This series comprises records for the sixth deaconess conference held by the Deaconess Community of the Lutheran Church in America (LCA) December 27-30, 1978, at the Malvern Retreat Center, Malvern, Pennsylvania. Records date from 1978-1979 and include plenary session minutes, session notes, reports, business correspondence, pre-conference orientation materials, a news release, and event planning records. Records of note include summary reports from the coordinator of community life, deaconess administrative assistant of the LCA's Division for Professional Leadership, chairperson of the deaconess conference, chairperson of the deaconess council, and chairperson of the consulting committee on deaconess reorganization. This conference addresses matters of restructuring and reorganization of the diaconate and as such includes background material pertaining to proposed bylaws, and proposed stands for the office of deaconess. Also found in this series is a "book of commitment." According to deaconess conference minutes, this book was brought forward at the closing worship service as a sign of a renewed commitment of the deaconess community of its service to Christ and his church. The book has some characteristics of an illuminated book and it contains the signatures of all deaconesses present at the conference, as well as a list of those consecrated since 1978 up through 1984. After those entries, the remainder of the pages is blank.
