Ordained were the Rev. Robin Biffle, the Rev. Susan Cleveley and the Rev. Vern McGee.  Biffle is the rector of St. Mark’s.  Cleveley is currently serving at St. James, Pullman, and McGee is the new rector of  Grace Church, Ellensburg.

In his sermon, Bishop James Waggoner urged the three to be “rooted, restless and ready” as they began their ministries as priests.

“Your role as priests is to lead – to build up the body using the gifts you’ve been given – and to share with others in carrying out the work of that spirit.  To feed, nourish, challenge, comfort.  To be lights in the darkness.  To bring a word of warmth to cold hearts and a spirit of freedom to closed minds and religious slavery.  To do so is to  be rooted, restless and ready,” he said.

Biffle is a 2008 graduate of the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, and came to Moscow last summer.  She also is a graduate of Whitman College in Walla Walla.  Before ordination she worked as a journalist, a police officer and a retreat house manager.  She was presented for ordination by the Rev. Margaret Fisher, Lorraine Ashland, John Barghusen, Ben Jenness, Nancy Luebbert, Cynthia Mika and Katherine Sterling.

McGee, a Spokane native, graduated from General Theological Seminary in New York in 2008.  He also earned a doctorate in languages from the University of Texas.  His career before ordination was as a Russian translator.  He was presented by The Rev. Nolan Redman and Elvira Redman.

Cleveley completed her theological studies through a diocesan program and also earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Idaho.   She is employed by a real estate firm and also has a small business.  She was presented by the Rev. Mary Beth Rivetti, Harriet Hughes, David Oliver, Brian Cleveley and Helen Cleveley.

Litanist was Kenton Bird.  Ron Huffman and Dianne Lowe were readers and the Rev. Toni Sarai-Clark was the gospeller.  The Rev. Paul Lebens-Englund served as minister of ceremonies and the Ven. Ted Nitz was the bishop’s chaplain.

The Rt. Rev. Franklin Brookhart, Bishop of Montana and Biffle’s former bishop, was scheduled to participate in the ordination, but was unable to travel to Moscow because of the severe winter weather.

Soule, a counselor with Lutheran Social Services, was trained for her ministry through the Diocesan Commission on Theological Education (DCOTE).  She had served as a deacon at St. Paul’s since her ordination in 2002.

Preacher for the ordination was the Rev. Holladay Sanderson, vicar at St. Paul’s and Canon for Ministry Development.  Soule was presented by the Rev. Paul Lebens-Englund, the Rev. Margaret Fisher, the Rev. Frances Harland, George Durrie, Christie Hoffman, Michelle Klippert, Kathy Lamphere and Lisa Stagaman.  She was vested by Anne Soule, Kristen Below and Scott Below.

Three of Soule’s teenage children had roles in the liturgy.  Michael Feller was the bishop’s chaplain.  Chris Feller was an usher and Crystal Feller was a soloist.

Soule will continue her service at St. Paul’s and in a ministry to women in prison.

Much of the Commission on Ministry’s (COM) work deals with the discernment and guiding of persons seeking vocations in the Order of Deacons or the Order of Priests.

The agendas of COM’s meetings in 2009 are as follows:

• April 24-25 – interviews and business
• June 19-20 – retreat
• September 18-19 – interviews and business
• November 6-7 – interviews and business

The agenda for COMs 2010 meetings follow:

• February 12/13(business)
• March 12/13  (interviews and business)
• April 23/24  (interviews and business)
• June TBA
• September 17/18  (interviews and business)
• November 5/6 (interviews and business)

Important information for all people in the process

All relevant application materials must be in to the COM thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled interview dates in order for you to be put on the interview schedule.  No last minute interviews will be allowed.  Dates are set a year in advance, and all are given ample advanced notice, the COM is greatly displeased by requests for special treatment.

Note – the COM now has a form to be turned in when you turn in your portfolio, this is to your advantage as the COM will be kept in the loop about your portfolio’s progress through the examining chaplains.  You may fill out the relevant application materials for the COM interview prior to meeting with the examining chaplains, but of course the interview might be cancelled based on the outcome of that meeting.

For more information visit the Commission on Ministry’s website.

The common perception of the Commission on Ministry – the COM as it is known, is that our work only concerns those who want to be ordained, and that our work is usually to interfere with this desire. Nothing could be further from the truth! The work of the COM is to help all members of the Church discern God’s will for their lives, to facilitate the formation and education required to pursue that calling, and to provide the ongoing and life-long continuing education for all Christians. We are about formation for ministry for all people, holy work for holy people. Not “holy” as “I am more special than you”, but holy by virtue of our Holy Baptism, and our participation in the Holy Eucharist, holy by virtue of our calling as members of the Body of Christ.

The process of discerning God’s desire for our lives is holy work. In taking up this work we give the gift of our very selves to God. As the Rite One Eucharistic Prayer puts it, “…we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee”. To seek out God’s leading in our lives is an act of generosity and love toward God.

We are all imago Dei. Created in the image of God, we participate in God’s presence in the world through all the aspects of our lives. The process of “discernment” or “spiritual direction” draws our participation in God up into consciousness. It is more than “feeling” that God is calling us to a certain task or state of life. Discernment relies on bringing our lives, concerns, and questions into the presence of scripture, reason, and prayer. It continues by noticing and reflecting upon the thoughts and feelings that arise in these times of study and prayer. Then in personal and group reflection upon what has been noticed, the path forward comes more clearly into focus.

We are all Christian ministers by virtue of our Baptism. We are all called to share in Christ’s eternal Priesthood. Thus the ministry of the laity is the foundation upon which the Church was established, the structure which gives it strength throughout its history. Every Baptized Christian is called upon to bring the presence of Christ into the home, workplace, and the community.

The COM has recently sent to every church an updated “ministry manual” which provides information about the discernment process for those who are seeking ordination as priests or deacons. This manual also has the updated “competencies” for the licensed worship ministries. One of our goals is to provide clear and transparent information about what is necessary for licensing and ordination in this diocese.

Even more important is our desire to assist every member of the diocese to seek and learn God’s will for their lives. We will be conducing regional workshops starting this spring around the question of discernment and call. These are not going to be focused on ordained ministries, but the call to ministry that all of us have as the baptized. Look for more information about places and times for these workshops. It is the hope of the COM that we can be a diocese where every member knows themselves to be called by God to do the work of ministry. Our task is to help that happen.