A Deacon's Heart with Anne Reed

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Music

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Jon: Welcome to Good News, being

brought to you by Listening for Clues.

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Lauren: We are Lauren Welch and

Jon Shematek, deacons in the

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Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

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Jon: We sure are, and today

we've got a really special guest,

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a longtime friend and deacon

colleague, the Reverend Anne Reed.

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Anne is currently living in Cincinnati

and serving as deacon, not in just

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one, but in two congregations,

which I sure want to hear about.

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Anne's also the chaplain associate

for the Seamen's Church Institute.

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She's a Habitat volunteer.

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She sings, I'm assuming Sweet Adeline

is a barbershop type of group, sings

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with Sweet Adeline, and you are

a foot care volunteer, which also

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seems like kind of a unique thing.

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So, Anne, welcome.

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We're so glad to have you here today.

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Anne: Thank you, Jon and Lauren.

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It's wonderful to be with you.

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Lauren: We are delighted

to be with you, Anne.

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So, tell us about your

diaconal Ministries.

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You are involved in so many

in this retirement of yours.

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Anne: Right.

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Well as I was approaching retirement, I

wondered how I wanted to spend my time.

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And I was trained at Shalem

as a Spiritual Director.

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A few years ago.

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I did that prior to, I guess I

did that about eight years ago.

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And so I started offering spiritual

direction while I was still working full

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time at the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

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And then I also When I became the director

of the Transfiguration Spirituality

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Center for five years, that sort of meshed

really well with my spiritual direction.

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So that was my paid employment position.

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And the pandemic hit and retreat

centers went offline a good bit.

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And my husband Giff and I decided

that we would retire in: 2020

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So...

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From our paying jobs, if you will.

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We haven't retired from life.

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We've just retired from

collecting a regular paycheck.

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So the things that I was involved in

before I retired from full time work have

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continued but they've taken on more life.

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So the Seamen's Church Institute

chaplaincy really has become more

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robust in my retirement days.

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And serving as a deacon in two

congregations, Is a blessing.

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And one is a historically black

congregation in Cincinnati.

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It's about an hour, a

mile from where I live.

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And the other is a suburban congregation

where the priest and I were friends from

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previous days and so when he came to

the diocese, we got reconnected and he

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asked me to come serve as deacon there.

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So that's how I ended up in two churches.

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Jon: Yeah.

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And so, Ann, that is kind of

a, that's a very interesting

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story about the two churches.

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Are they, aside from you, you're the

link between them, I guess, but is

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there, is there a relationship as well

between these different populations

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and congregations or not really?

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Anne: Not very much.

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The part of town where the larger

primarily white congregation

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is located is in pretty much a

northern suburb of Cincinnati.

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It has affiliations with three

other Episcopal churches.

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The other historically black

church In the Cincinnati area, St.

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Simon of Cyrene, and that's close

to where Christ Church Glendale

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is, which is the larger church.

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St.

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Andrew's Evanston, which is the African

American church I serve is more in

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relationship with churches that are in the

city proper rather than in the suburbs.

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However, um, I am the link.

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And so, there's a ministry at

Christ Church Glendale in which

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women are making mats for people

who are living out on the street.

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They're mats made out of knit together,

crocheted together out of plastic bags and

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so these mats, they're basically bedrolls.

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And and St.

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Andrew's has a pantry.

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Where they meet the needs of those who

are living without a roof over their

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heads or those who are struggling

financially to feed their families.

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And so they got the first bedroll that's,

that Christchurch made was given to

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their pantry so that they could pass it

on to so they're knit together that way.

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Jon: Literally.

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Yeah.

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Literally.

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Yeah.

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Yeah I've always wondered about deacons

that are serving in more than one parish.

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And I'm thinking here in this diocese,

we're starting to see a little bit more

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of that because we're few in number and

always have been few in, and I think

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it's just like so much of the way the

church is changing . So you find it

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challenging to divide your time between

the two congregations or have you

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settled into a routine of some sort?

