June 2006
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a voice crying in the winderness
Sister Monica speaks out for a public
policy of justice
By Nancy Schertzing | Photography
by Jim Luning
“One day as the crowds were gathering Jesus
went up on the hillside and taught them there.
‘You are the world’s seasoning to make it tolerable.
If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world? And you
yourselves will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
‘You are the world’s light – a city on a hill
glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light!
Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see so
that they will praise your heavenly Father.’”(Matt 5:
1; 13-16)
 Sister
Monica Kostielney, RSM lives Jesus’ invitation and challenge
every day.
“As a baptized Christian, I am called to respect the
dignity of each human person. As a Sister of Mercy, I am
called to alleviate sickness, poverty and lack of education. Both
callings come together very well in my work.”
As president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Catholic
Conference (MCC), Sister Monica directs the Michigan Catholic Church’s
official voice in public policy matters. She gives voice to the
bishops of Michigan in expressing their specific remedies for issues
of concern in public policy. As the spiritual leaders of their dioceses,
the bishops speak for Michigan’s 2.5 million Catholics. Sister
Monica moves in the highest levels of state government and has a
reputation as a real Lansing power-broker. This would have amazed
the young nun who came to the Michigan Catholic Conference in 1972.
I was 35, teaching in Grand Rapids, and my order said I
should go on to something new – probably another
degree beyond my master’s in English. That summer I attended
a meeting about a ballot proposal to legalize abortion in Michigan.
I remember a priest involved in the opposition movement saying that
if he saved even one life, he knew it would be worth it.
“When he said that, I experienced a moment of clarity as if
Jesus had walked up and called me by name. I had never felt that
before and never have since. I knew I was called to get involved,
too. So I headed to Lansing and worked all summer on the campaign
to defeat the proposal. When fall came, my superiors were calling
for me to return to school, but the campaign leaders needed me to
stay. My school got a substitute to teach my classes. By November,
they hired her permanently when I joined the MCC staff.”
Both Sister Monica and the Michigan Catholic Conference have changed
significantly in the 34 years since she arrived. In addition to
lobbying, for example, Sister Monica also oversees the benefits
program for all Catholic lay employees and clergy in the state.
Those benefits include medical, dental, disability and auto insurance
– as well as workers’ compensation and special events
insurance. Sister Monica and her dedicated MCC team also administer
the statewide Lay Employees Retirement Program and a similar program
for retired clergy.
The Michigan Catholic Conference operates from its magnificent new
offices just blocks from the Michigan State Capitol building in
downtown Lansing. Like a city on a hill, the MCC headquarters
shine with state-of-the-art communications and meeting accommodations,
graced by magnificent artwork celebrating faith.
Here in this building, Sister Monica shares some of her thoughts
about her work in shaping public policy.
“While we as a country adhere to a separation of church
and state, you cannot separate religion from politics.
We work with the legislature and courts to help society recognize
there are people with issues that demand attention – homelessness,
poverty, racism and misuse of the earth’s resources.
“There are many hopeful signs and much good being done in
parishes and society. But we have such a need to recognize that
spiritual, not material, values bring happiness. We need to put
forth examples for our children to help them value what is really
important.
“The most critical issue looming on the horizon is the stem
cell issue. Sometimes, people advocate embryonic stem-cell research
by saying, ‘Look, they’re [the embryos] going to go
down the drain. I’m going to be pro-life – I’m
going to save them!’ This represents a new paradigm for policy
that we cannot accept – the end justifies the means. It’s
very Machiavellian. Society has changed dramatically – there’s
a real shift in thinking that we can call cultural relativism. That’s
a very dangerous philosophy.
“We have to get across the message that we support stem-cell
research, but we do not and cannot and will never support embryonic
stem-cell research. That is a critical distinction.”
Sometimes, Sister Monica and the MCC are put in the position of
supporting an issue, but not the means to its accomplishment.
Examples include putting the increase in the minimum wage, funding
for public education and health-care costs into the state constitution.
Although the MCC strongly encourages legislators to act positively
on these issues, they cannot support putting them in the constitution,
because they are not constitutional matters.
