Loading...Dedicated to serving where needed in western Kentucky, the Rev. Richard Paxton, just ordained a vocational deacon on May 2, is already committed to assist three congregations this summer.
The new deacon was ordained by Bishop Ted Gulick during a service on Sunday afternoon (May 2) at Grace Episcopal Church in Paducah, Paxton's home parish where he will now serve as a deacon. His rector, the Rev. Libby Wade, gave the sermon.
A certified public account with a Master of Business Administration, Paxton is the president of WPSD-TV (an NBC affiliate) in Paducah and the chief financial officer of its holding company. He and his wife, Cheri, have four children: Nick, Colleen, and twins, Katie and Joey.
Paxton's journey toward ordination began more than six years ago when he, like many Episcopalians, became aware of the increasingly important ministry provided by vocational deacons, ordained ministers who are dedicated to proclaiming the gospel and who freely serve and encourage others to serve their churches, dioceses and communities. At that time, he said, he began to read Diakonia, the quarterly publication of the North American Association for the Diaconate and was struck by the realization of the void that would be left in his parish with the retirement of its deacon, the Rev. Ann Revel.
"The call was just a nudge at first, but grew into something I could no longer ignore, no longer refuse," he said. "Several people encouraged me to pursue this ministry, without even knowing I had considered it for years."
Paxton was a member of the first cohort of students enrolled in the diocese's School of Ministry, a two-year program for training lay and diaconal ministers that was established in 2007 thanks to the initiative of three deacons, the Revs. Rose Bogal-Allbritten, Delinda Buie and Eva Markham. Three members of his class were ordained deacons in April, and the fifth class member will be ordained this summer. They are the first vocational deacons to be ordained in the diocese in six years.
Paxton's diaconal duties will be many and not confined to serving his home parish, according to the Rev. Libby Wade, rector of Grace Church.
At Grace, she said, his chief duties will be to train and supervise parish teams of Eucharistic ministers and intercessors, form an outreach task force, assist with pastoral care, and preach about once a month.
He is already at work on a new ecumenical venture of providing a free meal every Sunday to anyone who is in need. Wade said Grace will supply teams to regularly prepare and serve the meal at Broadway United Methodist Church. He is also writing a new Prayers of the People for use at Grace's primary worship service this summer, she added.
In addition, Paxton will assist other parishes in the Four Rivers Deanery as needed, and that need is immediate. He is already slated to assist at Trinity Church in Fulton and St. Paul's in Hickman, congregations where he was an intern, while their vicar, the Rev. Ellen Ekevag, is on maternity leave.
