A glipse of the life of the deacon

It is hard to believe that this weekend was our final formation weekend of the academic year. We won't quite be done just yet even after this weekend, as we'll still have our May deanery workshops to attend. I'm still actively hunting something that would serve as an acceptable summer assignment, but it is possible I might have at least successfully baited the hook in that regard. As it turns out, our parish Director of Religious Education is no longer going to be exercising that ministry as of the end of this month (she has done it for many years), and Deacon Jim Fage, who is not only our RCIA Director at St. Pat's, but also serves as the deanery youth coordinator. Now, Deacon Jim is about to become the new Director of Religious Education in addition to his other pastoral and liturgical duties, and he'll need a whole new slate of volunteers, since our previous DRE and her husband did nearly all the work.

Deacon Do-It-All needs a hand, and he needs it soon. I've already been told that I may be tapped (Nicole and I used to teach religious education in Cincinnati). Deacon Jim has to organize volunteers, decide who will teach what, and he may have to make some curriculum and text decisions, and I know that over the summer he will probably need help putting this together. I volunteered to assist him with anything at all that I can do to help meet a need as he takes the helm of parish religious education.

This weekend was sullied somewhat by the notable absence of our Brother Aspirant (and my friend) Steve Helmbrecht. Not only did Steve and his wife, Genae have to go to Genae's brother's funeral, but when they arrived, Steve received a call from his brother that his Dad, who was 92 years young, had passed away. Pray for the repose of the soul of Bobby Bohm and Hank Helmbrecht, and for the Bohm and Helmbrecht families, and for Genae and Steve-Steve has been an indispensable help to me and a wonderful friend thus far on our amazing journey together.

This past weekend may turn out to be equally indispensable to teaching and showing us what our ministry as a deacon just might be like. Deacon Joe Stackhouse from Immaculate Conception in Knoxville shared his thoughts about homilies and how terrified he was when he delivered his first one-and he is a professor at the University of Tennessee. Deacon Tim Elliott, who is our Director of Deacons in the Diocese of Knoxville, and who is overseeing our formation, talked about some of the faculties and canonical authority that a deacon has-and what he isn't empowered to do. Deacon Patrick Murphy-Racey, who is my spiritual director, talked about how being a deacon impacts his every day life as a professional photographer, and how he's been able to reach out in love to bring the Church's message of the healing, hope, and truth of Christ in some form to such varied people as his own Mom-a civil rights attorney-to Vince McMahon of WWE (yes, that Mr. McMahon). Deacon Mike Duncan from St. Albert the Great in Halls discussed how being a deacon has impacted both his family life and his role in his parish. I also learned that he has personal experience with the annulment process which could prove to be such a vital part of our ministry for so many individuals.

Deacon Tim further elaborated on the faculties we will receive if we are ordained, and some of the items we'll need that might make good ordination presents-we were encouraged to keep a list as we get closer to that time. He also told us to remember that our first responsibility-before our ministry as deacons-is to our wives and families. As a result, he said, we should not be afraid of the use of the word "NO." While we can't really say no to the bishop, it is also pretty clear that the bishop won't ask more from us than we can handle. The bishop, he told us, will give us his expectations for how much time our ministry is expected to take each month when we are ordained. However, our pastors and others who need us to serve them may ask for substantially more than the bishop does in his assignment. If that starts interfering with our ability to put family first, we can say "NO" to a certain degree in order to preserve that delegate balance between ordained ministry and family life.

Deacon Jim Lawson talked about his ministry as a chaplain for the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff's Office. He discussed how he's been able to reach not only Catholics but so many others because he has often had to be the person both the department and-by extension-to the many people of all denominations and faiths and none to whom he had to deliver unfortunate news about the fate of their loved ones, and do it in a way that somehow brings the comfort and the grace of Jesus into that situation.

This weekend was our first real look at the daily ministry of the deacon that will, if God wills it, become our own. Now we move from the introductory phase of formation into the spiritual meat and potatoes we'll need in the years to come.