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Anne: I think over the

years it's become a routine.

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I've been doing it now for

about five years or more.

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And St.

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Andrew's was the first year.

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I served St.

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Andrew's first and and that was

when I was working full time.

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I felt the need to have a connection.

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It was very challenging because

I was on Bishop's staff.

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It was very challenging to find a

congregation that would accept my

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ministry as diaconal ministry rather

than as Bishop's staff ministry.

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And so St.

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Andrew's was.

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willing and able to receive my

ministry as well as for me to

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work with them in many ways.

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As at the time it felt proper for

me to be there about once a month.

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It has evolved into essentially

two Sundays at Christ Church

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Glendale, one Sunday at St.

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Andrews, and I rotate, through those.

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And leadership has changed at St.

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Andrews, so there's a tighter

connection now than there was before.

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I don't find it difficult or challenging,

because in the Diocese of Southern

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Ohio Bishop Reidenthal, who was the

bishop under whom I served when I first

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came, encouraged deacons to not just

make the church their ministry, but to

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also have a connection in the world.

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So that was when the

Habitat ministry started.

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And so I helped coordinate

with a colleague and friend

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this coalition of churches.

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It's called the Hope Coalition.

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And when it was founded, they were both

Episcopal and non Episcopal churches.

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And we came together and we provided

volunteers and lunches on Saturdays

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for a habitat build, we would pick

one site and we would stick with

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that for the build season, which

was generally the summer and St.

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Andrew's was a part of that.

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And Christchurch was a part

of that both still are.

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And so, i, part of my time,

if you will, my diaconal time,

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is coordinating that effort.

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There's a lot of help I have

a friend, Christina, who helps

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with communication and so forth.

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So we're, there's a lot of us

out there pulling together.

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As folks have aged, we're now mostly

doing lunches on Saturdays during the

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build season so my efforts are like being

somewhere liturgically on Sunday, but

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then expanding that and trying to connect

the congregations to the ministry in the

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world that the bishop had encouraged us to

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Jon: do.

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Well, that sounds very true

to our vows as deacons.

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That's right there

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Lauren: anne, can you tell us a

little bit more about the lunches

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that you provide for the hapithal?

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I found, I find that really interesting.

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Anne: Well, you know pre pandemic,

we had People making lunches.

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wE had a, every congregation that was

part of the coalition would have a crew

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of volunteers, individuals or volunteers,

who would make lunches for the workers.

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And pre pandemic they were

making 20 lunches a day.

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Saturday and they folks from the church

would deliver the lunches and it provides

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an opportunity for the volunteers to

eat well and not have to leave the site.

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So it keeps the workday more efficient.

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And so we provided lunches for up

to 20 people prior to the pandemic.

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After the pandemic rules have changed

and so forth, but we have congregations

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providing 10 to 12 lunches a day, a

Saturday and they're on a rotation.

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So of the five churches, each church

takes a Saturday and they give two or

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three times, during the summer months.

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It depends on how long the build is.

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Lauren: So this is a way for people

to be involved in habitat, but not

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have to be building and there all day.

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Anne: Well, I, I'm one of the few

people who still goes and builds.

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Yes.

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Of, of that crowd.

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I'm one of the few that

still goes and builds.

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We do have a few but as the

congregations are aging, and I

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think the heat makes it hard.

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You know, this global warming situation

we're in makes it hard for folks.

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of a certain age to feel comfortable

working in, you know, 85 degree,

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90 degree weather, hammering and

sweating like a crazy person is,

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it's not necessarily the wisest

decision for people of a certain age.

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So but they can make lunch and they

can deliver lunches and they do.

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That's great.

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Jon: That's great.

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There's something, something

for everyone, you know, whatever

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your skills and energy lies.

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So, and one of the other things

that you're doing, which really

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interests me is the let's see, I

want to get the name of it right.

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The Seamen's Church.

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Institute and I'm thinking now my

geography is pretty bad since you're

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in Cincinnati That's on the Ohio River.

