AED 2024 Board Election
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Deacon Candidate #1
Deacon Dr. Keith Dorwick
Diocese: Olympia Present Employment: Freelance Writer and Artist Current Ministries: Media work including art and writing; Food Ministries especially Soup On (Lunch) at St. Luke’s, Sequim. Current Church Assignment: Currently not assigned but serve on the Deacons’ Council, Diocese of Olympia Previous Positions: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Port Angeles, WA as Parish Deacon, 2020-2022 Education: MPS, Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Spiritual Direction; PhD in English, University of Illinois-Chicago Prior Board Experience: Many boards, councils, and other forms of governance including 15 years on Faculty Senate, Univ. of Louisiana Skill Sets: Writing, painting and media works, including publications in Diakoneo, and a total of four paintings in two shows at the North Olympic Public Library. Question #1
How do you envision contributing to the AED Board? What are your special talents and gifts? As a queer, non-binary, HIV+, neurodivergent, working class, nonparochial deacon, artist and writer, I have lived in urban, suburban, and rural sites. Currently, I work in Port Angeles, WA, a rural/small city setting. Becoming known enough to volunteer without suspicion of this outsider was a two year, slow, and loving process. My diaconal work is primarily media based, including writing for our local newspaper, and AED's Diakoneo magazine. Past editor and cofounder of the web-based journal Technoculture, I have formed and maintained not-for-profit corporations, including serving on their boards. A reader for the next round of Washington (State) arts and culture grants, with works in recent exhibits at the North Olympic Public Library, I work against food insecurity by serving weekly at a community lunch. Question #2 What is your vision for the future of the Association for Episcopal Deacons? We should re-examine our vision of diaconal ministry in the post COVID church: we are still mostly older, white and privileged, not reflecting the wideness of our communities. How do we attract younger and BIPOC deacons? As a speaker on a panel at Kellogg Northwestern’s Faith Leaders’ Week said, the future of ministry (she was speaking of campus ministry) was Black, queer, spiritual but not religious, and interested in service. How do we train outsiders not interested in parish life to serve? First, AED should continue to press for free diaconal formation in all dioceses, delivered in a way that does not involve much travel or time away. Not everyone has access to reliable non-public transportation or the leisure to leave families and work for studies. The means to document life-long learning exist. We should build that documentation into our understanding of how a deacon is trained. Second, as much as we might love our standards for diaconal formation, which date from 2017, I think they are still too much of a little priest model and don’t always reflect the challenges we face. What internet and digital skills should be required? How much scripture do we need to know vs. counseling and spiritual direction? Should we all be trained in the use of fentanyl as a treatment for opioid overdoses? Should we carry it in our communion kits? This conversation should begin immediately though it may take years to complete. I would like to be part of that discussion. |