Wondering Presbyterian

  Some of this may sound familiar; I've written about the root of pattern before. I hope as you read this, you hear it anew and imagine it in a new way.             About fourteen years ago, I learned how to quilt. My mom is a quilter and I always swore I didn’t have the patience for it, but one day I wanted to make something and from that day on I was hooked. I do love to quilt. I enjoy the puzzle of putting fabric together and imagining how a pile of folded cloth can become something so completely different.             I admit I do better with a pattern. I like having the structure of a pattern. I like that the pattern tells me what to do next. There’s some safety in that, I guess.             Recently, I looked up the definition and etymology of “pattern.” It comes from a Latin word that if you are a Harry Potter fan, you will recognize: patronus. It means defender, advocate, model. In the Harry Potter world, the patronus is usually some kind of spirit animal. I wonder if

                Have you heard of Phoebe 1 ? Very little is actually known about Phoebe, but she is a woman of valor mentioned in the Bible. We read about her in Romans. Paul writes, “I commend to you our sister, Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae 2 . I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me” (Romans 16:1-2). That’s really all we know about her. She must have had some wealth to be a benefactor. She had some standing in the community, even as a woman (almost unheard of back then!). And she was a deacon.             Phoebe is the only named female deacon in the Bible. The fact that Paul “commends” her to the Romans might be that she was even trusted and able-bodied enough to carry Paul’s letter to the Romans  physically  to the Romans. The way she uses her position to help is what earns her such praise.             The word “deacon” means to help