Church first; diaconate later

For much of his life, Deacon Robert Wubbenhorst saw his faith life as being pretty clear-cut.

"I was baptized, confirmed and married in the Episcopal Church," he said. "My mother was a life-long Episcopalian, and several priests of my parish became bishops of the Episcopal Church."

However, over a period of 20 years, the now-Roman Catholic permanent deacon found himself confronting questions about his life and his faith. These questions were sent into a crescendo when a good friend, an Episcopal priest, converted to Roman Catholicism.

Thinking it over

"We had a lot of conversations," Deacon Wubbenhorst said. "It started me thinking about things I hadn't thought of before: where my faith really was and what it meant for me to be a Catholic, as I considered myself an Anglican Catholic at that time."

He found that his personal views were beginning to mesh less with the Episcopal Church and more with Roman Catholicism.

"The [Roman Catholic] idea of speaking with one voice [through a pope] really appealed to me," Deacon Wubbenhorst said. "For most of my life, I listened to diverse views that were often in conflict. I didn't know who was speaking for what. I think that faith ought not be a series of arguments."

Although he acknowledges that conflict can be found among Roman Catholics as well, he doesn't believe that it "exists in the same form. Ultimately, the vast majority of Catholics still come together on the principal issues, and that's what's important."

At home

After his 1995 conversion to Catholicism, Deacon Wubbenhorst joined Blessed Sacrament in Bolton Landing and found its commitment to service attractive. All of the staff members are volunteers.

Retired from a long career as a computer programmer, he began assuming regular administrative duties to help Rev. Peter Young, the pastor, and soon became the person to call if something needed to get done.

That experience made him think seriously about the diaconate. Parishioners began coming to him, remarking how he was doing "all the things a deacon does."

Beginning to mull over a possible vocation, he realized that even though what attracted him to Blessed Sacrament was "this prevalent feeling of serving, this helping," he was still missing a "totality, a fulfillment."

Assigned as a deacon to his home parish, he said, "I love it. I live in the community. I do things in the community. I feel very comfortable."

(01-16-03) [[In-content Ad]]