CHARLOTTE — Deacon Lon Phillips has received faculties and been assigned as a permanent deacon at St. Matthew Parish, effective Jan. 6, Bishop Peter Jugis has announced.
Now retired, Deacon Phillips and his wife Janis recently relocated to Charlotte to be closer to their children.
A Milwaukee native, Deacon Phillips said “God called me home to His Church” when he was 40. As a Catholic convert, he became involved in liturgical ministry and found himself in awe of the Mass and a possible vocation.
One Palm Sunday, about 15 years after he became Catholic, a friend asked, “Have you ever considered the diaconate?” Deacon Phillips shared with this friend his inner thoughts and discernment of the diaconate. He entered diaconate formation in 2004 and was ordained on Sept. 6, 2008, for the Diocese of Palm Beach, Fla., by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.
He was first assigned to his home parish, Ascension Parish in Boca Raton, Fla., where he was also employed as director of parish operations. His ministerial responsibilities at the parish focused on serving at the altar, conducting preparation classes for baptisms and weddings, facilitating and assisting with RCIA classes, and training liturgical ministers. Also, at the diocesan level,
Deacon Phillips formed a team and taught faith formation and training at the School of Christian Formation and conducted workshops for liturgical ministers.
— Deacon John Martino
BELMONT — The Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation recently awarded grants totaling $1,087,700 to 25 non-profit organizations.
Grants were awarded to organizations in the areas of education, health care and social services, and award recipients spanned 11 counties: Avery, Buncombe, Catawba, Cleveland, Franklin, Gaston, Henderson, Mecklenburg, Union and Watauga counties in North Carolina, and York County, S.C.
The following organizations received awards:
Education
Health Care
Social Services
The Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation awards grants on behalf of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Mercy’s ministries are inspired by the legacy and commitment of their founder, Sister Catherine McAuley, to serve those who are poor, sick and uneducated.
Since 1996, the foundation has awarded 2,073 grants totaling more than $92.8 million to organizations assisting unserved or underserved populations in the areas of education, health care and social services.
— Anne Conradsen, Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation