Message from Deacon Hessler
Dear St. Alphonsus Parishioners,
Happily, I was given the opportunity to introduce myself to you in this week’s bulletin, so Advent greetings to you all! I am a permanent deacon, married 47 years, with three children and 8 grandchildren. I was born and raised in Rockford, went away to engineering school, and then returned to run the family potato farm.
After discontinuing farming in 1996, I got into parish administration. I was parish business manager, first at St. Charles in Greenville and then at OLC Rockford. During those combined 13 years, I attended deacon school and received a MA in Pastoral Theology. Bishop Hurley ordained me in 2006. Since then, I have been assigned as deacon at Our Lady of Consolation in Rockford, except for 2 years out of state.
Feeling the call to pursue other work, I took a vice president job at a community college in Arkansas. There I was in charge of maintenance, construction and, of all things, the armed campus police department! This was quite an adjustment for a Catholic deacon and an ex-potato farmer!
After two years there, the Lord abruptly called me back to Michigan, as I was hired as a VP at Ferris State. At Ferris, I had the comparatively boring tasks of overseeing student housing, dining, the golf course, and the daycare center. As I was retiring from FSU in 2017, Bishop Walkowiak asked me to direct the newly reinstituted permanent deacon program, which I did until 2020.
This past October, the Bishop called me once again— this time to work for Fr. Darling here at St. Alphonsus, which I gladly agreed to do. My schedule allows me to be around the parish a few times a week, as Fr. Darling is busy with his own parish and school. Our role here is to companion you all during this time, making the transition to the diocese as smooth and as seamless as possible.
In my few weeks here, I have learned you have an outstandingly solid and capable staff, which is a delight to work with—which is making everything very easy for all of us.
Both Father and I are happy to be of assistance here at St. Al’s. Please feel free to contact us via the parish office, if you have thoughts or concerns during this time. In the meantime, St. Alphonsus, Pray for us!
May God bless you all, Deacon Jim Hessler