A Deacon’s ministry is service with a focus on the world. I was ordained a Deacon in the Diocese of West Missouri in January of 1992.
The duties that a Deacon has in the context of the Sunday service is a reflection of what a Deacon is called to. Setting the table, assisting the priest and offering communion to congregants are examples of servant ministry.
In twenty-seven years as a Deacon, my ministry in the world has been in pastoral care.
In 1985 I began an internship and then a residency in Pastoral Care at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Kansas City, MO.
Following that I served for almost seven years as Director of Pastoral Care at Crittenton, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Facility that included a girl’s long- term residential treatment center, a 110 bed level 1 psychiatric hospital, a school and a grief center.
After that I served at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City as the oncology/hematology chaplain to many wonderful children fighting cancer and their families. It was the most challenging ministry I had in my career but also the most rewarding.
My first husband, Fred and I moved to Tucson in 1996. Wanting to get involved in a church, I found Church of the Apostles in Oro Valley and served there for seventeen years.
I began my chaplaincy at Carondelet St. Joseph Hospital in 1998 and except for two years as a Spiritual Counselor at Casa De La Luz Hospice, I worked for them until I retired in 2016.
During my time at St. Joseph Hospital, I covered ICU, Neuro ICU, the NICU and the ER. I led a grief group for over ten years for parents who had lost a baby and a grief group for widows and widowers for five years.
In 2012 my husband, Fred died suddenly of an acute aortic aneurysm. We had been married for 40 years. Fred was three months into his retirement. It was a devastating blow and changed my life drastically.
I found myself on the receiving end for my grief and which was a new experience for me. The love and support of church, friends and colleagues carried me through the roughest part of my grief.
In 2014 an amazing thing happened to me. I met Joe Guyton at Apostles. We became good friends. As friendship led to love, Joe and I married in September of 2015. Joe was already living in SaddleBrooke and as we loved the lifestyle, we closed on a house just days after our marriage.
We enjoy going to our second home in Pinetop for summers — and whenever we can get away.
For the past four years, I have been active in volunteering. I serve as a volunteer with Senior Village, an organization In SaddleBrooke that cares for seniors in need. I am a part of a team of people with a medical background who focus on difficult cases.
I am also active in the Rotary Club of SaddleBrooke. Our motto is “Service above Self”. Our focus is on literacy and school needs for underprivileged children and youth in the Copper Corridor north of Tucson. It is a wonderful organization with a worldwide focus on service, including ending polio worldwide.
Fred and I had a daughter, Carrie who lives in Tucson with her husband, Andy and I have two grandsons, Ethen, age 22 and a senior at NAU in Flagstaff and Ayden, age 15 and a sophomore in high school.
Joe has a stepdaughter, Vicki and a son, Joseph and grandchildren, Joby, Lexi and Jacob.
I look forward to serving as a Deacon at Christ the King and getting to know all of you.