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Four ordained to the permanent diaconate
- Emily Woodham
- Jun 24
- 12 min read
By Emily Woodham
Staff Writer
The Lord, said Bishop Peter F. Christensen, called the men ordained to the permanent diaconate far beyond any expectations or preconceived abilities.
“You have said yes to the Lord’s call to ordination out of your desire to serve the Lord and His Church,” Bishop Peter continued in his homily. “Whatever that may involve and wherever it may take you, it is a walk of faith, a walk of trust.”
Bishop Peter ordained Deacons Rodney Geilenfeldt, Colin Meyer, Keith Pettyjohn and Jeremey Westmark at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist on June 5. Bishop Peter told the men to take comfort in the first reading at the Mass, Jeremiah 1:5-9, in which God calls the Old Testament prophet and tells him to be not afraid of the calling on his life.
“Jeremiah has doubts about his readiness to do what the Lord was asking of him,” he explained. “He even objects by stating his preconceived limitations. Our Lord, since the beginning of time, had a plan for Jeremiah as He has had for each one of us, for each of His disciples, each of His saints, each one of you four.”
Bishop Peter also encouraged the candidates in their vows to have “integrity of the witness we give by living the Scriptures” and “proclaiming them by word and action to others.”
“My brothers, let us enter the places of imprisonment that so many people today are suffering. Many lives are hurt by doubts and fears. Let us bring our brothers and sisters the Good News of Jesus Christ. Teach them His living Word of Hope, His living Word of Salvation.”
As ordained deacons, the Lord gives them the grace by the power of the Holy Spirit to carry out the mission entrusted to them, he continued.
“New strength will come. He asks only one thing: to let Him into your lives deeply for His use and purpose. He knows that you’re capable — and what you’re capable of doing in this life with His grace. He will stand with you to fulfill His plans through you.”
Two of the men ordained are from north Idaho, and two are from the Treasure Valley.
Deacon Rodney Geilenfeldt, assigned at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene, loves helping others. Not only does he enjoy serving people in the Church, he has also worked in emergency medical services and fire departments for 35 years.
“I’ve been an EMT, paramedic and firefighter,” said Rodney, who is currently a division chief for EMS in Coeur d’Alene.
However, Deacon Rodney was not always Catholic, nor was he always an Idahoan. He was born and raised in California. His family was Baptist. Although he was baptized when he was 10, over time, his family stopped going to church.
“I was away from the church for a long time, until I met my wife, Bessie,” he said. They married in May 2000 and have three children, Courtney, Megan and Otto. After Megan was born, they felt like it was finally time to start going to church.
“We went church shopping as good Protestants do,” he chuckled.
Their search ended with a Presbyterian church in 2006. Rodney became involved in the music ministry and then was elected as an elder of the church. His wife also joined church leadership.
“This is kind of funny now,” he added. “My wife was a deacon.”
However, the more Rodney and his wife studied Scripture, the more they began to question what their church was teaching.
“We always felt like something was missing at our church, and we couldn’t quite put our finger on it,” Rodney said.
As they faced struggles with their church, Rodney and Bessie began having more conversations with Catholics, especially with one of Bessie’s co-workers. “She was living out her faith in a way I hadn’t seen before,” Rodney said.
Rodney started listening to Catholic radio. Then, through the Chaldean Catholic community, he had an encounter with the Blessed Mother.
From the time of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 until eleven years ago, about 35,000 Iraqis have been resettled in the San Diego area, most of whom are Chaldean Catholics.
“The refugees just kind of flooded into our town,” Rodney said. “I was a firefighter at the time. When I would go into their homes that had their rosaries, statues and all the Catholic stuff, I would think, ‘Man, these people are over the top.’ But then it started piquing my interest.”
One day, he was called to an emergency for an elderly man with chest pains. As Rodney assessed the man, the man’s teenage granddaughter came into the room.
“She was standing there with her head tilted and her hands in prayer at her chest, looking at her grandfather, and it pierced me. It was as if it was Our Lady of Guadalupe standing there in front of me.”
Although he knew intellectually it was just the man’s granddaughter, in that moment of transcendent grace, he experienced the presence of the Blessed Mother.
Rodney wept after he left the man’s home, overwhelmed by the experience. “God knew he needed to send ‘Mom’ to come and get me. So, she got me.”
Then in February 2015, 21 Coptic Christians of Libya were beheaded by Islamic terrorists. Their heroic faith “sealed the deal for me,” Rodney said. “So, we became Catholic.”
Rodney and Bessie entered the Church at the Easter Vigil of 2016. True to their love of serving, Rodney and Bessie quickly became involved in teaching for OCIA (the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). They also joined Cursillo.