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I think good.

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That's good, Jon What what whether

these seamen where do they come from and

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what are you doing with that Institute?

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Anne: Well you know, I knew about

the Seamen's Church Institute from

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living in Baltimore, and Baltimore

has the Chesapeake Bay, of course, and

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blue water, which is what the oceans

and the large bodies of water are

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called, blue water are referred to,

and, oh, Cincinnati has brown water.

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We have the Ohio River, and I'm

looking at it right now out my

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window, and, Doesn't look brown.

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It looks a little grayish

green, but it looks healthy.

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So that's good the Mississippi River

tributaries and inland waterways

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that are navigable are in fact

some of the largest commercial

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transportation pathways in our country.

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I watch towboats and barges go

up and down the river every day.

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I have a little log that I keep

just as my little hobby when I see

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a towboat go by, I write it down.

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I write down what time it goes

by and, um, the name of the

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towboat and what the cargo is.

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And so I see coal and gravel and

petroleum and asphalt go by my

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balcony, uh, pretty much every day.

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So, yeah, so, so we are a

commercial roadway, if you will.

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The folks that work that

waterway are under represented.

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They are unknown.

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They're hidden as a culture

and as a workforce.

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It's unknown to probably 80 percent of

the population in the United States.

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So Seamen's Church Institute has a

has an office in Paducah, Kentucky,

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which is very close to where the

Ohio River joins the Mississippi.

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They have a training center there to

help train their boat staff, there are

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captains and pilots and deckhands and so

forth in this training center every year.

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And so my job as a chaplain

associate is to be available.

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I'm a volunteer

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the port of Cincinnati is a misnomer

because there isn't really a port per se.

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There's not like a central location,

but there are five companies that staff

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towboats up and down the Ohio river

that are within the Cincinnati area.

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And so one of the main ways

I connect with them is.

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through our Christmas on the

River or Christmas at Sea

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program that we do every year.

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So but if there's a crisis I can get a

phone call and I have gotten phone calls

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from the chaplain, the paid chaplain

in Paducah because I can get there.

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Paducah's five hours from here.

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So if there's an incident where a A

towboat is going to be closer to me.

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They'll call me and ask me to respond.

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Lauren: What inspired you

to get involved in this?

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I mean, you were doing so much with

the congregations and I'm, I also want

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to hear about the foot care volunteer,

but what inspired you to get involved

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in the Seamen's Church Institute?

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Anne: I've always had an affinity for

water, even though I'm not a good swimmer.

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I love to be on it, not in it.

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I'm an on the water girl,

not an in the water girl.

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And I love, I love being on the water.

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And water is just so life giving for me.

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My dad at one time after, while I was in

college, actually, my father got a boat

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and I lived near the Delaware River.

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So I've always lived sort of near water.

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And...

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I just feel like, I don't know,

I, it's hard to explain because

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it's just like, it's a gut

feeling more than anything else.

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It's just, I need to do this.

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I want to do this.

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I want to be part of that community.

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I've never worked in that industry.

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But I have so much respect for the

people who do and I and I'm a support

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person and I felt like this was a way

that I could support and encourage

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people who work in that industry.

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Lauren: What has surprised you about

the Seamen's Institute or any of

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the work that you've been doing?

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What what what has brought

you the greatest joy?

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Anne: Well, Mark Nesselhut, who's the

president developed a relationship with

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this SUNY Maritime College, which is State

University of New York Maritime College

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in Fort Schuyler, New York, which is

just on the east side of New York City.

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And so, In this relationship, the

school asked Seamen's Church to provide

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chaplains for their summer cruise, which

is a requirement of all of the cadets

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at some time during their schooling.

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They have to do this

eight week summer cruise.

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And they asked the Seamen's Church

if they would provide chaplains.

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So I had the privilege last year

of being a chaplain on their

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summer cruise for two weeks.

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And so, although the cruise itself

went from New York to Philadelphia

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to Spain and then to Belfast,

Ireland, and then back again.

