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January 11, 2023Deacon Rick Valencia, Director of Deacons for the Diocese of Tucson, traveled to Hales Corners, Wisconsin to be one of five speakers at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology’s annual Preaching Conference. The topic this year was “ΑΩ The Beginning and the End: Constructing Effective Introductions and Conclusions to Homilies”.
Deacon Rick’s presentation to the audience of over 70 priests and deacons was titled “Bring to Life the Words of the Gospel”, centered on a common understanding of what Jesus is telling us in the Gospel reading, to bring about a deeper meaning of, “how does the Gospel reading relate to me in my everyday life.”
Deacon Rick was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of Tucson June 16, 2012. In September 2015, he was asked to become the Director for Deacons for the Diocese of Tucson by then Bishop Gerald Kicanas. Currently, he is in his seventh year of assignment as Director. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Common Formation Program (Diaconate & Lay Ecclesial Ministry) for his diocese as well as serving in various leadership roles within his parish, Our Lady of Lourdes in Benson, AZ. He is a retired police officer/ detective having served for 40 years with two state agencies, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (30 years) and the Office of the State Attorney General, Criminal Division, Office of Special Investigations (10 years).
Traveling to Wisconsin in January is never for the faint-hearted, but three deacons from Arizona braved the weather for the good of their ministries! The Preaching Conference is an annual event at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology; this year’s theme was “AΩ The Beginning and the End: Constructing Effective Introductions and Conclusions to Homilies”.
Deacon Steven DiMuzio and Deacon Pasqual (Pat) Abiles, also from the Diocese of Tucson, were attending the conference. Over 70 people from around the country joined for the two and a half day event, which also included Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, and some community time.
Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology offers specialized formation, and this program is one of the many ways they continue to support the needs of ministers.
Also speaking at the conference this year were Fr. Dan Dorau of the Diocese of Davenport, Fr. Carl Gregorich of the Diocese of Memphis, Fr. Mark Maston, SCJ, from the Priests of the Sacred Heart, and Deacon Steve Kramer from Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology.
The annual Preaching Conference is an important part of Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology’s vision/mission: Preparing evangelizing disciples through specialized formation to conform our world to the Heart of Christ. The conference provides specialized, in-depth, continuing formation on preaching. It is a significant part of SHSST’s outreach to help people thrive in their ministries.
The next major continuing formation program will be a weeklong New Pastor’s Toolbox in June of 2023, with costs held low thanks to grants supporting the seminary as a provider of specialized formation (see https://www.shsst.edu/toolbox/ for more information).