With encouragement from friends and his pastor, Rodney entered formation for the diaconate in 2019. But when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, formation classes stopped with the shutdown. Later that year, he found a job in Coeur d’Alene. “We came up here, and we’ve been blessed ever since,” he said.
Rodney began formation in the diaconate for the Diocese of Boise in 2021. The most difficult things he had to overcome in his formation were doubts that seemed to come at him from nowhere.
“There were times I would think: ‘I’m no preacher. I’m a fireman who loves Jesus and His Church. I’m no theologian,’” Rodney said.
Talking with others helped him overcome his fears and realize that they came from “the evil one,” not from God.
Rodney also did the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises with Deacon Chris Stewart, who serves at St. Pius X Parish in Coeur d’Alene.
“Learning those spiritual exercises helped make those doubts go away,” he said. “My brothers in formation—Keith, Colin and Jeremey—have been a great support. I also had help from Father Mariusz. He’s amazing,” he said. Father Mariusz Majewski is the pastor at St. Thomas in Coeur d’Alene.
If anyone is considering becoming a deacon, Rodney suggests having conversations with a parish deacon about the role and everyday realities of serving. It’s also important, he said, to explore the topic with your parish priest and pray. However, he emphasized that the first conversation “should be with your wife.”
Deacon Colin Meyer, assigned at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Moscow, had little to do with the Church until 10 years ago.
“I took the long road,” Deacon Colin said. “This whole journey has been God working in me and doing a complete metamorphosis.”
“My mother is Catholic,” he explained. “She was born in England, was an orphan and raised in a convent. She met my dad when he was stationed with the Air Force in England. My brother and sister were baptized, but when I came around, things were rough for my family. My father worked odd hours at a couple of jobs. It was hard for them to make it to church. They basically decided to leave it up to me to get baptized.”
Colin grew up in South Lake Tahoe, California. When he graduated from high school, he joined the Army. Although he didn’t get the specialization he wanted, he has no regrets that they stationed him in Germany for four years.
“It was a wonderful tour in Germany, and that is where I met my wife, Kirstin,” he said. Colin and Kirstin married in 1990. Although she was a cradle Catholic and he loved her, he still didn’t want to have anything to do with God.
After his four years were done, Colin returned to South Lake Tahoe with Kirstin. They had three children: Ashley, Brandon and Cassidy.
Going from working with howitzer cannons in the Army to civilian life was challenging for Colin. After seeing Kirstin’s fulfillment in her work as an EKG tech at a hospital, he decided to also work in the hospital. He started as a transporter, taking patients from room to room or to procedures. He then became an anesthesia tech until an opportunity opened up to be a physical therapy aide.
In 2005, Colin and Kirstin moved their family to Moscow to be closer to Colin’s parents.
“My mom was a parishioner at St. Mary’s for six years, until they moved back to Nevada, and loved the church. She tried to compel me to come into the Church, but I was a very rough man. I didn’t feel that I deserved to be there and that these folks who were in church were much holier than I am. I thought they’d see right through me and throw me out.”
Soon after moving to Moscow, Kirstin found out that a massage school was opening in Moscow.
“Kirstin has always been my guiding light. She told me about the school, and I knew I needed to go,” he said. Colin has been a medical massage therapist for almost 20 years.
In the fall of 2016, Colin found out his daughter, Ashley, was going to what was then called “RCIA,” “Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.” (This is now called “Order of Christian Initiation for Adults” or “OCIA.”). When he asked her about OCIA, she told him that it was just like catechism for a small group of people.
“Right then, something kind of hit me,” Colin said. The “something” was an unquenchable curiosity and undeniable grace to know more about the classes.
“I thought, ‘Well, if it’s a small group of people, let me try this out,’” he continued. With his daughter’s encouragement, he went with her to OCIA.
When Colin told Kirstin that he joined OCIA, she laughed, he said.
“Because of the way I used to be, she never put God and me in the same room.” Kirstin has had to learn to trust God throughout Colin’s conversion. “It took her a while to see that there was a change God made in me.”
Colin was baptized and confirmed at Easter Vigil at St. Mary’s Parish in 2017. Six years ago, he began his formation in the permanent diaconate.
Before his transformation at his baptism, he said, he was very self-centered.
“It was always about what was in it for me if I helped someone out. There was a change God made in me because who in their right mind, who is selfish and self-serving, would want to jump into this role of ministry, of self-emptying in service to others?”
Colin looks forward to serving as deacon at St. Mary’s. “We’re really involved with our church. It’s our second home and a big part of our life. It’s helped bring our family together. We love to help and serve the people here.”
Deacon Keith Pettyjohn is assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in Boise. From an early age, growing up on his family’s farm near Walla Walla, WA, Deacon Keith learned that community members have to look after one another.
