Bob Readdy

LOCUST GROVE--Bob Readdy of St. James the Apostle Parish in McDonough came back to his roots in the Catholic faith after retiring from the Air Force in 1974.

He began his journey, he says, “by taking on lawn maintenance at the small rural parish.” They he became a member of the parish council, then the Knights of Columbus Council 7601, eventually serving as grand knight.

After Readdy became a eucharistic minister and a lector, the pastor at the time, Father Joe Gorney, CSsR, came upon him at his grass cutting one day. “As much as you do around here, you ought to think about becoming a deacon,” he suggested.

“I just looked at him and laughed.” Readdy wasn’t aware at the time that the Catholic Church had deacons. There were none at St. James the Apostle. But Father Gorney kept asking if Readdy had given his suggestion any thought. In time, Readdy felt more agreeable to the idea. “God began working on me.”

He mentioned some of his “reservations, guilts and doubts” to the priest, but “God and Father Joe wouldn’t give up on me.” After a year pursuing his regular church ministries and “many hours of prayer,” Readdy accepted the challenge.

Now, five years later, with the support of Father Gorney and the current pastor, Father George Philips, CSsR, “I am answering God’s call.”

He and his wife, Marjorie, have a son and daughter and give grandchildren. A master sergeant with an E-7 grade when he retired from the Air Force, Readdy, 60, is a field investigator for the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

As a permanent deacon he hopes to work in the religious education of children and young adults.

J. Eugene Whitmeyer

TUCKER--J. Eugene Whitmeyer operates an architectural drafting computer as his occupation. The Lord’s design for his life included his wife, Linda, seven children and eight grandchildren.

Assigned to Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Whitmeyer has found the divine architect has allowed for a further vocation which has been nurtured by Father Richard Lopez and Corpus Christi Parish Deacon Will MacDonald. “I always wanted to do the things that Christ preached and encouraged,” said Whitmeyer, 62, who is ready for the service portion of the design when it unfolds.

William G. Lange

ROSWELL--William G. Lange is purchasing and logistics director for Siemens Energy and Automation, Inc. He and his wife, Victoria, have three daughters and are members of St. Benedict Parish in Duluth.

The 49-year-old Lange said his wife was “the major influence on my initial conversion to the Catholic faith.” He also credits a Salvatorian and a Jesuit priest as encouraging the call to ordination. Involvement in the Respect Life movement “challenged me to get directly involved in the Church.”

John C. Jansen

CONYERS--John C. (Jack) Jansen of St. Pius X Parish in Conyers was led to seek ordination as a permanent deacon by his spiritual director, Father Tom Francis, OCSO, of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers.

He credits the Trappist with having “for many years encouraged and supported me spiritually.”

Jansen and his wife, Patricia, are the parents of nine children and the grandparents of 21. There are two great-grandchildren.

A certified financial planner and financial adviser, Jansen, 62, hopes to continue his hospital ministry and to work with his pastor, Father John Walsh, in meeting the needs of the parish and the community.

Kerry R. Korte

HARTWELL--Jerry R. Korte, a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hartwell, believes he found the “spark” that led him to study for the permanent diaconate when he made his Cursillo almost 10 years ago.

From that time on, he says, he and his wife, Mary, have been committed to the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults. “We found that our joy in life has been directly connected to our lived-out commitment of giving our time, talent, and treasure to the Body of Christ.”

Korte, 53, and May are the parents of a daughter and three sons. They have two grandchildren. He is sales manager for Mearl Corporation, minerals division.

As a permanent deacon, Korte hopes to serve in the adult religious education area and in helping the needy.

Jim G. Weeks

PALMETTO--Jim G. Weeks, 49, has been selling all types of insurance for State Farm for more than 20 years.

He said he owes the development of his vocation primarily to his wife, Theresa, and their three children. He also received encouragement from his pastor, Father James Caffrey, MS, at St. Matthew Church in Fairburn and from parishioners there during his four years of formation.

“I had no idea what a deacon ... was or did,” said Weeks. But after a parish information night, he understood that “a deacon is called to serve his community.”

Weeks hopes to work with the sick and infirm as part of his ministry. For him, ordination is “an opportunity to give back to our parish as has been given to me.”

Stanley Thomas Prawdzik

GRIFFIN--Stanley Thomas Prawdzik, 48, is a member of Sacred Heart Church in Griffin. A carpenter in heavy and commercial construction, he is unmarried.

Starting as an alter server in 1957, Prawdzik has been serving the church most of his life. Though he considered the priesthood, the multitude of roles in the diaconate appeals to him.

“Being a deacon is by no means second-class clergy,” said Prawdzik, who “felt there was something more...I could be doing with my life.” The diaconate is where he feels called, with God’s help, to “make a difference in people’s lives.”

Prawdzik is especially attracted to ministry with the terminally ill, parish renewal and re-evangilization. He also hopes to continue his work in the Order of Christian Initiation.

James E. Stone

LILBURN--James E. Stone of St. John Neumann Parish in Lilburn has many people to thank for the help along the journey that led him to the permanent diaconate. But it was the example of the mother of a friend while a teenager that stirred him to learn about the Catholic faith.

“Mrs. Nancy Selman, of Rockmart, Ga.,...has had one of the most profound effects on my life of anyone outside my family,” he says. “It was her witness to her Catholic faith that resulted in my conversion to Catholicism in 1969 and eventually seeking ordination as a permanent deacon. I pray that my ministry with youth will help other teens in their faith commitment.”