“When I work with legislators and other people of power, I
remember to deal with issues, and to respect people’s human
dignity and their positions. It’s always important to keep
the lines of communication open. You don’t want to burn any
bridges – that’s the model set by Pope John Paul II
– dialogue. We forge solid relationships to bring issues before
the public – but on a given issue, our alliances may be with
groups who disagree with us on other issues. We cross party lines
because we address issues that no other organization in the state
is able to address –we are the only organization that has
an agenda covering the beginning of life to its end.”
Sister Monica has had several successes: the defeat of Proposal
B, which would have allowed physician-assisted suicide; the durable
power of attorney law; the prohibition of surrogate parenting in
Michigan.
She has also had one overriding disappointment: “Educational
justice for parents and children. I’m not just talking about
vouchers. I’m talking about engaging in a civil dialogue with
the citizenry about education. People are very entrenched.”
As a woman who wields enormous influence, how has Sister Monica
dealt with women’s issues? She says with a laugh, “Cardinal
Szoka said to me, ‘You know, I never hear you talk about the
women’s issue.’ And I said, ‘Cardinal, why be
equal when you’ve always been better?’ Nobody’s
ever mentioned it since. If there is an issue, it’s not a
gender bias – it’s that I don’t play golf. I miss
out on those relationships.”
At 40, the Michigan Catholic Conference is one of the oldest and
most highly respected Catholic Conferences in the U.S. “We
have an excited and committed staff who labor daily to carry out
the mission of justice with integrity and excellence. We are a light
in the darkness to ensure that the poor, unborn and other vulnerable
members of our society have a voice in public policy.
“My hope is that we are doing God’s will and helping
build the kingdom of God along the way.”
---
 The
Michigan Catholic Conference
 The
Michigan Catholic Conference was the brainchild of Cardinal John
Deardon, the archbishop of Detroit. In the early 1960s,
he envisioned a unified Catholic voice to bring the church’s
economic and social justice message to all branches of the government.
After consultation with Michigan’s diocesan bishops, including
Bishop Babcock of Grand Rapids, Bishop Albers of Lansing, Bishop
Woznicki of Saginaw and Bishop Noa of Marquette, Cardinal Deardon’s
insight led to the creation in 1963 of the Michigan Catholic Conference
– the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan.
the map reader
Mary Tardif helps others find the road to
God
By Marybeth Hicks | Photography by Tom Gennara
 As
a spiritual director, Mary Tardif’s faith is richer for her
personal commitment to sharing her spiritual journey with others.
It’s easy to understand why anyone would want Mary as a spiritual
director – her easy laugh and open heart offer a warm and
welcoming atmosphere in which to open up about issues of spirituality.
A member of St. Michael’s Parish in Grand Ledge, Mary worked
for 17 years as director of lay ecclesial ministry for the Diocese
of Lansing. She now works in the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence
Program at St. Francis Retreat Center and is a spiritual director.
FAITH sat down with Mary to learn more about her role as a “map
reader” in the spiritual lives of those she directs.
A spiritual director is a person to share your faith journey.
It’s someone who helps you reflect on how God is working in
your life and helps you to discern his purpose for your life. I
like to say spiritual direction helps find “God sightings”
in your daily experiences – those experiences that some people
think are coincidence and others know are “God-incidence.”
Anyone who is seeking God can benefit from spiritual direction.
I find women are very eager for someone to help them focus
on spirituality. We’re so busy and pulled in all directions,
and some women feel they can’t take the time for spirituality.
But those who do often discover they can be comfortable doing less
and being more available to God. For men, midlife is a time when
spiritual direction can be very powerful.
We know that life is profound. It’s filled
with sacred moments that need to be captured and savored. The Spirit
is working mightily in our lives, and God calls us to operate from
a different platform. Those in spiritual direction learn to view
themselves differently – from a “God perspective”
– and in doing this, God changes their view of the world.
I tell people that spiritual direction is a gift you give yourself.
It’s the opportunity to grow in faith and become more centered,
more able to weather the storms in life because you know you have
an anchor. My own spiritual director is wonderful.
 St.
Therese said something I often think of regarding God’s call
to us, when we’re discerning whether it’s really God
who’s calling us. She said we often are “doing
the good we’re not called to do.” We have to be careful
because our lifestyle of overextending and seeking perfectionism
in ourselves is actually a kind of violence against ourselves. God
never calls us to violence; he calls us to life. So anything that
isn’t life-giving probably isn’t from God.
