A decade or two ago, in a previous ecclesiastical lifetime, I was asked to speak at a national gathering of Episcopalians who had been ordained as permanent deacons. In other words, most of them assisted priests in churches, or played other roles in parish life, after going to seminary. Seminary is the key.
I was stunned at how many of the people had gray hair. Most were in their 40s and 50s. Many were over 60. Most of the new deacons were second- or third-career folks or had jumped into this ministry after retirement. For many, the call to be a deacon or deaconess followed some kind of life-changing event that made them reassess ultimate things — such as a heart attack or, in many cases, a divorce.
Thus, to make an obvious point, the hot trend covered in a recent issue of Time magazine has actually been around quite some time, if one has been studying the baby boomers and others who came of age, to one degree or another, in the ’60s.
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