Deacon Bob Young has a new job with the Diocese of Richmond – not that he needs one.
As of July 1, Deacon Young became the director of the diocesan Office of Worship, adding that role to his position as director of the Office of the Propagation of the Faith, and to his continuing duties as a deacon at St. Joseph, Petersburg.
He also plays an active role in Missioners of Christ, a lay mission group based in Virginia Beach. “There’s a reliance on God for all of this,” he said. “I’m just kind of his instrument and his vessel.”
“I rely on him, praying every morning when I come into the Pastoral Center, praying every evening when I leave the Pastoral Center. He provides the time, and he provides the opportunities for me to be able to do this,” said the deacon.
Succeeding interim director Father Brian Capuano, Deacon Young will be leading an office which has a primary responsibility of supporting Bishop Barry C. Knestout as he presides at confirmations, pastoral installations, ordinations and other liturgical celebrations.
At these liturgies, a deacon assigned by the office acts as a master of ceremonies, making sure that everyone with a part to play is familiar with the ritual, and is in the right place at the right time.
“Anywhere the bishop might go out to say a Mass in a particular parish, or for the diocese at the cathedral, we’re heavily engaged in that, in developing the necessary scripts for the rites of those particular celebrations,” he said.
Considering his 34 years as a senior manager for a computer company, taking on leadership roles in the diocese seems a good fit. “Our deacons are certainly gifted people in our diocese and all of us have various gifts that God has blessed us with,” he said, “and one of mine is administration and leadership. Anytime I take a spiritual gifts inventory it always comes out to leadership and administration.”
Deacon Young says he hopes that anyone in the diocese looking for help with liturgical issues will reach out to him or coordinator Virginia Tilley. One of their immediate goals is to update the office’s website to make it a “more valuable resource to both our parishioners and our pastors and deacons that are out there.”
Read about the former interim director of the Office of Worship: Father Brian Capuano.