Often, the yearning for spiritual direction is identified on a retreat.
For some, meeting with a spiritual director while on a retreat weekend
is a new experience, and they discover it’s something they
want to explore. Sometimes, a personal crisis or a major decision
will cause people to look for direction in faith – perhaps
the death of a loved one or a life change such as divorce or job
loss. Those events sometimes make the need for spiritual direction
more obvious, though anyone can benefit if it’s a deeper faith
they’re seeking.
First, you have to choose a spiritual director with whom you feel
comfortable. You might meet two or three directors to gauge
how your personalities mesh – this is important because it’s
a very personal friendship. The conversations between you and your
director are completely confidential, so you need never worry that
your thoughts or feelings or your personal circumstances will be
revealed to anyone. And spiritual directors must always work with
a supervisor, so that if you present an issue that concerns your
director, he or she can get input from someone more experienced
– while never compromising your privacy, of course.
There’s an important difference between spiritual direction
and counseling or therapy – spiritual direction is
not for mental health, it’s for spiritual health. A spiritual
director isn’t there to solve a problem or offer advice. Instead,
we meet people at a particular crossroad or juncture in life who
are seeking a deeper faith and a more vibrant experience of God
in daily living. Generally, I find people focus too much on their
own faults and flaws – we’re all too aware of our weaknesses.
God wants us to build on our strengths, and that’s the focus
I try to have in spiritual direction.
It’s an incredible gift to me to be able to share the spiritual
journey of others. It’s humbling, and my own faith
is enhanced because there is always mutual sharing with those I
direct. It’s not a one-sided relationship. Being a spiritual
director has enhanced my prayer life immensely.
And they keep coming back! Those who are serious about
their spiritual lives grow in faith, and that’s evident over
time. It’s very gratifying to feel I’ve been helpful
by listening and leading conversations that help discern God’s
purpose for the people I work with.
A good spiritual director is someone whose gifts from God include
empathy, an openness to others, a sensitivity to God’s presence
around them. It used to be that spiritual directors were
“the holy people” that you knew – but this is
a ministry that is open to anyone who has a heart for the Holy Spirit.
Each year, the St. Francis Retreat Center has 12 openings to begin
the two-year spiritual direction training program. Our
grant funds an ecumenical program, which means we welcome Catholics
and Christians of other faiths who want to become spiritual directors.
Christian faiths may differ on matters of doctrine, but spirituality
is an area where we all can work together and enhance the faith
life of one another.
---
 
St. Francis Retreat Center’s lay pastoral education program
for spiritual directors was begun in 1992 by Sister Suzanne Eichhorn,
OP. The two-year training for lay ministers and clergy
is an ecumenical ministry open to Christians of all traditions.
For information on finding a spiritual director or if you think
you might be called to this ministry, call St. Francis Retreat Center
at 517.669.8321 or e-mail Mary Tardif at mtardif@stfrancis.ws.
---
St. Francis Retreat
Center is 50!
On
June 25, Bishop Carl Mengeling will lead the golden jubilee celebration
for St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt. Mass will be
celebrated at 1 p.m., followed by a buffet lunch and an open house.
The diocesan retreat center was originally owned by the Franciscans
and was called Portiuncula in the Pines. After the Diocese of Lansing
acquired the center, Father Larry Delaney was assigned as its director.
In addition to weekend retreats, the center offers internships in
spiritual direction; specialized retreats for various groups, including
Retrouvaille and Alcoholics Anonymous; the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence
Program and conference facilities.
Five years ago, Bethany House, a retreat center for teens, was built
on the grounds.
For more information, visit www.stfrancis.ws.
social justice: conservative?
liberal? or just what Jesus would do?
meet Father Fred Thelen, Judy Zabik and Father
Pete Dougherty
By Bob Horning | Photography by Christine Jones
 Father
Fred Thelen
Immigration
About 95 percent of Lansing’s Cristo Rey Catholic Church parishioners
are Hispanic, many of them immigrants. Their pastor of 13 years,
Father Fred Thelen, recognizes the need of immigration law reform.
The Catholic bishops of Mexico and the United States issued
a document called Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey
of Hope. They want legislation passed that will respect
the dignity of immigrants and that will allow families to be reunited
across borders. This document, and more information about the issue,
is at www.justiceforimmigrants.org, the Web site for the U.S. bishops’
campaign.