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In the first two weeks, which

was sort of the shakedown cruise,

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I basically did donuts in the

Atlantic ocean, which was just fine.

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And I went from New York to Philadelphia

in two weeks, if you can imagine.

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Wow.

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You can walk it faster so so my

surprise and I think my delight

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really was discovering how much

I loved that chaplaincy work.

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I had never really thought of myself

in those terms as a chaplain before.

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And so being able to do that was.

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A real life giving experience for me.

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And I would do it again in a heartbeat.

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Jon: Yeah.

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Wow.

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So Ann you and Lauren and I all were

ordained after many years it feels like

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of it was a long time in preparation.

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It was.

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Well, it was, it was like we

we're slightly over 34 years now.

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Yes we are of our ordained life.

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But you know, whenever I think of you,

I think back to those days when we

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were in Deacon formation, and one of

my deepest and strongest memories is

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your love of music, and particularly

when you would lead us or even do solo

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chanting of so much of the Taizé music.

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And it just warms my heart to

even recall that right now.

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I can hear your voice so clearly.

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So, music, I know you're at the Sweet

Adelines now, but what it's a little

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different than Taizé, but music obviously

has meant something to you and is part

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of your connection with the spirit.

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Could you just talk

about that a little bit?

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Anne: Sure.

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Thanks, Jon.

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And thank you for that

memory those memories.

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I I pray through hymnody It's

interesting because I feel like when

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I'm singing a hymn, I'm saying a prayer.

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I've had the privilege of singing

the Exsultet at the Easter Vigil

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for almost 40 years, because I did

it before I was a deacon, when we

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had a very small Easter Vigil at St.

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Mark's on the Hill in Pikesville.

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There were probably five of us that

showed up and I got to sing the Exsultet.

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So but, but somebody said to me, uh, after

they heard me sing it for the first time,

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that they sort of, with a slight surprise.

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in her voice.

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You really prayed that.

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That was really a prayer.

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And, you know, my response was, yeah.

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And that's surprised, you know,

because I don't know how, it's kind

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of part of the fabric of my being.

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I don't know how to do it any other way.

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And in truth, it's been a little bit of a

struggle for me in singing Sweet Adelines.

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I got into Sweet Adelines because

everything was churchy in my life.

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At that 10 years ago, I was doing

everything related, was related to church

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and I felt like I was going to lose my

mind if I didn't do something not church.

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So I decided to use music as my outlet

and joined the Sweet Adelines group.

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And it has been a struggle for me because

so much of what we sing is not necessarily

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spiritual or religious or anything else.

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In fact, some of it's a little you know,

could be suggestive of other things.

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And so I've, I've had to find ways

to access, and reshape the way

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I look at that music in my head.

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To try and help be a joyful experience

because when I'm singing church music,

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when I'm singing hymns, when I'm singing

Bach or Beethoven or any of that, it, the

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joy naturally wells up within me, but when

I'm singing secular music, it doesn't.

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And so I have to try and help

that joy find its way out.

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In secular music.

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It's interesting.

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And I thank you for

asking me that question.

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Yeah.

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Jon: Thanks.

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Thanks for the response.

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Lauren: It sounds like

a lot of fun too, and

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so tell, tell us how has all of you,

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all that you've done and are doing

changed or enhanced your spiritual life?

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Anne: I think that the ministries that

I've stuck with have been since I left

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my full time employment in the church.

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have been the things that have been

touchstones for me in my spiritual

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life so for example Lauren, you asked

me about the foot care thing earlier.

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There's a ministry that existed long

before I came here in Cincinnati of, of

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offering foot care for homeless people.

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And it's gone through several iterations.

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And now it's housed at a ministry

center that's run by the Franciscans

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we offer foot care twice twice a week.

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And so it is a literal hands on ministry.

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And so every time I engage in

that ministry, I revisit Jesus

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washing the feet of his disciples.

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And I think, and I pray with

these folks and pray with their

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feet, pray with their hands.

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If they want a prayer, I can offer that.

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I'm not proselytizing, but I'm listening.

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And if prayer seems appropriate

out loud, I'll do that.

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But, What it does for me is it keeps

me grounded in what my faith is about.

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That that really being present to

the, to folks who don't have the

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wherewithal to have comfortable shoes.

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Or, you know, folks who don't have

a place to regularly lay their head.

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It's, it's biblical, really, and it

keeps me connected with those Bible

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stories, and in a way, that's what the

ministry with the Seamen's Church does

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that too, because Jesus, you know, he

called fishermen to be his disciples, so

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it's all connected with discipleship to

me, and how, how I can be a better and

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a more a more honest disciple of Jesus.

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That's why I make the choices I make.

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I have the privilege of being able to do

that, of being able to say, I use this

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because it makes me more honest as a

human being and as a disciple of Jesus.

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Jon: Wow.

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No, that's that's so beautifully put in.

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Thank you so much.

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I, I'm just wondering, There's

such a breadth of things that

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you've been involved in and so on.

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What if somebody.

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Wanted to learn more about any of these

organizations or get in touch with you.

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Is there a way Or are there

ways that they can do that?

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: 00:23:19

Anne: Sure.

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I'm happy to share my email

with you the Siemens Church

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Institute has a website, so.

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: 00:23:26

Jon: Okay.

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So what we can do, Anne, is we'll

put your email address with your

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permission in our show notes.

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that people can see if they're

listening or, or watching this,

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as well as the Seamen's Church

Institute website that'd be great.

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I think that there may be some people

that are in discernment around the

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diaconate and listening to you today and

how you've kind of found ways to balance

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Your life and all the different rich

ministries you've had over the years

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and continue to have is, is something

people may say, Hey, I need to talk to

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this person because maybe she can help

me decide, is diaconate right for me?

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: 00:24:05

So, thanks.

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We'll go ahead and make sure we put

those put those in the show notes, Anne.

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: 00:24:09

Anne: Right.

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: 00:24:10

That's great.

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: 00:24:10

Thank you.

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: 00:24:13

Lauren: Before we go, though, Ann,

is there anything else that you would

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like to share about the diaconate?

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and your diaconal work or any wisdom

that you want to leave us with?

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: 00:24:27

Anne: Well, the wisdom

doesn't come from me.

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It comes from the community, I

think., it's been such a delight

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to be with you two my colleagues

and friends for, for so many years.

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I think that for, I'll say a final word

about the diaconate maybe, and that is

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that it, it is shaped by who we are.

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And I think as individuals,

but also by the communities

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in which we find ourselves.

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And I have, had the privilege

of being in many, many

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wonderful and unique situations.

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: 00:25:04

And, and I think that The whole

purpose of my journey has been

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to keep me honest as a Christian.

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: 00:25:16

And and if, and that, if that's what

our lives are about, whether we're

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: 00:25:19

deacons, priests, bishops, whatever,

lay people I think our lives.

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: 00:25:25

Need to be a reflection of that.

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: 00:25:29

Thank you.

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: 00:25:31

Jon: Yeah, thank Anne thanks so much.

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Thanks for taking the

time to be with us today.

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I certainly have enjoyed reconnecting

with you after way too long.

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Way too long.

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This has been, this has been great.

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: 00:25:41

And Once again, thank you very much.

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: 00:25:45

Anne: Thank you.

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: 00:25:47

Lauren: Jon and I also want

to thank all who are listening

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: 00:25:51

and watching with us today.

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: 00:25:53

We can't do this without you, so please

take a moment to comment, like, or

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: 00:25:59

share on all your social media sites.

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: 00:26:04

This will help us spread the

good news to even more people.

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: 00:26:08

And again, thank you for the

gift of your time with us today.

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: 00:26:11

Until next time, peace and blessings.

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: 00:26:18

Jon: Good news is being brought

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: 00:26:22

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: 00:26:25

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: 00:26:32

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