>>> COMING UP, VIOLENCE, RACE AND THE PURSUIT OF JUSTICE.

WE EXAMINE THE CHALLENGES FACING THE NATION AND PROSPECTS FOR HEALING.

>>> ALSO, JUDY VALENTE REPORTS ON CATHOLIC DEACONS, THE MEN WHO SERVE IN THAT ROLE AND THE WOMEN WHO WOULD LIKE TO.

>>> AND WHAT ONE SEMINARY PROFESSOR CALLS "AN ORGAN THAT SINGS."

>>> WELCOME.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

ATTACK IN THE SOUTHERN FRENCH CITY OF NICE WHERE A LARGE TRUCK PLOWED THROUGH A BASTILLE DAY FIREWORKS CELEBRATION.

MORE THAN 80 PEOPLE WERE KILLED AND DOZENS INJURED.

POPE FRANCIS EXPRESSED HIS "DEEP SORROW AND HIS SPIRITUAL CLOSENESS TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE."

>>> HERE IN THE U.S., ISSUES SURROUNDING RACE, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUSTICE CONTINUED TO DOMINATE NATIONAL ATTENTION THIS WEEK.

IN MANY AREAS, THERE WERE ONGOING PROTESTS AGAINST RECENT POLICE KILLINGS OF BLACK MEN.

FAITH-BASED GROUPS WERE PART OF SEVERAL RALLIES CALLING FOR DRAMATIC CHANGES IN RACE RELATIONS AND POLICE POLICIES.

PRESIDENT OBAMA HELD A DISCUSSION AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS, COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS.

ONE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL EVENTS OF THE WEEK WAS TUESDAY'S INTERFAITH MEMORIAL SERVICE IN DALLAS FOR THE FIVE OFFICERS KILLED AT A PROTEST.

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH URGED THE NATION TO RENEW A SENSE OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND COMMON PURPOSE.

IN HIS SPEECH, PRESIDENT OBAMA QUOTED SCRIPTURE AND CALLED FOR HOPE.

>> THE PAIN WE FEEL MAY NOT SOON .

>> AND IT DOESN'T MAKE ANYBODY PERFECTLY GOOD OR PERFECTLY BAD.

IT JUST MAKES US HUMAN.

>> JOINING ME FOR MORE ON THIS IS KIM LAUDEN AND LISA SHARON HARPER OF THE CHRISTIAN SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUP SO JOURNERS.

SHE'S THE AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK "THE VERY GOOD GOSPEL: HOW EVERYTHING WRONG CAN BE MADE RIGHT."

THAT IS A TALL ORDER.

>> THANK YOU.

>> ON YOUR LIST OF THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE, WHAT'S FIRST?

>> NUMBER ONE, WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE UNCONSCIOUS BELIEFS THAT WE HAVE ABOUT EACH OTHER.

YOU SEE, OUR SOCIETY IS STRUCTURED ACCORDING TO THOSE BELIEFS.

IN FACT, YOU GO BACK TO PLATO, WESTERN CIVILIZATION, PLATO TOLD US BACK IN 360 BC WE SHOULD STRUCTURE THE REPUBLIC ACCORDING TO RACE.

BUT IT WASN'T COLORIZED AT THAT POINT.

WE COLORIZED IT, AND THEN WE CREATED A SLAVE-BASED, RACE-BASED SLAVERY SYSTEM THAT STRUCTURED THE WAY WE ENCOUNTERED THE WORLD.

>> AND YOU THINK THOUGH THAT THAT'S STILL HAVING AN IMPACT?

WE'RE WELL BEYOND SLAVERY NOW.

>> SO IMAGINE 254 YEARS WALKING AROUND IN SOCIETY AND SEEING BLACK PEOPLE IN CHAINS, CONFINED IN SMALL SPACES WITH OVERSEERS.

THEN ANOTHER 100 YEARS YOU SEE THEM SWINGING FROM TREES.

THIS IS HOW CRIMINALS ARE TREATED IN EUROPE.

THIS IS HOW WE CAME TO UNDERSTAND AND SEE BLACK PEOPLE.

AND NOW, WHEN AN OFFICER ENCOUNTERS A BLACK PERSON IN A CAR, YOU ACTUALLY -- HE RESPONDS TO THEM AS IF THEY'RE CRIMINAL BEFORE EVEN MEETING THEM, BEFORE LISTENING TO THEIR VOICE.