There are millions of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who came
with the hope of providing for their families, since they couldn’t
in their homeland. Many are abused at work, or not given
full pay. If they complain about it, they fear being reported and
deported. The bishops want to see legislation that is not punitive
to immigrants or employers, but that is a compassionate and comprehensive
reform of current law.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that we should welcome and help the
stranger and the poor, and, as we do, that we will encounter Jesus
himself. Our rich Catholic social teaching advocating this
is too little-known and too often superseded by our fears, racism
and prejudice.
Many who come to our parish faced poverty at home, obstacles in
coming to the States, then oppression and prejudice once they get
here. They have been through a lot of pain. Their plight
calls me to reach out with the compassion of Christ.
We welcome immigrants at Cristo Rey. Their papers aren’t checked
at the door. They trust us because we care. Through informal
networks, we often help them get jobs and get connected with social
agencies that can help them. We also foster an environment where
they can feel at home and continue their native customs and culture.
Hispanics have much to offer spiritually to America, a country of
immigrants. Their deep Catholic faith is part of who they
are. Prayer is a natural part of their life. Family ties are a priority.
It is the work of the Spirit that they are bringing new life and
renewal into the U.S. church.
 Judy
Zabik
Livingston County
Lifespan
Judy Zabik is the director of Lifespan for Livingston County,
and treasurer of the state organization. One of nine children, she
says she inherited her mother’s passion for pro-life issues.
Abortion is the greatest social injustice today. We actually
kill babies in this day and age. The deliberate taking of an innocent
life is the greatest child abuse imaginable.
At Lifespan (which covers most of southeast Michigan), our main
focus is on educational, legislative and public awareness programs.
Our belief is that as the lies about issues such as abortion, euthanasia
and embryonic stem cell research are uncovered, that hearts and
minds and legislation will change.
Let me give you a personal example of that. A reporter
from Channel 66 in Flint came to my home to interview me about the
Live Birth Definition Act. I asked her if she knew what partial-birth
abortion was. She had no idea. I was able to explain it to her,
and by the time she left, she had decided to do a TV series positively
portraying people involved in pro-life. And she did.
Throughout the year, we have a number of activities to fit any desired
level of involvement. In the area of education, we provide
speakers to churches and organizations on topics such as chastity,
euthanasia, abortion and embryonic stem-cell research; we offer
a seminar entitled Making Abortion Unthinkable; we sponsor student
essay and art contests on life issues; we staff booths at state,
county and local fairs; we publish a newsletter eight times a year,
and a resource book with educational information as well as a list
of pro-life legislators and business people in the greater Detroit
area.
Three of our programs – a baby shower, dresser ministry and
Wee Care – are for collecting baby items and furniture, and
distributing them to our local crisis pregnancy centers and to needy
mothers. Also, in May is our Mother’s Day dinner,
featuring the Mother of the Year award; in December we sell Christmas
cards to raise funds; and in January there is a rally for youth
for those who can’t attend the March for Life in Washington,
D.C.
 Father
Pete Dougherty
Michigan Peace Team
In 1993, Father Peter Dougherty, along with a handful of others,
started Michigan Peace Team. Now they work throughout the U.S. and
internationally to attempt to defuse violent situations.
Our vision is to pursue peace through active nonviolence in places
of conflict. You might say we act as a shield between the
two sides. To that end, we have trained and placed peace teams in
places such as Iraq, Bosnia, at Michigan State University during
the riots in 1998, in the West Bank in Palestine, along the U.S.-Mexican
border and at Ku Klux Klan demonstrations in Ann Arbor. We only
go when invited by someone in the conflict area. Our aim is to prevent
violence so that dialogue and transformation can take place.
The impetus for my mission is Jesus’ call to nonviolence,
and the example of his nonviolent love. We try to always
remember that both sides are our brothers and sisters. God doesn’t
give us swords and nuclear arms to fight with, but the power of
his Holy Spirit to love.
 Nonetheless,
we aren’t passive. We actively confront violence.
It takes guts. Just as Jesus had to confront evil in Jerusalem,
we need to combat it in Washington, D.C. or wherever we see it.
Justice and peace are not options. But, again like Jesus, there
is no place for hatred, judgment or arrogance in combating violence.
