A reader who was ordained a deacon in 1976 is wondering how many visitors to The Deacon’s Bench are “pioneers.”

He asks:

Can you elicit a survey of your readers to ascertain who are some of the ‘elders’?

That is, the diaconate came into being in the US in 1971, I think.

Who are the extant pioneers?

In other words, who out there were some of the first ordained in this country? Either leave a comment or drop me an email. I’ll post any interesting followups in a few days. Thanks!