>> BEYOND TRYING TO EXAMINE MY BIASES, THEN WHAT?

IS THERE A SPECIFIC THING THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET DONE?

>> WELL, SEE, WE CAN'T RESTRUCTURE OUR SOCIETY AND ACTUALLY BEGIN TO HEAL WHAT RACE BROKE UNTIL WE UNDERSTAND HOW OUR SOCIETY STRUCTURES HAVE CREATED BIASES IN OUR OWN MINDS.

SO, THOSE BIASES, THEY STRUCTURE OUR WORLD, BUT THEN WE -- ONCE WE DO SEE IT, WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY GET BUSY ASKING THE DEEPER QUESTIONS OF, WOULD WE TOLERATE A SCHOOL SYSTEM WHERE SOME STUDENTS DON'T HAVE BOOKS OR TEACHERS AND OTHERS DO IF WE REALLY BELIEVED ALL OF THOSE STUDENTS WERE REALLY CREATED BY GOD, WITH THE IMAGE OF GOD, WITH THE CALL AND THE CAPACITY TO EXERCISE STEWARDSHIP OVER THE WORLD?

I DON'T THINK WE WOULD.

WE WOULD PREPARE THEM TO STEWARD THE WORLD.

>> OKAY.

WHERE DO YOU GO FROM THERE?

>> WELL, IT'S SCHOOLS, IT'S BIASES, IMPACT OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM, IMPACT OUR POLICING SYSTEM, THEY IMPACT EVERY STRUCTURE AND SYSTEM IN OUR SOCIETY.

SO IT'S REALLY METHODICAL.

AND WHEREVER YOU WORK, WHATEVER PART OF THAT MAP, OF THAT PUZZLE OF OUR SOCIETY THAT YOU WORK IN, IT'S UP TO US ALL TO ASK THE QUESTION OF HOW OUR BIASES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES IN OUR SYSTEMS AND REINFORCING THAT RACIAL HIERARCHY.

>> WE'VE SEEN RECENTLY, IN PART DUE TO SOME OF THESE EVENTS AND EVEN IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS, MORE AND MORE CHURCHES, INCLUDING WHITE CHURCHES, INCLUDING SOME THAT MAYBE COME FROM THE CONSERVATIVE WING OF CHRISTIANITY, REALLY HAVING EXAMINATIONS ABOUT THIS, DIFFERENT DIALOGUES.

IS THIS SOMETHING DIFFERENT?

ARE WE AT A DIFFERENT TIME RIGHT NOW?

>> I ACTUALLY THINK THAT OVER THE LAST TWO TO THREE YEARS, I HAVE HAD MORE CONVERSATIONS WITH EVANGELICAL LEADERS WHO HAVE CALLED ME IN THE DARK OF NIGHT, LIKE ZACCHAEUS, COMING AND SAYING, "LISA, EXPLAIN.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.

I HAVE NO CATEGORIES FOR THIS.

HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THIS?"

AND THOSE SAME LEADERS ARE NOW LEADING THEIR CONSTITUENTS INTO HAVING DEEPER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS RACIAL HIERARCHY THAT OUR SOCIETY WAS STRUCTURED BY.

>> WELL, EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, AND SOMETIMES VERY ELOQUENTLY.

BUT, AS WITH THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, ARE THEIR SOME SPECIFIC HARD OBJECTIVES?

>> WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW DO WE REPAIR WHAT RACE HAS BROKEN.

IN EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT SECTORS OF SOCIETY, THERE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CAN WORK.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN POLICING.

ACCOUNTABILITY IS THE NUMBER ONE THING RIGHT NOW.

IN EDUCATION IT'S ABOUT THE DISPERSAL OF FUNDING TO SCHOOLS.

IN HEALTHCARE IT'S ABOUT FUNDING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDER RESOURCED.& >> MANY THANKS TO LISA SHARON HARPER OF SOJOURNERS AND KIM LAWTON OF THIS PROGRAM.

>>> THIS ELECTION SEASON THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER EVANGELICALS WOULD SUPPORT DONALD TRUMP, BUT A NEW SURVEY FROM THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER SUGGESTS THERE ARE HUGE NUMBERS THAT SUPPORT HIM.

