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Saturday, June 28, 2008
Ind. Courts - "Judge takes on new role as deacon" [Updated]
Here are some quotes from a story today by Laura Lane of the Bloomington Herald Times ($$):
Monroe Circuit Judge Marc Kellams may want to consider purchasing a reversible robe.[Updated 6/29/08] "Heeding an ancient call to serve god: Archdiocese revives long-dormant role, ordains 25 as deacons," is the headline to a story today by Robert King in the Indianapolis Star.Black on one side for when he is in his role as judge; white on the other, for his new volunteer job as a deacon in the Catholic church.
Today, 59-year-old Kellams is among 25 men being ordained as the first class of permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, which covers central and southern Indiana.
More than 1,000 people are expected at the 10 a.m. ordination ceremony at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis. The event will recognize the men of faith and formalize their responsibilities as ministers of charity within their parishes. They have spent one weekend each month together during their four-year education process, learning and praying.
The deacons won’t be hearing confessions or consecrating the bread and wine for communion, but they will be able to baptize babies, perform marriages, pray with the sick and dying and serve communion.
The deacons, who have been in training for four years, will serve their parishes for 10 hours a week without compensation. The deacons, dressed in white robes called albs with stoles across their chests, will assist with Mass and occasionally will preach to the congregation. * * *
Kellams will serve St. Charles Borromeo Parish, his home church in Bloomington, where he already coordinates visits to the sick and elderly. “That’s my primary role — assisting the old and the sick,” he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 28, 2008 06:19 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts