By Rita McInerney

Two candidates for the permanent diaconate whose ordinations were delayed about 18 months were ordained by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, on Dec. 3 at the Cathedral of Christ the King.

The two men were Joseph Barker, of St. Anthony's parish in southwest Atlanta, and William Payne, of Holy Cross parish in Tucker.

Deacons assisting at the liturgy of the Word for the afternoon ceremony were Winston Leverett for Deacon Barker, and John Stroop for Deacon Payne. After the two candidates were ordained by the archbishop, they assisted him at the Eucharistic celebration.

Both new deacons started with the large class ordained in May, 1987. Barker was forced to drop out after two years of study. There were "too many obligations" pressing upon him and his wife, Richardine, who attended many of the class with him, or for him.

The Barkers have five children and three grandchildren. There were high school and college graduations and marriages crowing their busy lives. But "we all knew it was just a temporary hold situation," he said.

The Barkers have been members of St. Anthony's for about nine years. They moved to Atlanta from Houston, TX. Deacon Barker, a contract programmer, was with IBM at that time. He is now self-employed.

He returned to his third year of study in September, 1987, and finished in June, 1988. That same month he made his retreat with Dom Augustine at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

As an ordained deacon he expects to continue doing whatever he can at his parish to relieve the pastor, Father Bruce Wilkinson. Now he can perform marriages and baptisms and give an occasional homily. He and Richardine will continue visiting parish shut-ins. He has served on the parish council and as chairman of the welcome committee.

He views becoming a deacon as part of his growth. He has "always been there to help even though I always felt there were people more capable but I would step forward if I saw something had to be done."

His former pastor, Father John Adamski, said, "He was always willing to give serious time and energy to the work of the Church."

"I'm committed to those things that I think God wants me to do and look at it, in a sense, like marriage. Demanding, often unfulfilling and discouraging," Barker said. "God has adequately prepared me for the task and if He hasn't he'll fill the slack." In the past 29 years of marriage and raising a family, the negatives have been far offset by the positives, he added.

Before entering the diaconate program the Barkers took part in the lay ministry program initiated at St. Anthony's by Father Adamski and Father Joseph Cavallo, now pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes. Classes were held every other week. "We were learning and performing at the same time," Barker said of the three-year program.

"I'm thrilled to be a very small part of history," he said of the ordination. "Being ordained by Archbishop Marino, it's kind of an overpowering feeling to think that hands were laid on me with a power and authority passed down from Jesus Christ. I just hope I can live up to what's expected of me and not disappoint anyone."

Deacon Payne, a systems architect with Unisys, had completed his three years of study and was ready to be ordained to the permanent diaconate with the class of 1987. Instead he was sent by his firm to Tasmania for 15 months. His wife, Rose, and two daughters, Ingrid, 14, and Sonja, 11, accompanied him.

He felt sadness at having to leave so close to ordination, but said he faced that fact "that if God really wanted me to serve his people, then I would."

"One of the things I often remember," he said, "was one of our instructors telling us that we must come to love the Church and, if that wasn't happening, we should closely evaluate what we think is our call to be a deacon."

"Now there are often times when I think about it, when I find myself falling more and more in love with our Church," he admitted.

The Paynes returned to the U.S. from "down under" last July 4, happy to arrive home, especially so on such a holiday with all the flags flying.

All that remained for Payne to do to fulfill requirements for ordination was to make a retreat. He did this early in November, a five-day, one-on-one spiritual renewal with Dom Augustine at the Conyers monastery.

As a permanent deacon he will be working with Father Adamski, now pastor at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, who is pleased to be "connected" with both new deacons. Payne had been involved as a volunteer at Central Presbyterian Church night shelter for several years and had an inclination to work downtown. Father Adamski was receptive.

Holy Cross will continue to be home parish for the Paynes. During the 10 years they have been members he has served on the finance council and as president of the parish council. When the Renew program began about five years ago, he was one of three parishioners serving on the coordinating council with Father Alberto Rodriguez, pastor at that time.

The Paynes are members of the Cursillo, have made Marriage Encounter, and also have participated in a Life in the Spirit seminar.

During their stay in Tasmania the family attended St. Mary's Cathedral in the capital city of Hobart. There, Deacon Payne was able to serve as acolyte.

Of the church in Tasmania, he said, "Our flavor of it is heavily impacted because the pastor for the first eight of nine months wasn't as encouraging to people as we were used to." Toward the end of their stay, he said, a new pastor was named who seemed to be more open. But "overall it's not quite as progressive" as the Church in the U.S.