ABOUT 78% OF WHITE EVANGELICALS SAID THEY WOULD VOTE FOR TRUMP, ALTHOUGH 45% OF THEM SAID IT WAS MAINLY A VOTE AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON.

CATHOLICS, WHO WERE CLOSELY DIVIDED IN THE LAST ELECTION, ARE LEANING TOWARD CLINTON, THANKS IN PART TO HER STRONG SUPPORT AMONG HISPANIC CATHOLICS.

VOTERS WITH NO RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION ARE ALSO FIRMLY SUPPORTING CLINTON.

>>> OVERSEAS, ALMOST FIVE YEARS SINCE SOUTH SUDAN DECLARED INDEPENDENCE FROM SUDAN, NEW FIGHTING THERE HAS LEFT HUNDREDS DEAD AND MORE THAN 30,000 DISPLACED.

SOUTH SUDAN HAS BEEN TRYING TO EMERGE FROM A CIVIL WAR CAUSED BY A POLITICAL RIVALRY AND DEEP ETHNIC DIVIDES.

TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED SINCE 2013.

SEVERAL AID GROUPS HAVE BEEN FORCED TO EVACUATE STAFF, EVEN AS CIVILIANS NEED EMERGENCY FOOD AND AID.

SOUTH SUDANESE CHURCH LEADERS HAVE CONDEMNED THE RISE IN VIOLENCE.

>>> NEARLY 96,000 UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE AND MIGRANT CHILDREN TRAVELLED TO EUROPE IN 2015 TO SEEK ASYLUM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION.

NOW, MANY OF THE CHILDREN LIVING IN MIGRANT CAMPS ON THE GREEK ISLAND OF LESBOS SAY THEY FEEL LIKE PRISONERS AND ARE BEING MISTREATED, ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT BY THE NONPROFIT GROUP SAVE THE CHILDREN.

THE REPORT ALSO NOTED THAT MORE THAN A 100 UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN ARE BEING HELD IN DETENTION CENTERS OR ARE IN POLICE CUSTODY IN GREECE.

MANY ARE CALLING FOR EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DO MORE FOR THE CHILDREN.

>>> POPE FRANCIS HAS SAID HE PLANS TO ESTABLISH A COMMISSION TO STUDY WHETHER WOMEN SHOULD SERVE AS CATHOLIC DEACONS.

JUDY VALENTE REPORTS ON WHAT MALE DEACONS DO AND WHAT MANY CATHOLIC WOMEN THINK THEY SHOULD BE DOING, TOO.

>> ON A TYPICAL WEEKEND AT OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHICAGO, THIS MAN MIGHT BAPTIZE A FEW BABIES, PRESIDE AT A WEDDING, THEN GIVE THE SERMON AT SUNDAY MASS.

HIS NAME IS FRANCO FOTI, AND HE'S NOT A PRIEST.

HE'S A MARRIED LAYMAN.

ONE WHO IS PART OF A UNIQUE MINISTRY WITHIN CATHOLICISM CALLED THE "DIACONATE."

>> THE WORD DEACON COMES FROM DIAKONOS WHICH MEANS "TO BE OF SERVICE."

AND THAT'S WHY WE SERVICE EVERYONE WHO COMES HERE.

>> ONLY ONE PRIEST IS ASSIGNED TO OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS, WHICH WAS ONCE A PARISH OF MOSTLY pPOLISH IMMIGRANTS, BUT NOW INCLUDES A MIX OF POLISH AMERICANS, HISPANICS AND ANGLOS.

AS A DEACON, FOTI PERFORMS MANY OF THE DUTIES OF A PRIEST.

HOWEVER, CELEBRATING MASS IS A FUNCTION RESERVED ONLY FOR PRIESTS WHO ARE CONSIDERED HEIRS TO THE ORIGINAL APOSTLES.

BUT FOTI DID HAVE TO STEP IN RECENTLY TO SPEAK THE WORDS OF CONSECRATION AT COMMUNION -- FOR CATHOLICS THE MOST SACRED PART OF THE MASS.

THAT'S BECAUSE HIS PASTOR IS ON LEAVE, AND THE PRIEST FILLING IN DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH.

THERE ARE CURRENTLY ABOUT 18,000 DEACONS IN THE U.S.

COMPARED TO 37,500 PRIESTS.

