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Deacon's ministry to parish, community touches many

(Editor's note: April 13 is World Day of Prayer for Vocations.)

By Amanda Lauer
Compass Correspondent

APPLETON -- The thought of becoming a deacon first entered Deacon Rick Simon's mind around 20 years ago. A life-changing incident made him consider the prospect more closely.

"Twelve years ago, I was a colon cancer survivor. I think when I had that, I re-looked at the vocation," he said. "You kind of face death's door and you say 'What's this life all about and do I have something to share? If God is going to keep me around here, how can I best serve?'"

A native of Menasha, Deacon Simon is a graduate of St. Mary High School in Menasha. After graduating from high school in 1965, he entered the Army, serving in Korea for two years.

His father, Sylvester, had been in the bakery business his whole working life, so Deacon Simon had a dream of owning his own bakery. That dream came true when, while Rick was still in Korea, his father bought the former Bestler Bakery on Wisconsin Avenue in Appleton. The name of the bakery was changed to Simple Simon Bakery and is still in the same location today.

Deacon Simon married his high school sweetheart, Judy, on March 21, 1968. They celebrated 40 years of marriage on Good Friday this year. They have three children and have been members of St. Pius X Parish for 32 years. "I feel very blessed to not only be a parish member for that long, but ... now I'm serving at St. Pius," he said.

The timing for entering the diaconate program was left up to God, he said.

Deacon Simon wasn't able to retire from his job at that time because he was in a partnership at the bakery with his brother Bill. "When he retired, I immediately started the (diaconate) process, which is a five-year program," he said. "I retired two years before I was ordained."

He was ordained May 14, 2005, at age 59.

"At the time, Fr. Don Zuleger was (pastor) and I came on just as a part-time person," he said. "It was kind of like on-the-job-training. I was fortunate I was able to come here full time."

A deacon has a wide range of duties, including wedding and baptismal preparation, as well as witnessing weddings and performing baptisms. "My wife Judy and I work as a FOCCUS couple and in marriage preparation," said Deacon Simon. "The priests do all the marriages in the context of the Mass and then I do all of them outside the Mass."

He also presides at funerals. "Usually I work with the family when they have the funeral in the funeral home."

Deacon Simon also works with the homebound and the sick. "I train the volunteers to do homebound (visits) and I also do homebound (visits), bringing the Eucharist," he said. "When we have a person that's suffering from any illness and they let us know, I always go to their home and I will bring Communion, I will listen to their story."

He helps facilitate planning for the celebration of the Sacrament of Anointing when someone enters hospice.

Helping to welcome new members into the parish is also part of Deacon Simon's duties. As coordinator of the parish's RCIA process, he helps teach other adults about the Catholic faith.

"This year, we had two catechumens and nine candidates for confirmation," he said. "We have a wonderful team of volunteers here in the parish that also assists in the formation of these men and women."

As a deacon, he has the faculties to preach, which allows him to deliver homilies at Mass. "We have two wonderful priests. Whenever they want me to preach they just say 'Would you be able to do it?' They always ask a week or two in advance. We're a team here, we work really well together," he said. "I get to work with the children's Mass too. We're blessed here in our day school. On Wednesdays we have a children's Mass. I get to interact with the children at their Mass."

On the weekend, Deacon Simon attends one or two Masses. "I try to rotate it around, so that the role of the deacon is visible to the people. We also have ministry at Appleton Medical Center for Communion. I train our ministers over there. We probably have 20-24 volunteers at AMC."

There is one important distinction that Deacon Simon has made about being a deacon. "We're called, not to do everything, but to help call the gifts forward, recognizing the gifts of the people that are baptized, helping them to serve in different areas."

Being present to the parish community is important to Simon. "Some people say 'You work a lot here.' I say, this is not work, this is a labor of love. When you're happy doing what you're doing and you feel like God has led you to that, it's a ministry of love."

With his cancer behind him, Deacon Simon is thankful for the opportunity to serve others.

"Every day I pray that I might have one person put in my path that I might share the love of Christ," he said.