photo by Stephanie Croston Sonja Baumeister of Seward was recently consecrated as a deaconess at Faith Lutheran Church in Seward.

by Stephanie Croston

    Being a deaconess is not easy, but it's what Sonja Baumeister has been called to do.
     Baumeister was consecrated as a deaconess Aug. 27 in a service at Faith Lutheran Church in Seward. The service was the culmination of about two and a half years of work, she said.
     The word deaconess comes from the Greek diakonia, meaning "to serve." Baumeister said New Testament examples of deacons and deaconesses were those who took care of the physical aspects of the church ministry. The New Testament deaconesses baptized and cared for the spiritual welfare of women in the early church, she said.
     In the Catholic church, that position evolved into nuns, and many deaconesses became nurses, Baumeister said.
     Training through the Lutheran Deaconess Association (LDA) requires completing seven classes-Old and New Testament, world religions, Christian ethics, Lutheran confessions, looking at the brokenness of the world through Christian eyes and the theology of the deaconess ministry, Baumeister said.
     Following the classwork, Baumeister participated in field work through Lutheran Family Services in Lincoln. Her first assignment was helping those who had been out of society, for whatever reason, to reenter society. Contacts were scheduled for six weeks, she said.
     Then she worked with a Sudanese refugee family, helping them adjust to life in America. She met with them weekly during the field work, teaching them skills Americans take for granted, like shopping for groceries. Although her field work assignment is finished, Baumeister said she still meets with the family regularly.
     A two-week course in clinical pastoral education offered Baumeister the opportunity to give pastoral care in a clinic setting, she said. She did her work primarily at Tabitha in Lincoln, along with some hospice sites, and was able to shadow pastors in a variety of situations.
     Near the end of her time, she was able to provide spiritual care to a woman whose sister had just died.
     Baumeister did her deaconess internship at Faith, starting last September. Her permanent position there took effect June 1. She spends about 30 hours a week in the office during the school year, and while she tries to keep office hours, "ministry is never predictable," she said.
     The LDA does not allow internships to be done at a deaconess's home church, in Baumeister's case St. John Lutheran. She said many times a deaconess, which is a paid position, performs jobs that may have been done as a volunteer in the past.
     As a deaconess at Faith Lutheran, Baumeister said, she has two main jobs-to serve Christ by serving His people and to be a reminder that everyone who is baptized is called to serve.
     "What I do could be done by a director of Christian education," she said. "The difference is perspective."
     Baumeister said she looks especially for those who might be wallflowers, those whose gifts are not as charismatic as, for example, a preacher, she said.
     "I keep an eye out for those the world might otherwise easily overlook," she said.
     She also brings a different perspective to the church council, looking at issues from a different angle.
     Baumeister is still a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, which allows her to be more objective when it comes to making observations at Faith.
     "I'm called not necessarily to do ministry but to facilitate the members to serve," she said.
     One of her areas of ministry is the young people in the church and community. She said she tries to show the youth that, although she may not fit their definition of cool, she is concerned about their well-being.
     "They don't come to me because I'm cool but because I care," she said.
     Baumeister said her family has been very supportive of her ministry at Faith. Her daughter, Taylor, enjoys attending Faith, while her son, Rex, still regularly attends St. John. Her husband, Wes or "Pastor Bo" as he's known to most people, is the chaplain at Concordia University and often travels around the district preaching.
     "Overall, I know it's where I'm supposed to be," Baumeister said.