LIKE FOTI, MOST DEACONS ARE MARRIED, AND USUALLY HAVE CAREERS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH.

FOTI QUIT HIS PREVIOUS JOB AS A COMPUTER ANALYST TO WORK FULLTIME AT HIS PARISH, BECAUSE HE FELT HE WAS NEEDED THERE.

>> ONCE YOU BECOME A DEACON, YOU CANNOT JUST TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF OR YOUR COLLAR OFF AND THEN YOU'RE NO LONGER A DEACON.

PARTICULARLY IN THIS PARISH, I HAVE A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PASTOR SO WE TAKE TURNS SOMETIMES TO ANSWER SICK CALLS.

>> WITH A DRASTIC DROP IN THE NUMBER OF MEN WILLING TO COMMIT TO A CELIBATE PRIESTHOOD, MARRIED DEACONS HAVE BECOME CRUCIAL TO CARRYING OUT THE SACRAMENTAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH AS WELL AS ITS CHARITABLE WORK.

THIS GROUP OF DEACONS, GOOD WITH A HAMMER, DRILL AND LEVEL IS INSTALLING A LAUNDRY ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF A HOME FOR WOMEN EMERGING FROM CRISIS.

DEACON JOHN VIDMAR IS PART OF "HOPE'S ON THE WAY," A MINISTRY THAT RESPONDS TO CRISES AND REPAIRS AND RENOVATES CHURCH BUILDINGS.

>> DEACON, YOU'RE NOT IN YOUR TRADITIONAL DEACON GARB TODAY.

YOU'RE IN VERY DIFFERENT CLOTHING.

HOW DOES THAT FEEL?

>> IT'S INTERESTING, I WOULD ARGUE THIS PROBABLY SHOULD BE THE NORMAL GARB FOR A DEACON.

BESIDES DOING LITURGICAL FUNCTIONS, WE'RE ALSO CALLED TO SERVE THE POOR AND SERVE THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

>> IN THE EARLY CHURCH, MALE AND FEMALE DEACONS PREACHED.

THEY HANDLED THE FINANCES AND MINISTERED TO THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED.

IN THE MIDDLE AGES THE ROLE OF DEACONS BEGAN TO FADE AS THE POWER OF PRIESTS AND BISHOPS GREW.

IN THE 1960s, THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL RESTORED THE ROLE OF DEACONS, BUT ONLY FOR MEN.

THEOLOGIAN PHYLLIS ZAGANO AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY ON LONG ISLAND HAS WRITTEN SIX BOOKS ON WOMEN IN THE CHURCH.

SHE SAYS THE NEW TESTAMENT REFERS TO WOMEN DEACONS, AND WHO APPEARS IN A LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

>> WOMEN DEACONS MINISTERED TO SICK WOMEN, WOMEN DEACONS MINISTERED TO CHILDREN, WOMEN DEACONS ASSISTED IN THE BAPTISMS OF NEW MEMBERS, FEMALE MEMBERS.

IF THE HOLY FATHER WANTS WOMEN TO HAVE SOME AUTHORITY AND SOME GOVERNANCE IN THE CHURCH, WHICH SAYS HE DOES, THE EASIEST WAY REALLY WOULD BE TO RESTORE WOMEN TO THE DIACONATE BECAUSE THE DEACON IS A CLERIC.

>> UNTIL RECENTLY, THE WIVES OF DEACONS WERE REQUIRED TO TAKE THE SAME CLASSES OVER FOUR YEARS AS THEIR HUSBANDS DID TO PREPARE FOR THE DIACONATE.

>> WE HAD THE EXACT SAME TRAINING.

TWO NIGHTS A WEEK, ONE WEEKEND A MONTH, SUMMER INTERNSHIPS.

I WROTE EVERY PAPER HE WROTE.

>> MAUREEN GARVEY SAYS MOST PARISHIONERS AT HOLY CROSS CHURCH IN THE CHICAGO SUBURBS CONSIDER HER AND HER HUSBAND KEVIN, A "DEACON COUPLE."

>> THE ONLY THING THAT WAS pDIFFERENT WAS THE DAY OF ORDINATION, I HAD TEARS IN MY EYES WHEN ALL THE GUYS WERE CALLED UP AND THEY LEFT THEIR WIVES THERE SITTING IN THE PEWS.

