William J. Powers, Deacon (Deacon Bill)

          (Diakonoi -- Servant)

My wife Tatty and I joined Infant Jesus Parish in February 1959, after moving from Brooklyn, NY to Terryville, LI. The Montfort Fathers welcomed us into the community and we began to serve in our new church in Port Jefferson. At the time there were about 500 families registered in the parish. Our nine children graduated from Infant Jesus School, the last in 1985.

I began serving in the parish as a lector, cantor and President of the Religious Education Board. I became a member of the Charismatic Prayer Group, President of the Parish Council and a member of the Finance Committee.

Praying that one of our children would receive the call to religious life, I was surprised to receive my call to begin my training to become a Permanent Deacon in 1980. After 4 years of study at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, I was ordained as a Permanent Deacon on May 19, 1984 by the Most Reverend Bishop John McGann, D.D. Bishop of Rockville Centre and assigned to serve as a Deacon in Infant Jesus Parish, the first Permanent Deacon to serve here.

In the early church, deacons (Diakonoi) had charge of charitable ministrations, and assisted in the liturgical and administrative direction of the community. (1Tm 3:8.) The restoration of the diaconate was debated at the Vatican Council II. On June 18, 1967 Pope John Paul issued a document entitled Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, which reestablished the diaconate for the Church. In 1971 Bishop Kellenberg appointed a committee to investigate the feasibility of a Diaconate program for this Diocese and the Diaconate Board was established in 1974. I was in the 5th class of Deacons ordained for our diocese.