By Sam M. Lucero
Catholic Herald

Growth of diaconate helps diocese

This is the first of a six-part series based on A New Springtime, a pastoral letter by Bishop Raphael M. Fliss.

Part I: "... planning efforts undertaken by the Diocese of Superior ... should: Maximize the opportunities for the faithful to receive the sacraments of the church."

TOMAHAWK -- Fr. Mike Tupa's weekends are busy celebrating sacraments at four parishes. As pastor of two parishes and supervising pastor at two others, he can't imagine meeting the spiritual needs of so many Catholics without his pastoral team.

An integral part of that pastoral team are the permanent deacons who assist Tupa. With four deacons and two deacon candidates on staff, no other pastor in the Superior diocese works with as many deacons as Tupa.

"I am relieved to have their support and their very capable help in doing wake services, preaching at funerals or weddings or celebrating weddings," said Tupa. "It is a very team oriented ministry."

Maximizing opportunities for parishioners to receive the sacraments is one of six objectives Bishop Raphael M. Fliss discusses in his recent pastoral letter, "A New Springtime."

Fliss also offers eight strategies for making the sacraments available to all. Among them: "Using authorized ministers, other than priests, to provide services to the faithful for baptisms, weddings and funerals that occur outside of the Mass."

Collaborative ministries like the one based in Tomahawk make possible this objective.

An ordained ministry

The permanent diaconate, an ordained ministry that was restored by the Vatican in 1967, was introduced to the Superior diocese in 1980. Today there are 50 deacons serving across the diocese.

"Permanent deacons are clerics who can perform all of the functions associated with their order," states Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. "These include proclaiming the Gospel, preaching the homily, assisting the priest at Mass, administering solemn baptism, distributing Communion, presiding over funeral and burial services (but not celebrating the funeral Mass), acting as the official witness at weddings and exercising certain ecclesiastical offices."

With only 49 active diocesan priests and 13 religious order priests serving a Catholic population of over 87,000, the diaconate ministry continues to grow in importance.

Grassroots ministry

"The strength of the diaconate is being able to adapt" to the needs of the church, said Kuehn, and given the shortage of priests, deacons will be called on to help administer the sacraments.

Being responsible for the sacramental needs of Catholics in four parishes, Tupa is acutely aware of the role permanent deacons play in the church today.

Tupa is pastor of St. Mary Parish in Tomahawk and St. Francis of Assisi in Pier Willow. He is also supervising pastor at St. Augustine Parish in Harrison and St. John the Baptist Parish in Bloomville. Michelle Rein serves as parish director in Harrison and Bloomville.

Three deacons are assigned to St. Mary Parish: David Bablick, Bernie Lyngdal, and Darrell Smerz. Two other candidates for the diaconate also serve in the parish: Cliff Eggett and John Ramassini. In addition, Deacon Dan Towle serves at St. Augustine Parish.

Deacons a welcome addition

According to Tupa, 37 baptisms were celebrated at St. Mary Parish in the last year. Fifteen were performed by a deacon. Of the 16 weddings celebrated, seven were witnessed by a deacon.

Because weddings, baptisms and funerals have a strong impact on the way people view the church, being able to make these experiences positive requires a minister's time.

"Personal contacts are very much a part of the routine of ministry at St. Mary's because of the number of ministers," said Tupa. "I like to get to the homes of the people that are having their child baptized. If we didn't have a deacon, I would have to make a choice of going to one home or another, or cut the visiting time."

All three deacons in Tomahawk have faculties to preach. This means they can prepare and deliver homilies at Mass. They also conduct Scripture or Communion services on weekdays in Tomahawk and on weekends at Pier Willow.

Deacon Bernie Lyngdal, who was ordained to the diaconate in 1984 in Trenton, N.J., came to the Superior diocese in 1994. Until recently he served as business administrator for the parish. "To be part of the sacramental life (of Catholics) is something that is very special," said Lyngdal.

Deacon Darrell Smerz, 70, spends most of his time ministering at two nursing homes in Tomahawk and visiting the homebound. He also prepares couples for marriage and baptisms.

The service Smerz provides to the community allows Tupa to concentrate on other ministries.

"Every day of the week (Tupa) is busy because we lost our pastoral administrator here," said Smerz. "He's got a lot of things to do. One week he did about 10 to 12 Masses because of funerals."

Ministry in the marketplace

Dave Bablick works for Packaging Corporation of America in Tomahawk. When his telephone voice message is activated at work, the caller hears him say, "This is Deacon Dave Bablick ..."

Identifying himself as a religious leader on the job is intentional. He serves as a spiritual advisor to anyone needing direction. "My door is open to all of (his co-workers) at any time," said Bablick.

Those who do accept his offer are usually dealing with health issues, marital problems and other similar concerns. "I am not a counselor and I do not counsel," he said. "I will direct them to whatever support agencies they need."

The result of Bablick's ministry in the marketplace is being called upon by co-workers to preach at wake services or witness a wedding.

Breaking down barriers for priests

"My role, as far as I'm concerned, is to break down barriers with people in the community and to open doors for (Tupa)," said Bablick. "That's important, as a deacon, to open doors for a priest. In the community I may know the people who are sick. Many times they don't want to see a priest right away. They want to see me. If I can open doors, he can do the (sacraments of) anointing and penance. And that's happened."

As a member of St. Augustine Parish, most of Dan Towle's ministry is based in Harrison. Having coached sports for many years, Towle enjoys working with parish youth. "My focus tends to be on young people," he said. "I help Fr. Mike within the cluster, but especially in Harrison, in the areas that pertain to young couples. ... I do believe that's a great benefit to Fr. Mike."

Whereas priests are called to serve the diocese, deacons are called to serve a specific parish. With a strong footing on the local level, deacons have the ability to serve as the eyes of a parish while significantly reducing the workload placed on priests.

For these reasons, the Superior diocese " as stated in "A New Springtime" " will continue to support the role of deacons in the future of parish ministry.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2001