During a recent visit to Kansas, I was privileged to meet Deacon Kevin Cummings, who is spearheading an organization called Deacons of Hope. In this Holy Year when we are called to be “Pilgrims of Hope,” I think we all need to hear about the impressive work this group of deacons is doing. The ministry’s website says:
Deacons of Hope is a parish-based, non-profit pro-life ministry for permanent deacons. Canonically, we are a clerical association of Christ’s faithful erected by Archbishop Joseph Naumann in September 2022.
Our mission is to protect and defend the image and likeness of God at every stage of human life with a ministerial preference for the unborn.
We are honored to have gained the support of Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, and Bishop Johnston of Kansas City, Missouri.
We are beginning to expand and grow this ministry to deacons nationwide and look forward to serving in communities near and far.
Deacon Kevin has generously agreed to write about his program here as a guest blogger. Take and read. His words are addressed to deacons — but extend to all of us who seek to serve the Lord and his people. DGK
We all remember the Holy Spirit’s prompting that led us to where we are today. We tell stories of the time we spent in both discernment and formation. And, of course, we know the date of our ordination to the diaconate just as quickly as we recite our date of birth.
We were called to serve and are proud to do so as permanent deacons in the Catholic Church.
But our assignment and what’s truly on our heart in being the hands and feet of Jesus are very often two different things.
It’s my contention that as men we should be actively working to serve women.
Deacons Of Hope is an association of deacons, right now, passionate about pro-life issues – serving mothers in need. The mothers haven’t had their baby yet, so we’re serving them. They’re homeless, they feel like they have backs turned on them, and so we are treating them with dignity and respect. We are the infrastructure, willing to carry them.
Cite me a passage from scripture where Jesus turned someone away because they were a woman and/or someone in need. He didn’t and we should not be tempted to do so either.
Within Deacons Of Hope, we have a St. Mary’s Home For Mothers, which has its own specialist as well as the deacons who are passionate about mothers and their infants. We are proud of it, and we are working tirelessly to establish more facilities like it around the country if not beyond. But it’s not enough.
It has to be integrated into every parish, every meeting of pro-life coordinators in dioceses throughout the U.S.
After all, Deacons Of Hope was decreed by one of the most vocal pro-life bishops in the USCCB. Archbishop Joseph Naumann wants us to be boots on the ground and he wants to make sure we’ll keep tilling the fields and that the seeds he has planted will bloom.
Our parish pastors gave us our marching orders when we first received our assignments. Their plates are full, and we are a valuable resource to them. To further that, though, with regards to our public clerical association of Christ’s faithful, the stress has been taken off the priest. These deacons have taken it upon themselves to help these women experience what it’s really like to be the mother of a child, just like Mary with Jesus Christ who was the infrastructure of the Christian movement.
We are making it a priority to take care of women first.
We are hard-wired for this. We were fathers first, and husbands, and we can do it as deacons – just like St. Joseph. If we bring that same passion to Pro-Life issues and the church, I’m confident that we can do it.
This mission is critically important. It’s part of why there is no membership fee to join Deacons Of Hope. We need to activate now to ensure these women and their babies know that they are loved and will continue to be loved. As I have publicly said, no pregnant woman should ever have to choose an abortion simply because they’re homeless.
While there are over 160 orders of priests and religious in the Church, this is the closest yet and the first of its kind for permanent deacons. That alone should underscore the significance of banding together as ordained brothers in Christ, ready to work for the women who do so much for us and others. After all, to lift a quote from our official website,
“There are many charisms, graces and teachings that bind Deacons of Hope together but first and foremost it is this: To Preserve and defend the image and likeness of God in humanity at every stage of life.”
We need to help the other half of humanity that we have neglected for far too long. Love their mother – every chance you get. That’s our mission.
This isn’t work, this is a call to serve.
To learn more about Deacons Of Hope, visit their official website at www.DeaconsOfHope.org or contact Deacon Kevin directly via info@DeaconsOfHope.org.
