My name is Tom Shetina and I am a second year candidate in the permanent Diaconate Formation Program. I was raised in Fairport Harbor, and was a member of St. Anthony’s parish until I met my wife Lee Anna. We will be celebrating our twenty-ninth wedding anniversary this fall, and have two adult children, ages twenty-two and twenty. We have been members of St. John Vianney parish in Mentor for almost 29 years. I work as a customer service representative for a company in Wickliffe, and I enjoy spending my spare time with Lee Anna. We like attending local theatre productions, going to the wonderful metroparks in the area, and the challenge of first finding, and then watching, good movies that are inspirational.
As I mentioned before, I am a second year candidate in the five year formation process. Formation is a time of discernment to determine if God is calling me to become a deacon, and a time for developing gifts that are apparent in my life, along with discovering new gifts. We are all called in many different ways to serve our Lord, and I am thankful and excited to be able to participate in this part of my journey with the people of St. Robert and William's parish. The ministry of a deacon is three-fold, encompassing Word, Liturgy, and Charity. My focus while I am here will be on the Word. I am looking forward to being a team member for RCIA, and will also will lector from time to time. I'm anxious to explore the other ministries your parish has to offer, and am looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible.
I am a "cradle Catholic", and the Catholic faith has been an important part of my life as far back as I can remember. What I love most about our Catholic faith is how it incorporates every part of our senses: the sense of touch in the laying on of hands for healing, the sense of smell when incense is used to signify our prayers rising toward heaven, and the senses of sight and hearing when we are celebrating the Divine Liturgy as we hear the word of God in the Sacred Scriptures and both see and hear the priest praying as the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. I am also reminded that not only do we receive the body and blood of Christ at the Holy Mass, but we are called to take it with us and share it with the world in a loving and compassionate way, because we too are the body of Christ.
I am thankful to Father John and Father Scott for their support, along with other parish staff members and parishioners that I have already met. I can honestly say that I feel at home already!
September 9, 2016My name is Tom Shetina and I am a second year candidate in the permanent Diaconate Formation Program. I was raised in Fairport Harbor, and was a member of St. Anthony’s parish until I met my wife Lee Anna. We will be celebrating our twenty-ninth wedding anniversary this fall, and have two adult children, ages twenty-two and twenty. We have been members of St. John Vianney parish in Mentor for almost 29 years. I work as a customer service representative for a company in Wickliffe, and I enjoy spending my spare time with Lee Anna. We like attending local theatre productions, going to the wonderful metroparks in the area, and the challenge of first finding, and then watching, good movies that are inspirational.