by Jeff Olsen

On the ninth day before Christmas, Deacon Joanne Swonger answered her cellphone while on the job at Moe Lutheran Church in Roseau.

Cheerfully, she said, "Hello, this is Joanne."

She wasn't the least bit worried that it might be a scam.

She and her husband, Pastor Dave, arrived in Roseau on December 1 to administer to three churches.

What's a deacon do?

"In the ELCA, they are ordaining deacons to word and service ministry as opposed to pastors, who are ordained to word and sacrament ministry," she said, laughing when asked if they are getting two for the price on one.

She is a...