Print Issue: January 30, 2003

Raymond E. Brown Ordained A Permanent Deacon Jan. 19

At his ordination Mass, Rev. Mr. Raymond Brown holds the chalice while Bishop Francis Malooly, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, holds the consecrated host at the culmination of the eucharistic prayer. The deacon's former pastor, Msgr. James J. Cronin, left, was a concelebrant of the Jan. 19 Mass. Newly ordained Deacon Raymond Brown poses with Deacon Loris Sinanian, left, director of deacon formation for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and Bishop Francis Malooly, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, a childhood friend of the new deacon and the ordaining prelate.

By Gretchen Keiser and Erika Anderson

BALTIMORE-His family, his friends from his old school and neighborhood and his 2003 classmates were present Jan. 19 as Raymond E. Brown was ordained to the permanent diaconate for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

Rev. Mr. Brown, 57, a retired military man who will serve at St. John Neumann Church in Lilburn, was ordained ahead of the rest of his class in Baltimore so that his 88-year-old mother, Ann, could be there.

He was ordained at her parish, St. Ursula, by Bishop Francis Malooly, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore, who was in grade school with the candidate, according to Deacon Loris Sinanian, director of deacon formation for the Atlanta Archdiocese.

One of the readers for the Mass was Notre Dame Sister Catherine Dolores Cress, who taught the bishop and the deacon in seventh and eighth grade, Deacon Sinanian said.

Father Robert J. Jaskot, secretary to Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore, served as master of ceremonies for the ordination Mass. Deacon Brown was vested in his diaconal stole by Msgr. James J. Cronin, former pastor at St. Ursula, and by Deacon Sinanian, who also did the call of the candidate and the presentation of the candidate to the community as part of the rite.

Among those from Atlanta attending were Deacon Alfred Mitchell, director of deacon personnel, who was deacon of the word for the Mass, and Deacon Kevin Tracey, who was deacon of the altar. Six candidates from Atlanta served as acolytes for the Mass.

The rest of the class of 2003, 13 men, will be ordained at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 8.

Married to his wife Lois for 35 years and the father of two grown daughters, the deacon served in the U.S. Army for 30 years, including in wartime in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. He retired as a colonel in 1998.

As he served around the world, he was touched by what he experienced and felt a call to respond compassionately in serving the church.

"I saw a lot of poverty and misery," he said. "But I also saw the universality of the church and that really had an impact on me."

He said in every church he attended, he "saw the burden of the priests," who had to serve as spiritual leaders and business managers.

"I knew I had talents that I could use to help out," he said, adding that the idea of being a servant for Christ "really appealed to me, because I was educated in the Jesuit tradition."

The opportunity to be ordained in his mother's home parish, he said, was "a beautiful thing."

"All of her friends were there," he said. "She was just thrilled."

Deacon Brown is grateful for his call to serve the church as a deacon. His wife, a registered nurse who has become a Delta Airlines employee, worked in hospice care at one time and has shared his dream to become a deacon and his desire to serve. He is particularly interested in ministry to the sick and the elderly, bereavement counseling and work with the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

"As it got closer to my ordination, I was more certain that I was taking the right step," he said. "For the first time in my life, I felt I was exactly where I should be, and exactly where the Lord wanted."

He Will Serve At St. John Neumann Church

Age: 57

Date of Birth: April 2, 1945

Place of Birth: Spokane, Wash.

Family: He and his wife, Lois, have been married for 35 years and have two daughters, Katie, 28, and Corey, 23.

Education: Bachelor's degree in political science from Loyola College, Baltimore, 1967.

Work Experience: Retired from the U.S. Army, in which he served for 30 years as an infantry officer, including 20 years of active duty in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. During a military break, he served as director of personnel in a mental health and retardation facility for the Maryland Department of Health. He now works for the Marriott Corp. in golf operations.

Primary Hobbies and Interests: Golfing, computers, digital enhancement of vinyl records onto CDs.

Parish Ministries: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

Particular Ministries of Interest: St. Vincent de Paul Society, baptism and marriage preparation.

Assignment: St. John Neumann Church, Lilburn, a parish of 3,250 families.

Pastor: Father Stewart Wilber