Festschrift for Norma Cook Everist

Abstract

The author reflects on how important it was for her, as a young deaconess student, to see Norma Cook Everist’s picture wearing a clerical collar, and also to know that although the Rev. Everist had been ordained as a pastor, she continued to be active in the diaconal community.  That "both/and" thinking paved the way for many more deaconess-pastors throughout the years.  Dr. Everist brought that same sensibility to her work with the Committee for a New Lutheran Church, as she advocated for the importance of the diaconate in the life of the church.