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Aug. 23 marked the end of a 10-year journey for Kevin Aaker and the start of a new path of serving people in a more spiritual way.
“Deacon Kevin” and 10 others were ordained at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus in Winona in front of a smaller-than-usual group of friends and family members. Due to pandemic social distancing, church occupancy was limited to 250.
Many parishioners and clergy, like Monsignor Gerald Kosse with St. Catherine’s Church in Luverne and St. Leo Catholic Church in Pipestone, watched by live steam.
Aaker, a Luverne High School graduate, is the first person in the joint parishes to be ordained a deacon. “It is a great moment,” Kosse said. “We’ve been waiting to celebrate.”
Aaker’s journey began in 2010 with a one-year prerequisite class to become a deacon.
“At the end of that year, the program was stopped to be reorganized,” Aaker said. “During those three years I continued studies in lay ministry that the diocese offered.”
What emerged three years later was a four-year program, plus a fifth-year of online scriptural studies through the Augustine Institute in Denver.
“Then before we could get the ordination scheduled, COVID hit and everything was put on hold,” Aaker said.
Meanwhile, he took care of business at Luverne Auto Body, which he owns with his wife, Mary, and continued his work as a member of the Luverne City Council.
What does a deacon do?
Deacons in the Catholic faith are unpaid and are assigned by the bishop to different parishes to assist the presiding priest.
Aaker has been assigned to assist Msgr. Kosse with the 895 member families in Luverne and Pipestone.
Deacons assist with the rites of baptism, marriage and funerals outside of Mass. While they can administer communion, they don’t consecrate the Eucharist or hear confessions.
Aaker will also continue teaching confirmation classes and leading the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.
During church services it is the deacon’s role to complete the gospel readings and complete the homily when asked.
Aaker’s first homilies will be this weekend at both St. Leo and at St. Catherine’s.
He said he doesn’t expect much change, except for his title.
“In informal settings I would guess ‘Deacon Kevin’; in more informal settings ‘Deacon Aaker’ will be the norm,” he said. “At work and home I am betting ‘Kevin’ and ‘Grandpa’ will be the same as before.”
He told the story about a day in 2008 when Father Tom Jennings, then priest at St. Catherine’s Church, walked into the business and called him “Deacon Kevin.”
“I chuckled and wondered what he was talking about,” Aaker recalled. “At that point in my life I had no idea what a deacon was. What surprised me was it kept rolling around in my head.”
A drive-by reception is planned for Aaker at 4 p.m. Sunday in front of St. Catherine’s Church.
The reception will feature cake-to-take and a basket for cards.