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Deacon Gregg was ordained as a permanent deacon sixteen years ago on June 24, 2006 and has been assigned to St. Francis ever since. In that time, he has touched countless lives and has made an indelible mark on this parish and entire community. We'll miss him so much! Read below as he shares his experience at St. Francis
As I look back over my 16 years as a Deacon at St. Francis, I have to say that the bishop assigning me here has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.
I have met the most amazing people and you have allowed me to be able not only to grow in my ministry but to grow in my faith as I have seen your faith in God in the most joyous and some of the toughest of events in your lives.
As a Deacon I have had the privilege to Baptize, witness Marriages, and preside at Funeral services, but most of my ministry did not require a Deacon. It was to just to be a friend and I hope that I was, what one of my spiritual guides, Fr. Henri Nouwen described as a true friend:
“When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not-knowing, not-curing, not-healing, and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is the friend who cares.”
This is not goodbye; it is till we meet again.
--Deacon Gregg Kahrs