MAUREEN HAS A DEGREE IN PASTORAL COUNSELING AND KEVIN IS A RETIRED MARINE COLONEL.

AT MASS, MAUREEN OFTEN SERVES AS A LECTOR READING PASSAGES FROM THE OLD OR NEW TESTAMENTS.

BUT ONLY HER HUSBAND CAN STAND BESIDE THE PRIEST AT THE ALTAR OR PREACH A SERMON ON THE GOSPEL, SOMETHING SHE OFTEN HELPS HIM TO WRITE.

>> I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO REFLECT ON THE GOSPEL IN A WOMAN'S VOICE.

THAT'S WHAT I FEEL CALLED TO.

AND THEN I GUESS IF WE COULD DO BAPTISMS AND WEDDINGS TOGETHER, THAT WOULD BE LOVELY.

I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO DO THAT BY MYSELF.

WE'RE A TEAM.

>> AT THE PARISH LEVEL, AND JUST PRACTICALLY, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HELP AND WOMEN WOULD BE AWESOME.

>> IF WOMEN ARE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE DIACONATE, CYNTHIA BOWNS SAYS SHE'LL BE AT THE HEAD OF THE LINE.

BOWNS WORKED AT A CATHOLIC SEMINARY, HAS A MASTER'S DEGREE IN DIVINITY, A CERTIFICATE IN SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND IS MARRIED TO A DEACON.

>> WOMEN OFTEN ARE MOTHERS, OR LIKE ME, A GRANDMOTHER.

WE HAVE A SENSITIVITY FOR LISTENING TO PEOPLE, TO PERCEIVING THINGS.

I'M NOT SAYING MEN DON'T, BUT WE COME AT THE WORLD IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY.

>> SHE WORKED SO HARD.

WE WERE IN CLASSES TOGETHER, THERE WERE THINGS THAT SHE'D BRING UP THAT AS MEN, WE DIDN'T SEE, GOOD MEN, I MEAN, GOOD CLASSMATES WHO DO AMAZING WORK BUT WE DIDN'T SEE.

>> IT'S NOT ABOUT SELF.

IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING UP ON THE ALTAR.

IT'S ABOUT THE GIFT YOU GIVE TO OTHERS OF YOURSELF.

>> TO UNDERSCORE THE FINE LINE BOWNS CURRENTLY MUST WALK AS AN ASPIRING DEACON, THE PASTOR AT THE PARISH WHERE HER HUSBAND IS A DEACON, WOULD NOT ALLOW THE COUPLE TO BE VIDEOTAPED MINISTERING TOGETHER AT THE CHURCH.

>> QUITE FRANKLY, I THINK THERE'S A FEAR ON THE PART OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO DECIDE OUR COURSE OF EVENTS.

WILL THEY BE REPLACED, DISPLACED?

>> SYLVIA FOTI IS ONE DEACON'S WIFE WHO SAYS SHE HAS NO DESIRE TO BECOME A DEACON HERSELF, AND ISN'T SURE FEMALE DEACONS ARE A GOOD IDEA.

>> I'M WORRIED THAT THIS MIGHT BE ANOTHER TREND OR FAD.

IT'S LIKE A PUSH FROM FEMINISM TO BECOME AN ORDAINED MINISTER, AND I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.

I HAVEN'T FULLY EMBRACED IT, BUT I HAVEN'T FULLY REJECTED IT.

>> LIKE SOME CATHOLICS, FOTI WONDERS IF FEMALE DEACONS ULTIMATELY WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO WOMEN PRIESTS.

ZAGANO, THE THEOLOGIAN, SAYS THAT'S NOT LIKELY.

>> I FIND NO HISTORY OF WOMEN ORDAINED AS PRIESTS.

I THINK THAT IF PEOPLE SAY THAT IF YOU CAN ORDAIN A WOMAN A DEACON THEN YOU CAN ORDAIN A WOMAN A PRIEST, I THINK YOU ARE ACTUALLY ARGUING NOT ONLY AGAINST HISTORY, BUT YOU'RE ARGUING AGAINST THE TEACHING OF THE CHURCH.

>> BEING A DEACON IS CURRENTLY A STEP ON THE WAY TO PRIESTHOOD FOR CELIBATE MEN, BUT MARRIED MEN WHO BECOME DEACONS ARE PART WHAT'S CALLED THE "PERMANENT DIACONATE."

