The Diaconate

(Individual Formation)

Nomination to Postulancy

The process towards ordination to the Diaconate begins with a conversation with your rector or priest in charge.  He or she will listen as you explain your sense of call to this ministry.   To further explore this perceived call, the rector may refer you to a discernment committee.  They will listen to you and to God and try to hear to what area of ministry God is calling you:  a specific lay ministry, the diaconate or the priesthood.  If the call is to ordained ministry, then they will submit their reflections about you to your priest and vestry.  The following items are required when you submit your application to the diocese for ordination.  During this process of completing your paperwork, you and your rector may meet with the bishop to let him know of your plans.

Be sure to keep a copy of everything you send.  Your Social Security number will be required for some forms.  The diocesan address is the Diocese of Nebraska, 109 N. 18th St., Omaha, NE 68102-4903.  Send all forms to the Rev. Dr. John Schaefer at the above address.

The following are the requirements for becoming a Postulant for the Diaconate.  They reflect Title III, Canon 6 (diaconate) of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and diocesan requirements.

1.    Nomination from the parish  (Please send all of the papers required in No. 1 in one packet.  Use the Nomination cover sheet as your checklist).

a.    Priest and Vestry endorsement.  (PDF) The vestry at a meeting introduces and passes a resolution endorsing your application for Postulancy by a two-thirds majority of the entire vestry (excluding the priest).  The rector or priest-in-charge also signs the certificate indicating his or her endorsement. 

b.    You accept the nomination by signing and dating a form  (PDF) made for that purpose.

c.    Social History.  This document includes such things as your name, address, phone number, date of birth, spouse, children, education and church participation.  It also asks about your Rule of Life.  Be sure the form is signed and dated when you finish.  The Instructions for Word Forms will be helpful in completing the Social History.

d.    Spiritual Autobiography.  This reflects your spiritual journey to this day.  You can address such issues as when you first became aware of spirituality in your life; who were your spiritual guides and heroes, what were the significant events in your journey, both negative and positive, that affected your spirituality; how you experienced God’s call to you for this ministry and  what your spiritual practices are currently.  The Spiritual Autobiography section is part of the Social History form above.

e.    Your priest will write a confidential evaluation based on his or her knowledge of you and submit that to the bishop.

f.    Evidence of baptism.  This can include a baptismal certificate, a copy of the entry in the church records or if those are not available, a letter from a participant at your baptism indicating the date and place. 

g.    Evidence of confirmation.  Same as above.

h.    Letter from your discernment committee recommending that you pursue the process for ordination to the diaconate

i.    Academic Transcripts.  If you have taken any college courses, we will need a transcript from that school.  Have it sent to the Rev. Dr. John Schaefer at the diocesan office.

j.    Submit a picture with your application.  Snap shots are welcome.  Portrait (close-up head shots) pictures are preferred.  In addition, if you have a digital copy, please e-mail that to the Rev. Dr. John Schaefer.

Your rector or priest-in-charge will then sign the Nomination form that has all of the above elements checked and you can submit your application to the diocese.  Copies will be made for the bishop and the chair of the Commission on Ministry-Individual Formation.  The bishop will read the material and then give the indication to proceed.

2.    Background check.  The diocese will begin a 10-year background check on you.  We use Oxford Document Management Co., Inc. out of Anoka, Minnesota.  They will check for any criminal offenses, will do a credit check and also check your driving record.  In addition they will contact previous and current employers for any indication of sexual misconduct.  Oxford will send you a consent form and ask for the names and addresses of your previous employers.  The diocese pays for this check.

3.    Psychological assessment by a licensed psychologist.  The bishop will make a referral to a psychologist in either Omaha or Scottsbluff.  You will be notified when that has been done and then you can schedule an appointment with the psychologist.  This assessment involves a battery of tests and an interview.  You will have an opportunity to review the assessment with the psychologist before it is sent to the bishop.  If you decide at that point that you do not wish it to be sent, that action will suspend the ordination process for you until you are comfortable in having the assessment sent or withdraw from the process.  The assessment is sent only to the bishop.  The diocese pays for the assessment.

4.    Release of information.  In the psychologist’s office you will sign a release giving the psychologist permission to send the report to the bishop.  We ask you to sign a release that states that the bishop may share portions of the information with the Commission on Ministry and Standing Committee as he sees fit.

5.    Behavioral Screening Questionnaire.  This is a self-reporting questionnaire that asks for a “yes/no” answer to such questions as arrests, criminal behavior, etc.  The “yes” answers require elaboration.

6.    Medical Exam.  You can download the forms needed for reporting the results of your medical exam.  You will bear the cost of the exam and you may choose your physician.

7.    Drug Screen.  This is a random pre-employment drug screen.  There will be two.  This one and one just before ordination.  You bear the cost of this one and the diocese pays for the last one.  We have accounts set up in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff.  For information and procedures, select either Eastern Nebraska or Central and Western Nebraska.  You will be notified via e-mail or phone and asked to complete the test within the next three days.


Note:  The psychological assessment, medical exam and background check have a three-year limit.  If you are not ordained before the expiration date, you will need to repeat the exams in order to be ordained.  The vast majority of individuals need to repeat them.

8.    Meet with the bishop.  You will need to schedule this appointment through the Diocesan Administrator at the Diocesan Office (402-341-5373 in the Omaha area or 1-866-341-5373, toll free, in the rest of Nebraska.  It is best to begin the scheduling process at least a month before you want to meet with him and allow up to two months in the summer.  In addition to becoming acquainted with you and you with him and his expectations, he will be discussing the costs involved and how you are prepared to meet them.

9.    Bishop informs the COM.  At this point, the bishop will determine if it is time for you to participate in a Vocational Inventory Conference (VIC).  He will also inform the chair of the Commission on Ministry that he desires to continue your process toward ordination.

10.    Vocational Inventory Conference (VIC).  This is a morning meeting usually on a Saturday where your call to ministry is further explored by a team that is composed of a priest, deacon and lay person.  You will spend about 45 minutes with each of them.  If you have a spouse, he or she will be interviewed by one member of the team for about 45 minutes in regard to his or her feelings about your call to and preparation for ordained ministry.  The VIC’s are scheduled as the need arises.   Normally two or three persons are interviewed.

11.    Vocational Inventory Report.  The team will confer after the interviews and then inform the bishop of their recommendations.

12.    Interview with the Commission on Ministry (COM).  Once the bishop is satisfied with the information he has received from you, the VIC team and the various testing agencies, he will refer your name to the COM for a formal interview.  The chair of the COM will invite you to a future meeting. 

13.    Recommendation from the COM.  Once you have completed the interview, the COM will submit a recommendation to the bishop and also send you a copy.  One of the common recommendations is that you find a spiritual director if you do not already have one.  The COM may also recommend that you spend some more time in the discernment process before recommending you for Postulancy.

14.    Made a Postulant.  Once you have received a positive recommendation from the COM and the bishop is comfortable with that recommendation, he will make you a Postulant for ordination to the diaconate.

Note:  Your Social Security number will never be given out without your written consent.  It will be required for your psychological assessment, background check, release of information and, after ordination, for the recorder of ordinations at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City.  Your file is maintained at the diocesan office in a locked file cabinet.

For the requirements for Candidacy, please see the document titled “Postulancy to Candidacy”.  For the requirements for ordination, please see the document title “Candidacy to Ordination”.