“Whenever there is a fire during harvest season, all of the farmers stop their harvest and rush to help put out the neighbor’s fire,” Keith shared.
Keith and his wife, Michelle, have raised their four children at St. Mary’s and now are the proud grandparents of two grandsons.
“I am so blessed to have such a loving and supportive wife to support my ministry work,” Keith stressed. In his 28 years at St. Mary’s, Keith has served on the finance council and as a lector. He is a founding member of the Knights of Columbus Council #12531 and serves as its Lecturer. He also serves as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist with Michelle to a local nursing home.
Father John Kucera asked Deacon Keith to serve on his Parish Leadership Team (PLT) two years ago, when he implemented the new Amazing Parish program at St. Mary’s.
“It has been a tremendous privilege to work alongside Fr. John and the other great deacons at St. Mary’s! The parish is thriving under Fr. John’s leadership, and I am so grateful for the support of my brother deacons. Given the current demands on my time at Salt & Light Radio, my primary ministry at the parish will continue to be serving on the PLT and assisting Michelle with the Eucharistic outreach to the nursing home. Of course, I look forward to serving on the altar and to preaching occasionally, but St. Mary’s is already well served in those capacities.”
Keith was also one of the founding members of Salt & Light Radio, a Catholic radio apostolate based in Boise that now has stations across Idaho. He still serves as its board president and acting executive director. The prompting to start a Catholic radio station was just another step in Keith’s call to serve Christ and His Church.
“We have such an incredible team at Salt & Light / Sal y Luz Radio. The Holy Spirit has definitely guided that effort from its inception in 2009. My job is just to not get in the way of the Holy Spirit and to take the garbage out on Fridays!”
Deacon Jeremey Westmark is assigned at Holy Apostles Catholic Church. Like Deacon Keith, he is also a “cradle Catholic,” growing up in a small town south of Fresno, California, where he went to Catholic school through the eighth grade.
“I was an altar boy and very active in my church,” Deacon Jeremey said. He first felt the call to serve the Church when he was in first grade. His teacher was a Religious sister and encouraged him in his faith.
“Because of that, I always felt like God had something special for me to do,” he said. He found his faith to be especially crucial when he joined the military.
“I enlisted when I was 18 at the end of my freshman year of college,” he said. “The Eucharist solidified my faith during one of the most extreme environments you can imagine—Marine Corps boot camp.”
During that time, he faithfully went to Mass each Sunday to renew himself.
“It was where my faith was deepened,” he explained. “I actually discerned the priesthood during that time of my life, but it just didn’t seem to go with the Marine Corps.”
Jeremey served in the Marine Corps Reserves for eight years. He started his own company in 1999 in Las Vegas. He married his wife, Deanna, in 2006. While in Las Vegas, he began formation for the diaconate, but after two years, his pastor told him that it was not the right time.
“Deanna was pregnant at the time, and he really felt I needed to just take time to focus on being a husband and father,” he said.
After having two more children, they began looking for other places to live. “We didn’t want to raise our kids in Las Vegas,” Jeremey said.
In 2012, a friend recommended that they check out Boise. “I flew up and fell in love with it. I brought my wife and kids up the following week.”
They immediately registered at Holy Apostles Parish in Meridian. “We love it and have never looked back,” he said.
Although becoming a deacon remained in the back of his mind, Jeremey didn’t pursue it until one day he received an email from his pastor, who at the time was Father Len MacMillan (now pastor at St. Pius X in Coeur d’Alene). Father MacMillan asked Jeremey if he had ever considered becoming a deacon, and then set up a meeting so they could discuss it.
“I told him the whole story about my journey, and at the end of it, he said, ‘Well, that settles it. You’re going to be a deacon.’”
The greatest difficulty Jeremey had to overcome in formation was spiritual warfare.
“The first five months of formation, I learned very acutely that spiritual warfare is very real,” he said.
There was, however, an encouraging aspect to the spiritual warfare. “I knew God wanted me to be a deacon because the evil one was working overtime to keep me from being a deacon!” Jeremey said.
His second and third years of formation were more peaceful, but he experienced more spiritual warfare during his fourth year.
“But it still wasn’t as bad as during that first year. I’m very blessed that my spiritual director is Father Justin Brady. I was able to articulate to him everything that I was going through.”
Father Brady is pastor at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Nampa.
Each candidate for the diaconate chooses a spiritual director to help guide them through formation.
“God knew exactly what I needed in a spiritual director,” Jeremey said. “Even as challenging as the spiritual warfare was, I’m blessed to have gone through all of it.”
Of all the aspects of serving as a deacon, Jeremey is most looking forward to the relationships he will build within the community. He wants to be there for people who are facing difficulties or just need someone to listen to them.
“I think that is what God has called me to be in this diaconate ministry: someone who really builds those relationships,” he said.
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