THAT MEANS THEY WILL ALWAYS BE DEACONS.

IN A RULE SOME HOPE WILL CHANGE, MARRIED DEACONS WHOSE WIVES PRE-DECEASE THEM, CANNOT REMARRY.

AFTER INCREASING FOR SEVERAL DECADES, THE NUMBER OF MEN ENáERING THE PERMANENT DIACONATE HAS BEGUN TO DECLINE, DESPITE A GROWING NEED.

>> WE JUST HAD A DIACONATE CONVOCATION LAST WEEKEND AND THE NUMBER OF DEACONS WHO PASSED AWAY WAS GREATER THAN THE THOSE WE ORDAINED THIS YEAR.

SO I BELIEVE THE DIACONATE MIGHT HAVE THE SAME ISSUES AS THE PRIESTHOOD.

>> STILL, GARVEY AND OTHER DEACONS SAY THEIRS IS AN EXTRAORDINARY MINISTRY.

THEY SAY DEACONS ARE OFTEN BETTER EQUIPPED THAN PRIESTS TO RELATE THE FAITH TO EVERYDAY STRUGGLES PEOPLE ENCOUNTER.

>> SOME OF THE COMPLIMENTS I GET AFTER CHURCH, SOME GUY SAID, "BOY, YOU REALLY MADE ME THINK."

I MEAN, WHAT'S BETTER THAN THAT?

YOU KNOW, I WAS HONEST, I WAS SHARING MY STRUGGLES.

>> I DO KNOW THE DIACONATE SERVICE CONCEPT MEANS A LOT TO ME AND IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

>> THE PRESENCE OF WOMEN DEACONS, IF ALLOWED, MAY BREATHE NEW LIFE INTO THIS ANCIENT MINISTRY.

UNTIL JUST A FEW DECADES AGO, GIRLS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE ALTAR SERVERS.

NOW THEY ARE A FAMILIAR PRESENCE ON THE ALTARS OF MOST PARISHES.

CAN WOMEN DEACONS BE FAR BEHIND?

FOR "RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY," I'M JUDY VALENTE IN CHICAGO.

>>> THE REVEREND LEE BROWNING WHO SERVED IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH DIE ON MONDAY.

HE WAS 87 YEARS OLD.

BROWNING BEST KNOWN FOR ENCOURAGING DIVERSITY SAYING THERE ARE, QUOTE, NO OUTCASTS IN THE CHURCH.

>>> FINALLY, AT THE VIRGINIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, A FIRE IN 2010 DESTROYED THE CHAPEL AND ITS BELOVED, 100-YEAR-OLD PIPE ORGAN.

NOW, ITS REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN BUILT, FROM SCRATCH, AND IS RECEIVING RAVE REVIEWS.

OUR GUIDE TO THE STORY AND THE INSTRUMENT WAS SEMINARY PROFESSOR WILLIAM ROBERTS, WHO CALLS IT AN ORGAN THAT SINGS.

>> IN 2010 OUR CHAPEL BURNED ON CAMPUS, AND IT WAS A MUCH BELOVED BUILDING.

IT WAS BUILT IN THE VICTORIAN ERA IN 1881.

IT HAD A PIPE ORGAN, A PIPE ORGAN THAT WAS INSTALLED IN 1900, AND WE KNEW THAT WHEN WE BUILT A NEW CHAPEL THAT WE WANTED A NEW PIPE ORGAN.

IT DIDN'T EVER ENTER OUR MINDS THAT WE'D BUY AN ELECTRONIC SUBSTITUTE.

WE WANTED THE REAL THING BECAUSE OF THEIR LONGEVITY AND BECAUSE OF THEIR BEAUTY OF TONE.

SO, WE BEGAN THE SEARCH.

WE TALKED ABOUT BUILDERS THAT WE RESPECTED AND BUILDERS THAT MIGHT BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT WE WANTED TOO.

AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, THIS IS A VERY DESIRABLE THING FOR A BUILDER TO BE APPROACHED FOR A NEW INSTRUMENT, BECAUSE IT'S A MAJOR UNDERTAKING AND KEEPS THEM GOING FINANCIALLY AND ARTISTICALLY.

WHAT WE WERE LOOKING IS AN ORGAN THAT SINGS.

