Contacts & Publisher

Subscription Form

'My vocation…'
Priest, deacon, sister and lay minister
tell of calling to serve Church
Published February 17, 2006

'I give thanks to God every day,' says parish priest
Fr. Brian K. Cokonougher
Special to The Michigan Catholic 

Fr. Brian Cokonougher stands in front of St. Joseph Church in Port Huron, where he is parish administrator. He is also pastor of St. Stephen Parish and administrator of Our Lady of Guadelupe, also in Port Huron.

Currently I serve the Archdiocese of Detroit in the capacity of pastor of St. Stephen Parish, administrator of St. Joseph Parish, and administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, all in Port Huron.

I was appointed to this assignment three months ago by Cardinal Adam Maida after serving for two years as pastor of St. Jude Parish in Detroit. I miss my friends in Detroit, but because my hometown is Yale, northwest of Port Huron, this new assignment gives me the opportunity to "give back" to the community I grew up in.

My inspiration for the priesthood was Fr. Larry Dunn, who was our pastor at Sacred Heart Parish in Yale between 1984 and 1998. Fr. Larry was very humble and deeply spiritual, yet approachable and friendly.

Throughout my high school years Fr. Larry encouraged me to consider becoming a priest. At the time I wasn't really excited about the idea, but eventually I visited Sacred Heart Major Seminary for a discernment weekend.

It was a great experience, and with the support of my parents I decided to apply to the seminary.

I first entered Sacred Heart in fall 1989, where I attended the college seminary.

Fr. Brian Cokonougher checks the lectionary readings for Mass in the sacristy before going in to St. Joseph Church.

In 1995, about halfway through the graduate program, I left the seminary to discern if God might be calling me to the married life. But I wasn't happy away from parish ministry and the community life I had experienced in the seminary.

Through the encouragement of Bishop Allen Vigneron (who was the rector of the seminary at the time), I returned to formation for the priesthood in January 1997. I was ordained to the priesthood May 22, 1999, with seven classmates at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Detroit.

My first six years of priesthood have not been easy, but they have been extremely rewarding. With each new challenge I have grown closer to Christ in the presence of the sacraments as well as in his Body, the Church.

Above all else, I look forward to celebrating the Holy Eucharist with my parishioners. Beginning the day with Christ's grace and the fellowship of my community helps me to be more patient with my own shortcomings as well as handling the problems I encounter in my ministry.

I give thanks to God every day that I have been called to the priesthood!

Studying for diaconate was hard, but worth it
Deacon Kenneth Fry
Special to The Michigan Catholic

Deacon Kenneth Fry (right) shakes hands with parishioner Troy Johnson after Mass at Our Lady of Victory Church in Northville.

A funny thing happened on the way to my retirement years – I became a deacon. What was I thinking of? It wasn't as if I really needed another vocation in my life. And that is truly what it is.

Being a deacon is not a job. It's not something "extra" you do at church.

A vocation is a divine call to serve Christ and his Church for a lifetime – not necessarily the way you want to serve the Church, but the way Christ is calling you to serve His Church.

Some years before that, I received the call to the vocation of marriage, and for 27 years every day has been a honeymoon. I'm the father of three grown children – two boys and a girl.

I have taught special education to emotionally impaired and learning-disabled students for 20 years at the same high school. Just recently, I've returned to coaching high school football. I left coaching about 10 years ago as a means to allow myself the time to enjoy my own children and to become involved in their lives during their high school years.

It also gave me an opportunity to discern and pray about what God was calling me to do. You see, during this time, I was approached by the wife of the deacon at my parish. One Sunday she walked up to me and said, "You know, you would make a great deacon." I answered her with, "A what?" As they say, the rest is history.

After much discernment, I eventually went on to apply to the permanent diaconate, was accepted into formation, received my master's degree in pastoral studies from Sacred Heart Major Seminary and was ordained a deacon in October 2002.

Still feeling the need to be formed, which is truly a life-long process, I accepted a position on the formation team for the permanent diaconate of the Archdiocese of Detroit the following year.

As I look back on my years of formation and of going to school I really don't know how I did it; a full-time job, a wife, three active children in high school and college, and myself attending graduate school. Then there were the monthly formation Saturdays, summer ministry, regular meetings with my spiritual director, and more.

It's been said that God only gives you what he knows that you can handle. Being able to survive all of this was truly a gift from God.

Making it through the program took a great deal of teamwork between my wife, my children and myself. There was scheduling, rescheduling and even more rescheduling.

Efficient time management was essential to maintaining the balance between each of the roles in my life.

It was nothing less than a balancing act of the greatest magnitude just to get through each and every week.

In one respect I have come full circle. I am a cradle Catholic who has finally come to understand what it means to be Catholic. To truly commit to living out the Great Commission, without question and with full trust that it is Christ within me who works.

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. But if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. It worked because God wanted it to work. All things are possible with Christ.

