DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Pastoral Letter November 20, 2011




My Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

I have been a member of this parish community for over 7 ½ years now. I brought my family over from All Saints Parish and settled here as I journeyed forward through formation and ultimately to ordination as a Permanent Deacon. It was here where I received my first assignment and began exercising my office. Throughout this time I feel that I have served the community to the best of my abilities as I Proclaimed the Gospels and evangelized the faith. Throughout this time period I have experienced new things that have both validated my office and challenged me. I grew in my faith and knowledge as I progressed upon my own journey of faith. I felt both blessed and honored to be accepted into this community and have come to know each and every one of you as friends.

There have also been some unique circumstances within this parish community which have impacted us all in different ways. Over the past year and a half, I have lost my spiritual director and have been asked to perform many tasks and functions which have taken away from my own continuing formation and development. Personally, I had to deal with circumstances that I have never had to deal with before in a parish setting while in my professional capacity I had to do the same with the strike situation at the Methuen Distribution Center of Shaw’s Supermarkets. It was not uncommon for me to be working over 100 hours per week as a deacon and as a manager at the Shaw’s Distribution Center all the while attempting to maintain a stable family life. This continued up until the present time as I have tried to stabilize all areas which I have found myself involved in.

I was pleased to make the sacrifices and have never complained but in the end there are things that cannot be ignored: I have only been on retreat once in almost four years, I have no spiritual director, I have ignored my continuing development, and my family has shared these sacrifices along with me.

Recently, I took on the role as Chaplain at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston for Suffolk County, which was the first action regarding continued formation and development within the Permanent Diaconate that I had done in quite some time. This ministry has produced much fruit and a spiritual awakening; but there is much more that I have to do regarding spiritual and professional development. After much deliberation, conversations with Father Murray, and prayer, we feel that it is time that my ministries come to an end at Saint John the Baptist Church. This is a hard painful decision that Father Murray and I have not arrived at lightly and we agree that this is the best path forward. We believe that Christ had called me to serve this parish and brought me here for a particular purpose and now that purpose has ended.

In life and ministry there comes a time where hard decisions have to be made and this is one of the hardest that I have had to come to. In the end, it is felt that it is the right decision.

The Archdiocese of Boston has assigned me officially to the Nashua Street Jail as the Chaplain and has asked that my ministries be concentrated there for the time being. I have also been instructed to find a spiritual director and focus on continued development. I will be assigned a “home parish” within the next few weeks as my time here ends on November 20th, the Feast of Christ the King.

I will always consider Saint John the Baptist as my family and will hold each and every one of its parishioners near and dear to my heart. I truly love you all and ask for you to pray for me and I will pray for you.

Yours always and forever in Christ,

Deacon Tom Anthony

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