Deacon John Van Hecke
Deacon
Hello St. Charles friends and families! My name is John Van Hecke. I was ordained as a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee on September 12th and serve here at Saint Charles. My wife Alicia and I have been parishioners for over thirty years, during which time we raised our six children, and earlier this summer we became grandparents for the first time! I’ve been working as an electrical engineer at Rockwell Automation (at the clock tower) for almost thirty years, a job I will continue after ordination. No small part of my journey to the diaconate has come from the little invitations to faith and service from our priests, seminarians, staff and fellow parishioners. This includes invitations to serve at Mass, participate in small groups, teach and more. For the last four years, my diaconate formation has included intense study, prayer, service, and discernment.
I look forward to serving as a deacon here at St. Charles and working with you to keep making our parish and our community a place of Christ’s peace. Deacons assist the priests at the altar, read the Gospel, and sometimes preach. They can also do Baptisms and preside at weddings and funerals that
are outside of Mass. In addition to these duties, I will have a particular ministry of working with parishioners with special needs and bringing communion to the homebound. If you see me after church, or even just walking our dog Zita around Hartland, please stop and say hi.