Announcements


Welcome Deacon Terry Safko and wife, Mary

Bishop Daniel Conlon has recently appointed Deacon Terry Safko as the new Permanent Deacon to our parish. Terry and his lovely wife Mary, have been active parishioners for many years at St. Mary Immaculate in Plainfield. Terry has also been there deacon over many years. I am delighted to have this wonderful couple in our parish with their ministerial assistance. Please extend a warm welcome to both of them as you meet them in the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,
Fr. Kevin Spiess
Pastor

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Message from Deacon Terry

It is great to be a part of your parish!!! My wife and I have attended mass and a few events for about the last year. From the first time we attended mass, we were impressed with the felling of "Family" that the parishioners showed through their warm and friendliness. Father Spiess and I have spoken often the last nine Months and thought I could be a good fie for both the parish staff and the people of St. Francis. Needless to say I'm excited about getting started!

You may be asking yourself, who is he? Well, this is who I am and what I have done. My personal mottos are "Church is a way of live" and "from womb to tomb we are working with each other to enter God's Kingdom." I'm a father of five children and have 10 grandchildren. I have been married for 41 years to the best person God ever put in my life, my wife, Mary. I can't believe she puts up with me. There were so many things I wanted to do or start, and we wound up doing!

Thirty years ago I started at St. Mary Immaculate Church as an 8th grade Religious Education teacher, and after two years, started youth ministry with a lot of help form my wife and Sister Gesuina. It was at that time the paster said he saw in me a calling to become a deacon. (I didn't even know what a deacon was or what they did). He signed me up for an interview with the Diocese and the Bishop and both my wife and I went. I was ordained in 1986 and have been involved in many ministries over the years. I've been involved in marriage preparation, parish council, peace and social justice, diversity in parish life, mentoring a confirmation class and have spent the last few years studying about and working in evangelization.

I am looking forward to serving you, the St. Francis Xavier family. I hope you will know me as a deacon for the way I serve you rather than from just seeing me on the altar. I fook forward to meeting you and serving with you.

Deacon Terry

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