 in the Alabama-West Florida Conference and ordained as a deacon in 1997 in the Florida Conference.ĭodge has served throughout Florida in a myriad of ways including Director of Christian Education at St.

Dodge also did graduate work in educational psychology, focusing on moral and faith development, at the University of Florida. Dodge holds a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences and master’s degrees in intercultural studies and Christian education, all from Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee, which nurtured Christian students until it closed in 1988. This is the role of the deacon in The United Methodist Church.ĭavid A. This comes through relationships that are forged through Word, Service, Justice, and Compassion. And helping those outside the church to find the ever-encompassing love of God. Deacons are here to serve that call, helping the church to fling open the doors and move into the community. Today we live in a world that sees people seeking to separate themselves from people who do not think like them or look like them, and we need leaders who call us back to our biblical roots and to the inclusion of all people in the church of Jesus Christ. If we are to be true to the calling that we each have as Christians and as United Methodists, the church will need to look seriously at itself and how it addresses the issues of gender equality. In a denomination that seeks to value equally the role of every person, there is disparity between the way male deacons and female deacons are compensated and supported by the church. And yet, there is work to be done within the church’s understanding of the role of the deacon. It is appropriate that the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women would choose to highlight this order of ministry in The United Methodist Church in that the large majority of people who have heard this call from God and responded are women.

And the list goes on and on for as long as there is need to be noted in the world.Directing community organizations that serve the marginalized.Addressing health issues as parish nurses.Serving as educators, musicians, and administrators.Organizing missional outreach opportunities that address the needs of hurting people.Aiding churches to find new ways to reach out to the community.Chaplains in hospitals, colleges, and universities.Today we can see how The United Methodist Church is living into this understanding of the role of the deacon in our polity. We see deacons serving in the many places where the Word needs to be proclaimed. In our increasingly marginalized society, we can witness United Methodist deacons standing in the gap drawing the church to the world outside its walls and drawing the world to a position inside the walls of the church.

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