Deacon wears many hats

Deacon Rick Washburn -- at 37 the youngest permanent deacon in the Albany Diocese -- juggles lots of roles in two Columbia County parishes: Nativity/St. Mary's in Stuyvesant Falls and Holy Family in Stottville.

In addition, he serves as chaplain at Brookwood Secure Center, a detention home for boys in Claverack, and is a chaplain for the Greenport Volunteer Fire Department, where he is one of its long-term members.

He also has a full-time job as director of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal's training and professional development office.

Freed to help

Because he is single, Deacon Washburn believes that his ministry is a little easier. Without the constraints of caring for a wife and family, he feels free to do extra activities, particularly his chaplaincy at Brookwood.

He began serving at Brookwood after "several conversations with one of our parishioners, who is an employee there," he said. "She mentioned to me that the boys needed the services of a Catholic chaplain."

It took a little time to get the teens familiar with his presence and establish a rapport with the guards, he said. In his work, he mainly listens to the youths as they talk about their troubles, worries and fears. They have lots of questions, and he often prays with them.

"After a while, some of the guards approached me," he added. "They also wanted to have time to talk. Now, the guards also meet with us. We're building a relationship of trust."

Speaking at Mass

As part of his parish work, Deacon Washburn takes turns with Rev. Frank O'Connor, pastor, in giving homilies at weekend Masses.

"It's very important to be present each weekend for the Masses," the deacon noted. "I have worked hard to get to know everyone and let them get to know me. The people are great."

"Deacon Rick has a great deal of vitality. He cares deeply about our people, and they pay very close attention to him and what he has to say," noted Father O'Connor. "He brings to his ministry a real interest in the people of our parish -- and a great sense of humor."

Diaconate

Deacon Washburn does not "consider the diaconate a secondary calling to ordination as a priest. I have an affinity for this ministry and also with my brother deacons."

He is concerned about the lack of young men being called to the diaconate, but he is not sure why it is occurring.

"We must design our deacon program so that it includes all parts of a person's life, whether that person is married, widowed or single," he suggested.

Single at the time of his ordination, Deacon Washburn cannot marry, according to Church regulations, something he knew "coming into the program. The diaconate is not and should not be looked at as a ministry for the married man [only]; it should be viewed as a service to the Church community. Somehow, we must work to develop a program that appeals to young men. The diaconate is not about marriage; it's about service."

(Deacon Washburn has been involved as a volunteer fireman for years. "Both my parents have been members since I can remember," he explained. "I've been involved since I was a teenager.")

Deacon got double training

Before he entered the diaconate program for the Albany Diocese, Deacon Washburn went through several years of training for the diaconate in the Ukrainian Catholic Church's diocese in Stamford, Conn.

He became acquainted with the Byzantine rite when he was growing up in Hudson and attended some services with a relative. Part of his preparation for the diaconate included an internship at St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church in Hudson.

When he returned to the Latin rite, he had to repeat some diaconate courses. By the time he was ordained, he had more than seven years of training, nearly twice the normal length.

"You might say I'm certainly well-trained," he noted. (PP)

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