Stone and his wife, Beverly, have two sons, Brother James Stone, of the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, Conn., and John Bradley Stone.

At St. John Neumann Parish, Stone has been involved with the adult Bible study group, Cursillo, and the Knights of Columbus, and as a lector. All these activities, he says, “led to deeper faith and commitment to service in the Church.”

Friends and some deacons in the parish encouraged him to pursue this vocation. He also credits his wife, and the late Father Hugh Byron, Father James Fennessy, his pastor; Father Michael McWhorter, his Cursillo group reunion, Susan Shaw, and his boss, Steve Pankow, with providing the support and encouragement to persevere during the four-year formation program.

Stone, 45, is eastern division manager for Associated Hygienic Products which has its U.S. headquarters in Duluth.

Tilton C. Meuninck

FAYETTEVILLE--Tilton C. Meuninck of St. Gabriel’s Parish in Fayetteville believes three renewal weekends while living in Ohio were roadmarks on his journey to the permanent diaconate.

While the Meunincks were members of St. Laddislas Parish in Westlake, Ohio, the pastor, Father Thomas Cullen, made a “significant impact” on him during these renewal experiences. His is the third vocation from the group. One member entered the priesthood, another became a permanent deacon.

The influences he credits with his new life in the Church reach back to his boyhood. “My father, he recalls, “taught me to read when I wasn’t doing well in school, in the seventh grade. He taught me how to shoot a basketball. These were lessons in practice and persistence that have paid off.”

Sisters at his parish school in Indiana are also mentioned as contributing to his religious journey.

“From my wife, Lynn, I learned joy and how to overcome being shy, how to be more open to people. I still need to grow; she will help me,” he acknowledges.

The Meunincks have two sons. Meuninck, 52, is assistant manager for traffic management and quality assurance at the Air Traffic Control tower at Hartsfield Airport.

He has a dream of starting a nondenominational HIV-AIDS support group on the south side of Atlanta. It will take time and patience, he recognizes, to establish a good program. But the need is there. He is also interested in CCD for youth, the Life Teen program, and becoming involved in retreats.

Michael A. Capozza

SNELLVILLE--Michael A. Capozza of St. Oliver Plunkett Parish in Snellville believes that in his heart “I’m a LaSalette deacon.”

“Father Tom Carroll and Father Mike Flanagan have been great inspirations...and great mentors for me. Everything they say and do is just so supportive...It’s been very special to be in a LaSalette parish.”

He was led to seek admission to the permanent diaconate after a Cursillo weekend followed by discussions with his wife, Colleen Sandra, and the late Father Joseph Beltran, their pastor at the time. Father Beltran signed his application for the formation program.

The Capozzas are the parents of two sons and two daughters. They have three grandchildren.

Michael Capozza, 56, is a delicatessen clerk at a Kroger market. He is looking forward to serving God and the community in “whatever ways my pastor and the archbishop should want and need.”

Michael Keith Mobley

FAYETTEVILLE--Michael Keith Mobley, 41, grew up in the Protestant tradition. He started attending church regularly when his daughter and son grew old enough to question his “major holidays only” attendance.

He became active as a team member in the adult education program at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hapeville and eventually entered the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults program there. After joining the Catholic Church he became even more active in the parish working with the OCIA, adult education and the liturgy board as well as lectoring and distributing communion.

A member of the Knights of Columbus and a Guard of Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he has worked in both hospital and prison ministry.

Mobley is a division sales manager and proud grandfather of a two-year-old. He is hoping to continue his involvement in OCIA as a deacon. He is grateful to the dozens of people, but especially his wife, Mary, whose prayers and interest have enabled him to arrive at his vocation.

Thomas B. Shuler

ATLANTA--Tom Shuler, 50, left his job as consultant to work full-time as pastoral administrator of Holy Spirit Church. Such a commitment was, said Shuler, “a lifelong dream.” An oblate of St. Benedict, he has an undergraduate degree in music and a maser’s degree in counseling.

He and his wife, Sandra, have a daughter. Sandra is also very involved in serving Holy Spirit’s parishioners.

Shuler has been considering a diaconate vocation since 1975. His years at Holy Cross Parish and interaction with Father Mark Geary, Deacon Dick Narey and Deacon Walt Bedard were especially significant.

“St. Benedict, my patron saint, relates in his Rule that someone desiring to enter the monastery should be tested to learn how serious his desires are,” Shuler said. “So it has been with me.”

Shuler hopes to continue in his current role at Holy Spirit.

William F. McCarthy

JONESBORO--William F. (Bill) McCarthy of St. Philip Benizi Parish is a sales representative who entered the church through the Order of Christian Initiation in 1984.

He is particularly grateful to Carol Hamill, consultant for adult faith formation in the Office of Religious Education for the archdiocese, who encouraged him to become involved in the parish.

“The OCI process led me on a straight and sure course to ordination,” said McCarthy, 43, whose family includes his wife, Leslie, and their son and daughter.

Robert M. Rich

LOCUST GROVE--Robert M. Rich attributes his vocation to the support of his family, which includes his wife, Barbara, two adult children and two grandchildren.

Father Frank Guista was his “greatest inspiration,” said Rich, 54, and Father Tom Francis, OCSO, “guided me to the table of service.”

Rich is protective clothing sales manager for Health Physics, a Kent, Ohio, firm. A member of St. James the Apostle Parish in McDonough, he hopes to be involved in liturgies and in teaching in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.