The Vens. Julie Altenbach and John Motis, new archdeacons for the Diocese of Central Florida, have different gifts, backgrounds and experiences. But their similar passion and purpose for service to present and future deacons, the diocese, and the Lord Jesus Christ unite them in this shared ministry in ways only God could have ordained.
Appointed by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Justin S. Holcomb on Sept. 5, both archdeacons are excited about their roles in serving both current and future deacons. “The diaconate is not a second-class role,” Motis said. “The diaconate is its own ministry with a different calling than the priesthood. I think that it is absolutely critical that we understand that.”
And a deacon’s calling, as Motis sees it, extends far beyond service in the church. “The thing that I am just dead-set serious about is our calling has way less to do with serving in our church and way more to where we fit, being in the world, and properly, being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world,” he said. “And then bringing the needs – the hurting, the broken and the bruised – back to the church and then being the facilitator to make a difference, making the things change, bringing it to the church. … Then we get to carry the Gospel into the congregation. But our role? Our role is being the hands and feet of Christ in the world.”
As a part of her new role, Altenbach will help care for current deacons. “I’m kind of the liaison between them and Bishop Justin,” she said. “So I’m trying to check in with them, see how they’re doing, offer them encouragement and support when I can. I want to have an open-door policy and be available for whatever they might need.”
Serving Prospective Deacons
Both new archdeacons will play a part in helping prospective deacons ascertain God’s will for their lives, Motis specifically with recruiting new deacons and guiding them through the discernment process, Altenbach with spiritual formation for those in that process, including updating the diocese’s Institute for Christian Studies. “We’re really approaching it as a team effort,” Altenbach said. “We’re just kind of taking different parts of it.”
“God has a call to ministry for every single one of us,” she added. “I want to make sure that John and I are helping those who are coming through the discernment process … to help them get to wherever it is, whether it leads to ordination to the diaconate or some other way to serve and glorify God.”
Motis has similar convictions as he works to help prospective deacons discern their call. “I’m convinced that every one of us is called by God to a role in his kingdom,” he said. “But the challenge for us is, if we don’t really think about it, we just muddle our way through life.”
He uses a popular quote to describe his tasks: “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”
“That’s what my role is, to help people discover why God created them,” he said, adding, “Every single one of us has a platform. And my role is to help our prospective deacons figure that out. As we get to know each other and we walk together, we may determine that maybe someone is not called to be a deacon. And that’s not a failure. It means the system works.”
The two new archdeacons have already been working hard to fulfill their responsibilities, making sure to stay in close touch. Motis serves remotely but comes to the diocesan office as the need arises. He continues to work 60-plus hours a week at Chemical Containers, the business he founded 40 years ago, along with service at Good Shepherd, Lake Wales and other diocesan responsibilities. Altenbach, who serves as both office minister and deacon at Church of the Messiah, Winter Garden, maintains hours at the diocesan office on Tuesdays and on other days as needed. Both stay in touch with deacons and prospective deacons through a variety of means, including in-person visits.
Altenbach and Motis share the blessing of families who support their calling. “My family has been on board from the time I started the discernment process,” Altenbach said, adding, “I think I was more surprised that Bishop Justin asked me to be one of his archdeacons than my family was.”
“My wife, Laura, has always been extremely supportive,” Motis said. “We have six kids and 16 grandchildren, a very active family. And in that, everybody understands that there’s some sacrifice. But balance is a challenge. Balance is important. … Laura’s really good about telling me when I’ve gotten lost in the weeds.”
Revamping the Institute for Christian Studies
Both archdeacons have been involved with instituting some changes to the training process for deacons. “The Institute for Christian Studies has been the primary vehicle that we’ve used to train and send out deacons in our diocese,” Altenbach said. “In recent years, there had been some changes, and a lot of it had gone to online classes.”