Deacon Kenneth Fry is assigned to Our Lady of Victory Parish, Northville.

'God finds a way,' says Dominican
Sr. Mary E. Jones, OP
Special to The Michigan Catholic

Adrian Dominican novice Sr. Mary E. Jones, from metro Detroit, prepares to leave the motherhouse in Adrian for the Collaborative

I had everything I had ever dreamed of having – or so I thought.

God had blessed me in many ways – great family, good friends, the wonderful parish community of St. Agatha in Redford Township – and I had realized my ultimate dream, to own a home.

I had just turned 41 years old, moving upward in my career at Ford Motor Company, when sitting in St. Agatha's chapel I asked God how I could give back for the blessings I had been given – and the word "Sister" filled my being.

I still remember quite vividly my eyes shooting open and looking to see if there were someone else there, but it was just me and Jesus. I was reminded of the story of the rich young man found in the Gospel of Mark (10:17-21).

As I left the chapel, I got in my car and just sat there. "God, you can't be serious!" I thought. What did it mean to be a sister? Would an order even want a middle-aged career woman like me?

Was I called to monastic life or active life? I certainly didn't know.

So, I did what I knew how to do – research. I went to the Web. I started with the Archdiocese of Detroit web site (www.aodonline.org).

They had (and still have) a page listing communities of women religious.

It was there that I found a couple of communities whose mission spoke to me. I made contact; spending time meeting and praying with the sisters, getting to know them and letting them get to know me. It wasn't too long before my heart knew I belonged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

After entering in September 2004, I began my canonical novitiate year in August 2005. Our canonical year is spent in St. Louis, Mo., as part of the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate (CDN).

This year we have seven novices from four of the 22 CDN member congregations. We experience the four pillars of Dominican Life – prayer, study, common life and ministry – together. I'm attending classes at Aquinas Theological Institute in St. Louis, and I volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul Parish and am involved in music ministry at St. Pius V Parish.

We also study with different religious communities from the tri-state area (Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri). The diversity of experiences helps us grow in relationship with God and with each other.

Each step in my formation process as an Adrian Dominican novice allows time and space for my relationship with Jesus to grow beyond my greatest imaginings. My heart is filled with a joy I had never known as a successful businesswoman. Even my friends and family have noticed the changes as more and more I open myself in freedom to God.

And it all began with an innocent little question: How may I serve? Even in today's busy world, God finds a way.

For more information about the Adrian Dominican Sisters, visit www.adriandominicans.org.

Lay ecclesial vocation seen as way to serve
Kelly Reay Harris
Special to The Michigan Catholic

Kelly Reay Harris is worship coordinator at St. Columban Parish in Birmingham.

My primary vocation is as a wife and mother, which entails kindness, patience, energy and love in action. I provide loving attention so my family is cared for, safe, prayerful and healthy.

From this vocation came a secondary vocation to companion others outside of my family and offer them loving attention on their own journey. This is lived out as worship coordinator at St. Columban Parish in Birmingham. This position also entails kindness, patience, energy and love in action.

It is a balance between administrative responsibilities and pastoral ministry. I am the resource and support person for the various parish worship committees and the Worship Commission. I encourage my pastor and other team members in their own areas of ministry.

I create the liturgical ministers' schedule, connect parishioners involved in liturgical ministry with formation opportunities, provide practical training and spiritual guidance for liturgical ministers, plan and coordinate the children's liturgy program and Masses, answer a lot of questions about liturgy, keep myself well-formed, order worship supplies and aids, pray a lot, and learn from each person I encounter.

It is a very interesting position. I also facilitate Protecting God's Children and Recovery from Racism workshops – again, offering loving attention and companionship.

My discernment for a vocation in lay ecclesial ministry began in Pontiac at St. Michael Parish. I witnessed our pastor there as he balanced the administration and shepherding of three clustered parishes. He was stretched very thin.

My husband and I were involved in ministry at the parish but I thought I could do more if I learned how to do it. I began to pray and ask God for guidance. I went on a retreat and spent time in spiritual direction. I spoke with my husband, with a deacon friend, and with our pastor. We were all praying.

I was accepted into the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies program at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. With a lot of support from family, friends and the seminary, I graduated in 2003.

Then, I completed a chaplain residency at William Beaumont Hospital-Royal Oak to round out my pastoral ministry skills and my ability to provide professional emotional and spiritual care.

As a result of my lived experience, my formation, and the positive changes I have witnessed in my family and self, I'd say my vocations – both primary and secondary – have changed my life and relationship with Jesus forever.

I am a regular woman who has everyday life and struggles to contend with, but I know beyond any doubt that, every day, I am loved by Jesus, guided by the Spirit, and am a treasured child of God.

I see the fingerprints of God all around me. I lean on him as my companion before I attempt to be a companion to others. My relationship with Jesus empowers me to embrace the responsibility that comes with being a baptized Roman Catholic Christian.