We want to get free of that personally so that we are more able
to act with love and forgiveness.
I became involved with nonviolence when I was pastor at Holy Trinity
Chapel at Eastern Michigan University from 1970-75, where lots of
students opposed the Vietnam War. As I began to understand
the system of violence working in our world, it became clear to
me that the war was evil, and that we are called to active nonviolence
in transforming any violence.
The MPT conducts training to provide knowledge and skill for the
work. We also attempt to educate the public through presentations
to groups and churches. The world has seen the results of peaceful
revolution in recent years in the Philippines, Russia, the Ukraine,
and Georgia, for example.
---
The U.S. Catholic Bishops have identified
seven principles of Catholic social teaching:
1. life and dignity of the human person
2. call to family, community and participation
3. rights and responsibilities
4. options for the poor and vulnerable
5. the dignity of work and the rights of the worker
6. solidarity
7. care for God’s creation
 The
bishops’ document, Sharing Catholic Social Teaching, states
“The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and
that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral
vision for society.” Without this principle, the other six
have no meaning – that’s why it is the foundation for
a moral vision of society.
---
Want to find out how you can help promote
social justice?
visit
www.dioceseoflansing.org and click on the “Catholic Charities”
link.
Contact:
Cristo Rey Parish, www.cristoreylansing.catholicweb.com, 517.394.8090
Michigan Peace Team, www.michiganpeaceteam.org, 517.484.3178
Lifespan, www.rtl-lifespan.org, 810.220.LIFE
Happy Anniversary
Priests of our diocese who are celebrating
25th and 50th anniversaries of ordination
Marybeth Hicks
Father Louis Komorowski,
Ordained June 9, 1956
Priestly journey: A native of Temperance, Michigan,
Father Louis has devoted 50 years in the service of the church as
an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales. After receiving a degree in biology
from Catholic University in 1957, he joined the faculty of St. Francis
de Sales High School in Toledo, where he taught until 1971. Throughout
his priestly career, Father Louis maintained a close relationship
with the parish of St. Mary of Good Counsel in Adrian, an association
that began in 1958. Father Louis lives at the parish and continues
to serve the families there.
Times change: “The biggest change in the
past 50 years is the way the people want and need priests,”
Father Louis says. “Earlier, there was more of a sacramental
approach – we were there to bring the sacraments to the people.
But today people see me as a member of the community. We are more
in touch with the people.”
Summing up with Scripture: Father Louis says he can just
hear Jesus saying the words from Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to
me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble
of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden light.”
Father Stan Czarnota
Ordained December 22, 1956
Priestly journey: A native of Poland, Father Stan
was ordained at the age of 22 in Lublin in 1956. For nearly 20 years,
he stayed in Poland, teaching full-time and also working as an assistant
pastor and pastor in several parishes. “At that time, all
priests were educators and we taught in the government schools,”
he explains, “but when Communism took over, priests were no
longer permitted to teach.” Immigrating to the United States
in 1975, Father Stan first came to the Flint area at the invitation
of a parish priest. In 1980, he became a U.S. citizen. To show his
appreciation for his new country, he joined the U.S. Navy and served
for eight years as a chaplain. From 1988 to 2003, Father Stan was
chaplain for Sparrow Health System’s Dimondale Center nursing
home.
Life as a priest: “It is much more than I expected,”
Father Stan says. “I never knew priests were so valuable to
the people. Especially in the Navy and in the hospital, I was able
to be with people who needed me. My door was always open. I never
said ‘no.’”
Summing up with Scripture: When Father Stan first
heard the words in Matthew 16:24-25, he decided to follow Jesus:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come
after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For
whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.”
Father Tom Nenneau
Ordained September 12, 1981
Priestly journey: “In high school, almost
all of my teachers were priests or seminarians,” he says.
“I respected them and thought it would be a good life.”
Father Tom followed his yearning and moved to Lansing in 1969, entering
the seminary through the Diocese of Lansing. After his ordination
in 1981, he began a priestly career that has called him to seven
parishes, including St. Mary in Mt. Morris, where he now serves
as pastor, fulfilling his longtime wish. “As an associate
pastor, my goal was to become pastor of a small, rural parish,”
he says. Along with his service to the church, Father Tom has served
in the U.S. Naval Reserve since 1984, reaching the rank of commander.
