---

Deacon Joseph Cechnicki, 58, was ordained in 2001. He has served in parish ministry for the past nine years; he is currently assigned to Our Lady of Hope parish in Fort Plain and serves on the Deacon Life and Ministry Council. He and Carol, his wife, live in Canajoharie.

What do you do as a deacon?

I have baptisms, weddings, funerals at the cemetery. I do wake services.

What do you like best?

I like serving the people, working with them, and my ministry outside of church. I work with the Christian Wel-fare Committee in the area. We collect clothing, silverware, utensils. We've been storing the material at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Canajoharie. People in need can come to us and help themselves. It's led by the entire community.

What do you do when you are not performing deacon functions?

I have a full-time job; I am a tree-trimmer for the power company by trade.

Do you see a connection between those two worlds?

I do consider the spiritual connection between nature and the trees and that God has put them there and allowed them to grow. There is an awesomeness of how quickly they grow. No matter how we cut a tree back, it will grow back quickly.

What inspired you to become a deacon?

As a kid, I considered being a priest. As I got older, I decided it wasn't for me. But I always did a lot of work for the Church. Rev. Bill Gaffigan, [at that time] the priest in Canajoharie, asked me if I wanted to be a deacon. I thought about it over a year before deciding.

What was your reluctance?

I was just busy, with a wife and two kids. I had to draw down some of those call-outs for work. I had to be sure I was willing to do that.

How did your family react to you becoming a deacon?

They were thrilled. My son told me I'd be a good deacon because I preached to them all the time.

Have your expectations been met?

Definitely; more so. I knew that [I would like] serving as a deacon; I just didn't realize how great the friendships that would build with so many people.

Would you have done anything differently?

No. The timing was right. I couldn't have started any earlier. When I entered the program, my overtime on my job decreased drastically. It was like a sign.

When we closed churches we lost some parishioners. That part does bother me. I made close friends at all the churches.

What's the best part?

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids we work with. I do home visits with shut-ins.

When we had the floods in the Canajoharie area, we had just sent all we had (with the Christian Welfare Committee) to help poor people in Kentucky. We didn't have much of anything. We put out the word and clothing and furniture came by the truckload.

We were able to offer lots of articles to people who lost everything. Among them was a girl about four years old. She saw a classic doll carriage. Her eyes grew wide. Her mother told me she had something like it wash away in the flood.

What do you do for fun?

I like to go to my wife's family camp and do some boating and skiing, sitting on the dock and enjoying the good weather. I am an avid car fan. I go to car shows. I have a sports car I like to tinker with.

What is it about being a deacon that people need to know?

The thrill that I get from serving the Catholic community. It's not even just the Catholic community. The Christian Welfare Committee, for example, is ecumenical. Being a deacon allows me to work with people and bring them closer to God. The diaconate would be an attraction for a lot of guys if they saw the lives they can touch.

DEACON'S FAVORITES

Music: rock from the 1960s and '70s

Performer: the Beach Boys

Movie: "Eight Below"

TV show: "NCIS"

Sport: boating

Food: ham and all the trimmings

During the "Year for Priests," which concluded in June, The Evangelist began a continuing series of Q&A interviews with not just priests, but women religious, brothers, deacons and laity. [[In-content Ad]]

---