Who Are Rostered Leaders?
Rostered leaders in the ELCA and in the Lower Susquehanna Synod are ordained pastors, associates in ministry, diaconal ministers, and deaconesses. Currently there are 468 persons on the roster of the Lower Susquehanna synod —433 ordained pastors (182 are retired) and 35 rostered lay leaders.
Ordained Pastors:
After graduating from seminary, a candidate who receives approval from the Lower Susquehanna Synod Candidacy Committee, is called to a congregation and is ordained into Word and Sacrament ministry. He or she may also be called to areas of special call and serve as a chaplain, professor, counselor, bishop's staff, etc. After retirement, a pastor remains a rostered leader.
Associates in Ministry:
Associates in Ministry are called and commissioned for service in congregations, agencies, schools and institutions of the ELCA. Their primary areas of service are education, youth, spiritual formation, campus ministry, outdoor ministry, music and the arts, administration, service and general ministry.
Diaconal Ministers:
Diaconal Ministers is a category of rostered lay minister in the ELCA, established in 1993. ELCA diaconal ministers are called and consecrated, and serve in congregations, agencies and institutions of the ELCA. Their focus for ministry is the extension of the church’s ministry of witness and care into the world. Diaconal ministers often work in areas of social service.
Deaconess:
A deaconess is a category of rostered lay minister in the ELCA and an outgrowth of the European Deaconess movement of the 19th century. ELCA deaconesses are called and consecrated, and serve in congregations, agencies and institutions of the ELCA. They are members of the Deaconess Community of the ELCA, and participate in the life of that community.
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