He calls his Navy service “a significant part of my priestly
career,” enabling him to work with people of all faiths and
in a variety of circumstances.
Filling a need: Father Tom’s experiences
as both a Navy chaplain and a parish priest have taught him that
“people are people. As a priest, the expectations are not
much different from place to place.”
Summing up with Scripture: Father Tom’s favorite
Scripture, John 14:2-3, is a reminder of the personal nature of
our relationship with Jesus: “In my Father’s house there
are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you
that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.”
Father Mark Inglot
Ordained September 12, 1981
Priestly journey: Father Mark left his hometown
of Flint at age 18 to attend Michigan State University. While a
student at MSU, he joined St. John Student Parish, where he was
encouraged to discern his priestly vocation. After graduating in
1977, Father Mark enrolled at St. John Major Seminary and the University
of Detroit. He earned two graduate degrees and was ordained in 1981.
“I decided to try the seminary for one year, but four years
flew by before I knew it,” he recalls. His assignments in
the Diocese of Lansing have included parishes in Brighton, Lansing
and Ann Arbor (“The bishop sent me to St. Francis of Assisi
as a Spartan missionary.”) before landing back where his vocation
began: MSU and St. John Student Parish. He has served as pastor
there for the past six years.
An unexpected life: “I never knew what a wonderful
life it would be as a priest,” Father Mark says. “I’ve
never been bored or lonely. I’m with people at their most
memorable and sacred moments. I can have a day that includes a baptism,
a funeral and a wedding, sharing the whole spectrum of life.”
Summing up with Scripture: Father Mark’s
priestly vocation is captured in the words of John 21:17: “He
said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love
me?’ Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third
time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord,
you know everything; you know that I love you.’ (Jesus) said
to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”
Father Gregg Pleiness
Ordained September 12, 1981
Priestly journey: Twenty-five years ago, Father
Gregg made two lifelong commitments – one to the priesthood,
and another to the Army National Guard. His life and vocation have
been defined by those commitments ever since. “I’ve
spent most of my priestly career in parishes along the US-23 corridor,”
Father Gregg says. His assignments have included parishes in Brooklyn
and Jackson, and he is now the pastor of St. Augustine Parish in
Howell, the “best kept secret” in Livingston County,
where he has been since 1999. “I have every intention of dying
here in 50 or 60 years,” Father Gregg says wryly. He still
is active in the Guard, as well.
Getting attached: Father Gregg says he wouldn’t
change anything about his priestly journey, especially his propensity
to get attached to the people he serves. While some might hold back
their emotions to avoid the pain of leaving a parish community,
Father Gregg decided long ago to embrace the heartache of moving
from place to place. “I asked God to never let the hurt go
away, because I want to love people enough to feel sorry when it’s
time to move on.”
Summing up with scripture: Father Greg calls John
17 “Jesus’ last will and testament – it’s
what he wants from us.” John 17: 20-21: “I pray not
only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through
their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in
me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may
believe that you sent me.”
Father John Aduba
Ordained October 31, 1981
Priestly journey: Father John became a priest in
his hometown of Ubulu-Okiti, Nigeria and worked as a pastor in several
parishes before coming to the United States to attend Franciscan
University in Steubenville, Ohio. After earning graduate degrees
in theology and counseling, Father John came to the Diocese of Lansing
and was assigned the chaplaincy for Flint area hospitals. His duties
also grew to include pastoral work in several parishes, in addition
to his role in multiple health-care institutions. Currently, he
is chaplain in Jackson for two hospitals and eight nursing homes,
as well as a regular assistant at Queen of the Miraculous Medal
Parish.
Every life is sacred: Father John’s vocation has
called him to experience the moment of death with countless people,
a time of intimacy he is grateful to share with families. “The
experience of death is the same for every human person,” he
says. “As a chaplain, God challenges me to think about my
own mortality and my own life by sharing the sacred life of the
people I serve.” His work is “exhausting, challenging,
humbling,” he says. “But every life is unique and everyone
has a story to tell.”
Summing up with Scripture: “God always protects me
in the midst of the unknown,” Father John says. He’s
glad he answered the call. Isaiah 6:8: “Then I heard the voice
of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’
‘Here I am,’ I said; ‘send me!’”
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