“When I went through the process back in 2008-2010, I learned the most from sitting in that class, from the discussion, sitting at the feet of some brilliant clergy in our diocese,” Motis said. “And what I gained out of that was relationship. … God made us to be a people who yearn for community. When we’re doing live classes, we do community, and we work things out together.”
Altenbach’s background of more than 30 years of teaching in the Orange County Public School District served her well in evaluating, reviewing and revamping this year’s ICS curriculum with the support and assistance of both Motis and Holcomb, with the bishop giving input on specific classes.
A part of retooling ICS has been updating the ICS website with the help of diocesan director of communications Erik Guzman. “The site now more clearly reflects what we’re offering and what we’re hoping to offer,” Altenbach said. To view a dropdown of available courses, visit icscourses.org and click the “Contact” link.
Live classes are held at Church of the Messiah, but Altenbach emphasized that online classes are not going away altogether, and those who have purchased online access to previous classes will retain it. “If you bought that class on Thinkific, you will always have the ability to go back and rewatch it. In other words, just because we’re going to live classes, you’re not losing what you have – you’ll be able to keep it.” Anyone with questions about the Thinkific courses should contact Altenbach.
Online opportunities will also be a part of the future of ICS, although not in the sense of recording live classes and posting them online. “I believe that if classes are created for the intent of being an online module, they can be done very well,” Altenbach said. For now, she continues developing courses to help prospective deacons move through the required training in a logical way, researching other programs and determining what will work best for the diocese.
“This is a building year,” she explained. “We know the curriculum, and we know what we want to accomplish.” After the recent Clergy Conference for deacons, where they were introduced to the new ICS website and course offerings, “We have quite a few deacons who are interested in taking the classes now for continuing ed,” she said.
“In the past, ICS has run a regular school-year schedule,” Altenbach said. “My plan is that in the summer, we will offer some additional courses for two purposes: one for continuing education for our deacons, but also for laypeople. There are a lot of laypeople who are interested in finding out more information about The Episcopal Church, church history or Bible study classes. And that’s how God has nudged them: Maybe, although they’re taking these classes as a layperson, they should be thinking about entering the discernment process as a deacon.”
This was Altenbach’s own experience; she was a layperson with “no thought of being a deacon” when she took her first ICS class. “Laypeople are more than encouraged and welcomed to take classes if there’s a topic that they think sounds interesting,” she said.
Experiencing God’s Grace
Although neither Altenbach nor Motis anticipated being asked to step into their new roles, both see God’s grace in preparing them. “I have a heart for our diocese, and I’ve been volunteering with the diocese for a while now,” Altenbach said. “I started out helping at Diocesan Conventions, and then whenever they needed extra hands, I would try to jump in and help.
“I’m absolutely amazed at what the diocesan staff is able to get accomplished,” she added. “There are so few of them, and the events that we do, it’s truly amazing. … I have been working in this role as a volunteer for a while now, and then my priest, Father Tom Rutherford, has always told us, ‘We’re team players. If they need help, of course you’re going to go and help, and take the office angels [Altenbach’s team of volunteers] with you.’
“I’m just thrilled that I get to be working with this team in an official capacity now,” Altenbach said. “And I’m excited about what God has in store for this year. …. My priority is just really making sure that, working with John, the prospective deacons have a good experience.
“I’ve been overwhelmed with the kind words and the support that I’ve gotten from both the clergy of our diocese and parishioners who have seen me out and about as I’ve been helping,” she added. “I’ve really been blessed by how warmly everyone has welcomed me into this role.”
“There are times that I have asked myself, ‘Why me?'” said Motis, who has served the diocese as relief coordinator, deacon for the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry during the “Keep Saying Yes to Jesus” revival he preached in Orlando in 2019, and leader of a diocesan task force to examine the discernment process for deacons, among other responsibilities. “Out of all the options of people, why me? I think somewhere along the way, somebody saw some things in me, and they gave me an opportunity to step into some of these roles. And because of that, I have relationships with priests and deacons across the diocese. It was the opportunities given me that actually prepared me for this role.”