News

Next step toward priesthood

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

Biographies Dave Duffeck Son of Donald and the late Joanne Duffeck. One of eight children. Home parish: Currently at St. Josaphat Parish, Oshkosh. Grew up at Holy Rosary Parish, Kewaunee. High school: Kewaunee High School College: Fox Valley Technical College and Marian College Seminary: St. Meinrad Seminary, Meinrad, Ind., Theology IV Parish Internship: St. Josaphat, Oshkosh Quinn Mann Son of Stephen and Dorothea Mann. One of five children. Home parish: Corpus Christi Parish, Sturgeon Bay High school: Sturgeon Bay High School College: Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Mich. Seminary: University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Ill., Theology IV Parish internship: St. Mary Parish, De Pere. Walter Stumpf Son of Patrick and Phyllis Stumpf. One of seven children. Home parish: Holy Spirit Parish, Darboy/Kimberly High school: Kimberly High School College: UW-River Falls Seminary: University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Ill., Theology IV Parish internship: St. Therese Parish, Appleton

Three seminarians from the Diocese of Green Bay will take another step to priesthood this weekend.

Dave Duffeck, Quinn Mann and Walter Stumpf will be ordained deacons by Bp. David Zubik at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 17, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Green Bay. Ordination to the transitional diaconate is among the final steps to priesthood. All three men are scheduled to be ordained priests in June of 2006.

Saturday will mark the second consecutive year the ordination is celebrated in the diocese [read about last year's ordination here and here]. Candidates are often ordained to the transitional diaconate at seminaries.

"When you journey with these guys (seminary classmates), you like to share this step with them," said Duffeck. "Many of us will be ordained to the priesthood on the same day, so we cannot share that moment, so I can understand deacon ordinations at the seminary. On the other hand, it is good to be back. Things are going on constantly in our preparation for the priesthood that the people do not see. It's good to share this with them. The church is alive. People ought to know that their prayers (for vocations) have been answered. It's always good to be home. There will not only be family and friends there, but people I know from retreats. It will be a celebration of the church of Green Bay."

Duffeck will continue his studies at St. Meinrad School of Theology in Meinrad, Ind., and serve as a deacon at the seminary and Meinrad area parishes. Mann and Stumpf will continue studies at University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill. They will be serving as deacons in the Diocese of Green Bay.

As transitional deacons, Duffeck, Mann and Stumpf may preside over prayer services, celebrate baptisms, weddings and funerals, and perform works of charity in the name of the bishop and their pastor.

The three men reflected on this step in the journey to priesthood.

Dave Duffeck

	Dave Duffeck

"The priesthood is a wonderful calling, but it comes with a lot of responsibility. It's calling you to serve a wonderful ministry and it's God's people that are in your hands. Throughout this journey I have been reflecting, praying and checking with the Lord. Can I do this? I can with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I definitely could not serve the people or complete this journey without the Lord leading it."

Quinn Mann

	Quinn Mann

"'Servanthood' is synonymous with diaconate. In fact, the New Testament makes several references to the office of deacon. The word itself comes from the Greek word, diakonos which means, "to serve." (Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8,12; Rom 16:1; Col 1:23; 1 Tim 4:6; 2 Cor 6:4; & Jn 12:26) Of course, every English word in our vocabulary can be traced back to some derivative of a Greek word!

"The past five years during priestly formation, I've come to learn that anyone who wishes to carry any authority in ministry must serve. Hence, the upcoming ordination to the diaconate holds a very special meaning to a future life of service in the Green Bay Diocese. John Paul II continually spoke about making a self-gift. Diaconate is just that; a complete and total gift to Jesus Christ and his church in response to the gift of his redemption on the Cross. God is the, 'giver of all good gifts,' and what better way to return this unmerited grace than to give my life back to Him as a deacon and soon 2B priest.

"A big part of my priestly formation has occurred right in our own diocese at Father Carr's Place 2B. Almost every break, I have had the opportunity to learn first hand radical ways of service to God's people. Radical service must be the bedrock of any ministry and perhaps the Church could focus even more on the importance of serving others, especially through the spiritual counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Radical models of servanthood (diakonos) are a means to reinvigorate and renew a Church that must conform itself even more to Christ's life of service. As Fr. Carr told me, 'Once a deacon, always a deacon!' To be an authentic disciple of Christ Jesus who, 'humbled himself like a servant,' demands a total and complete gift of self to others. As Jesus reminds us, 'For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me' (Mt 25:35,36). To serve others is to serve Christ himself and I am grateful to all those who have modeled this life of radical service during five years of priestly formation."

Walter Stumpf

	Walter Stumpf

"Among the many lovely Christmas cards I have received, one from a Franciscan Sister included an especially profound thought: 'You will have a deacon's heart and soul to use as a crib for the baby Jesus this year.' At my ordination, I will promise to be consecrated to the Sacred Order of Deacon for the church's ministry. I will promise to hold fast to the mystery of faith and to proclaim that faith in word and deed. Now is the time to let Jesus claim me as a deacon for service to his holy church."

Profiles on Duffeck, Mann and Stumpf are also featured online at www.gbdioc.org/pg/vocationsSeminarians.tpl.