AN ORGAN THAT HAS A WARM, MELLOW SOUND THAT ACCOMPANIES SINGING.

BECAUSE WHAT THIS INSTRUMENT DOES PRIMARILY IS NOT SERVE AS A RECITAL INSTRUMENT, BUT IT SERVES TO UNDERGIRD WORSHIP -- THE SINGING OF THE COñGREGATION, THE SINGING OF THE CHOIR.

IT'S SUCH A VERSATILE INSTRUMENT AND BECAUSE IT WORKS SO WELL IT'S NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL.

IT'S A PRACTICAL SOLUTION TO A WORSHIPPING CONGREGATION.

TAYLOR AND BOODY REALLY ARE A WORLD-CLASS BUILDER, AND THEY HAVE ORGANS AT SIDNEY SUSSEX COLLEGE AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, FOR EXAMPLE.

THEY HAVE ONE IN JAPAN.

THEY HAVE THEM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, AND I LOVE THIS BUILDER BECAUSE THEY'RE SO ECOLOGICAL.

THEY USE LOCAL MATERIALS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

THEY LOOK FOR VIRGINIA SOURCES OF MATERIALS, AND WHEREAS MANY PIPE ORGAN BUILDERS ASSEMBLE MATERIALS THAT ARE MADE BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS AND PUT THEM TOGETHER, THIS BUILDER STARTS FROM SCRATCH.

SO THE ORGAN CASE THAT YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME IS MADE OF WHITE OAK TREES THAT CAME FROM THIS CAMPUS.

MY PHONE RANG ONE DAY, AND THIS WAS IN THE PROCESS OF THE ORGAN'S BEING BUILT.

AND JOHN BOODY, ONE OF THE TWO PRINCIPALS OF THE COMPANY, SAID THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU FELLED SOME TREES ON YOUR CAMPUS.

AND JOHN SAID, "WELL, I WANT THEM."

AND I LAUGHED.

I THOUGHT, WELL, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

HE SAID, "NO, NO, I'M PERFECTLY SERIOUS.

I WANT THOSE TREES."

I SAID WHAT A WONDERFUL IDEA.

THIS ORGAN IS WHAT'S CALLED A MECHANICAL ACTION INSTRUMENT.

IT MEANS THAT WHEN YOU PRESS A KEY ON THE ORGAN THERE ACTUALLY IS A MECHANICAL TRANSFER THAT OPENS THE PIPES AND ALLOWS THE AIR TO COME THROUGH THE PIPES.

BUT THE SHAPE AND CONSTRUCTION OF THOSE PIPES CREATE DIFFERENT SOUNDS, AND SO YOU REALLY HAVE WHAT SOME PEOPLE WOULD CALL AN ORCHESTRA OF SOUND HERE.

SOME OF THE STOPS ARE ACáUALLY NAMED AFTER ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENáS, LIKE OBOE AND TRUMPET AND BASSOON.

THERE ARE 34 DISTINCT STOPS N THIS INSTRUMENT THAT CAN BE COMBINED IN ALL SORTS OF WAYS.

YOU CAN ALSO PLAY UP AN OCTAVE OR DOWN AN OCTAVE AND GET A VERY DIFFERENT SOUND.

IT PROVIDES A BEAUTIFULLY AESTHETIC SOUND THAT MUSICIANS LOVE.

IT CAN SIT UP AND TALK.

IT CAN MAKE SOME BIG LOUD SOUNDS THAT FILL THIS ROOM.

BUT IT CAN ALSO MAKES SOUNDS AS SOFT AS A WHISPER.

AND IT CAN PLAY IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT SUPPORTS THE CONGREGATION AND THEIR SINGING OR SUPPORTS THE CHOIR IN THEIR SINGING, WITHOUT COVERING OR DOMINATING IT.

IT'S FUN FOR ME TO HAVE ORGANISTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WE'VE ALREADY HAD A NUMBER TO COME AND LOOK AT IT AND TO HEAR THEIR DESCRIPTION, BECAUSE MOST PEOPLE GO INTO ECSTASY AFTER PLAYING THIS INSTRUMENT.

AND THAT MAKES US HAPPY, OF COURSE.

>>> THAT'S OUR PROGRAM FOR NOW.

I'M BOB ABERNETHY.

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