Ordered Ministry

“Remember you are the salt of the earth—and not called to be the whole stew! Your calling, then, is to equip the laity to bring distinctive flavour to their several worlds, and to ensure the voice of the United Church is raised effectively in the public square on issues critical to the common good.” 

—The Right Rev. Dr. Lois Wilson presenting an honorary degree at Emmanuel College Convocation, 2019 Convocation

Ministries which serve the life and work of the church are often given “offices” of responsibility and accountability. These offices call for varying levels of commitment. Lay ministries are served in one or more short terms, with freedom to move in and out of offices of service. These include volunteering on committees and boards of the church and community groups, or working in paid or volunteer positions in the community of faith in hospitality, teaching, music, worship or pastoral care. 

Ordered ministry, which includes both diaconal and ordained, is more restrictive than lay ministries because ordered ministers pledge to a lifelong office, and share not only their own faith with the church and world, but are required to carry and share the faith of the church itself.

Ministry for Our Time 

For decades, communities of faith strived to be independent and self-sufficient. This is no longer possible or desirable.

This means that ordered ministers, both diaconal and ordained, are called to be animators of faith communities and to serve as companions, visionaries, educators, and facilitators of ministries shared within a community or communities. They may be called to work with multiple communities of faith, rather than be the minister of any one community. Their ministry is to identify, inspire, and release the gifts of lay people in communities of faith and leadership of Christian life and service in their community and beyond.

This approach to ministry is characterized by an understanding of the role of ordered ministry as midwifery to the birth of the giftedness already present in the baptized, and a commitment to the relationships which reflect the interdependence of communities of justice-seeking, healing, belonging, and spiritual life, wherever those communities exist.

Diaconal Ministers

Diaconal ministers serve in all aspects of ministry and are formally called to education, service, social justice, and pastoral care. Diaconal ministry, rooted in the tradition and history of the diakonia (Greek for service) “encourages a growing faith, speaks truth to power, seeks mutual empowerment, proclaims prophetic hope, nurtures life-giving community, fosters peaceful, right relationships within the church of the whole creation…” (to quote Diakonia of The United Church Statement of Vision). There are approximately 300 diaconal ministers in the United Church.

More information can be found on the website of Diakonia of The United Church of Canada, an association of practitioners of diaconal ministry.

Types of Jobs a Diaconal Minister Might Do

Diaconal ministers work in these types of settings:

• solo, team ministry or ministry animator in one or more communities of faith 
• community and outreach ministry
• social justice work
• administration and governance positions
• education centres and theological schools
• chaplaincy, e.g., hospital or university or military

Theological Education

People preparing for diaconal ministry must complete the required program of study as laid out in the Candidacy Pathway Policy in the section “Formation for Ministry.” The Centre for Christian Studies in Winnipeg offers a four-year Diploma in Diaconal Ministries that is an intensive community-based program designed to meet the requirements of The United Church of Canada for commissioning to diaconal ministry.

People preparing for diaconal ministry in the Indigenous Church complete the diploma in Indigenous ministries at the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, Beausejour, Manitoba, in a five-year program that includes attending learning circles and serving in a ministry setting.

Ordained Ministers

Ordained ministers serve in all aspects of ministry and are formally called to word, sacrament, and pastoral care. This involves presiding in worship and sacrament, nurturing and strengthening the beloved community of God, making the wisdom of the ages relevant for today, and being representatives of Christ in the world in seeking justice and wholeness for all creation. There are approximately 3500 ordained ministers in the United Church. 

Types of Jobs an Ordained Minister Might Do

Ordained ministers work in these types of settings:

• solo, team ministry, or ministry animator in one or more communities of faith 
• community and outreach ministry
• social justice work
• administration and governance positions
• education centres and theological schools
• chaplaincy (e.g. hospital, university, Canadian Armed Forces chaplains)

Theological Education

People preparing for ordained ministry must complete the required program of study as laid out in the Candidacy Pathway Policy, in the section “Formation for Ministry.” This includes theological education at a United Church theological school. Please see the Candidacy Pathway Roadmap, in the section “Discern Your Educational Path,” for a list of these schools and their programs that are designed to prepare people for ministry in the United Church. The education program for ordained ministry may be a residential campus-based model or a ministry-based program that is completed while serving in a ministry position.

If ordered ministry is not what you are called to, you may wish to explore opportunities to serve your community with others here.