After the summer hiatus, Jay and Candy Krueger continue their “diaconate journey.”

September 12, 2015  We begin our fourth of a five year journey in diaconate formation as a part of the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton class. Our first class as well as our next class was held at Alemany High School, in Mission Hills. After three years, we think that the car can almost drive there itself.   ( Click here to read all of Jay and Candy’s Diaconate blogs!)

Most of the morning was spent discussing everyone’s high and low points of the summer. There were weddings and funerals. There were Baptisms and divorces. There were surgeries and retirements. There were the moving of businesses as well as family members. As we discussed the highs and lows, sometimes there were tears and sometimes laughter.  We have become a very close knitted group, we can share freely the joys and sorrows in each of our lives.  Each one of us struggle with an illness, a death of a loved one, a child who divorced, we band together to lift the others up in prayer and praise asking for the graces and strength to see and support one another through the moments when one of us falls.

It was helpful to hear what  happened in the lives of our classmates over the summer, helping us reconnect with one other.  As with lifelong friendships, even those separated by time and distance, once united again, all the time and space evaporate and it is like we were never separated.

The lives of those in diaconate formation as well as those who are deacon couples are no different than anyone else’s. What can be different is the way in which we respond to events and situations. The training that we receive in formation is helpful not only to those who we will be ministering to, but to ourselves as well.

Understanding the aspects of a funeral (Vigil, Mass and Internment) allows us to help grieving family members cope with the loss of a loved one and be supported through the process. Jay was able to conduct the memorial service for his mother when she passed away a few years ago. Being responsible for both the memorial service and eulogy caused him to look back over his mother’s life and he was able to provide a service that he knew that she would have liked. This experience and empathy helps us to understand what someone might be going though when they have lost a loved one and helps us work with the family members to ensure that the services that are conducted are mindful of the requests of the family.

Your continued prayers and support during this process are greatly appreciated. We are sure that we would not be able to continue without them.

If you have any questions about what we have experienced in the diaconate (aka “that deacon thing”), please ask us or send us an e-mail to gbmom_01_02@yahoo.com.

If you are interested in becoming a Deacon or a Deacon Couple for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, please contact:

 Diaconate Formation Office

Archdiocese of Los Angeles
3424 Wilshire Boulevard, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90010-2241
213-637-7383

Upcoming Diaconate Information days are as follows:
Sunday, October 18, 2015 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Incarnation Community Center, 214 W. Fairview Ave., Glendale, 91202

Candy & Jay Krueger,
Candidacy Year III, Diaconate Formation year IV,
Holy Family Church, South Pasadena, CA