They feel called to ministries

Newlyweds Bob and Jennifer Rice know that God has called them to ministry positions at St. Ambrose parish in Latham.

Married last June, they came to the Albany Diocese in August when Mr. Rice began his position as youth minister at the parish. Mrs. Rice is pastoral manager there.

"This is where God wants us," Mr. Rice said. "That was absolutely key. This is really where we belong."

The couple has found St. Ambrose parish to be welcoming. "When Bob was called for an interview, we had just gotten engaged," Mrs. Rice explained. "When we came out for the interview, everyone was so nice. People were so welcoming to us. Knowing they were praying for us was important."

Ministry interest

The couple moved to Latham from Steubenville, Ohio. They met while attending Franciscan University of Steubenville. Mr. Rice was pursuing his master's degree in theology and Christian ministry, and Mrs. Rice was an undergraduate studying theology and religious education.

Each often thought they were being called to professional ministry. "I always thought I'd teach at a Catholic high school," Mrs. Rice said. "I also really wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. The youth group at my church was great. It was a wonderful program, and so since high school I wanted to work in ministry with youth."

Mr. Rice thought the road to ministry would be a longer one. "I had a picture in my mind that I'd be rich and famous and then I'd do youth ministry," he said. "When I was in high school, I was involved in a youth group and I thought I'd be involved in youth ministry. I felt I needed to do ministry."

Youth in focus

After attending college in Florida, Mr. Rice was in a band and worked in a comedy club. He was hired to perform at a youth conference in Steubenville.

"I really liked the conference and the teens," he said. "I felt I had a calling to go there to do youth ministry. Then I ended up getting a master's degree."

While working on his master's, he served as a youth minister at a Steubenville parish. Mrs. Rice volunteered in the youth ministry program at the parish as well. Her familiarity with youth ministry has helped in the marriage. Youth ministers often have non-traditional hours, working on weekends and evenings. "I've been involved in youth ministry," she said. "So I understand."

Sacrifices

Mr. Rice said that since getting married, he's limited his number of late nights as best as he can. "I used to do crazy hours," he explained. "It's different being married and doing ministry. In a sense, I'm doing less, but hopefully the witness I'm giving as a married man is strong."

While they both enjoy the work they're doing, there have been sacrifices, especially financial. They rely on their faith to help them with this.

"Just praying and throwing it back at God helps," Mr. Rice explained. "It always works out. We're paying the bills. If we're giving our life to God, He'll take care of us. We went to a Franciscan university. They have a good idea of poverty. You need food and you need shelter. Be happy with what you have. That's helped me a lot."

Working together

Since the couple work at the same place, they are able to get by with one car, which is a definite plus. Another benefit of working together is being able to see each other during the day.

"It's nice to see each other," Mrs. Rice said. Before she came to work at St. Ambrose, "we only saw each other on Saturday."

But there are some challenges to working at the same place. Each has been asked about the other's work. "People ask me if Bob is working on a certain project," Mrs. Rice said.

Overall, they enjoy working together. "The nice thing about working here is our boundaries are set," Mr. Rice said. "Neither of us are authorities. Our jobs are complementary; we're not adversarial."

(03-05-98) [[In-content Ad]]