CATHOLIC CHURCH and SCHOOL
| CATHOLIC CHURCH and SCHOOL |
| Deacon Tom Filipiak 262-392-2516 262-366-1505 cell |  |
| Biography Deacon Ministry Guatemalan Ministry Other Ministry External Links | |||
| Biography (top) | |||
| I'm Tom Filipiak, one of two deacons who serve St. Bruno Parish. My wife, AnnaMarie, and I have been married since January 27, 1962 and we have lived in the Town of Ottawa and been parish members since 1967. (We joke that we have finally become "old timers" in our parish simply by outliving most of the families who were here when we first moved in.) We have four children, three sons and a daughter (our youngest son, Joseph died in 1994), five grandchildren, three step grandchildren and one step great grandson! I retired from teaching (7th grade English) in 1995, after 34 years in the New Berlin Public Schools and can now devote as much time to working for the church as I want. AnnaMarie is an RN and has worked for Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital for over 25 years. My education background includes: St. Lawrence and Holy Ghost grade schools, Don Bosco High School, and Marquette University. | |||
| Deacon Ministry (top) | |||
| After many years of procrastinating and "being too busy", I finally surrendered to God in 1989 and entered St. Francis Seminary in the Fall semester of 1990 after having been accepted in the formation program for the deaconate. I was ordained on June 11, 1994 by Archbishop Rembert Weakland and (by my request) have been assigned to serve at St. Bruno ever since. AnnaMarie and I wouldn't consider another parish, because St. Bruno has truly become 'Home' and its members have become a real family for us. My ministry as deacon includes teaching our children in St. Bruno School about the Catholic Faith; making home, hospital, and nursing home visits; doing Communion Services at Shorehaven; acting as chaplain for the Knights of Columbus and the St. Vincent de Paul Society in our parish and as chaplain for the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Waukesha County, helping to train altar servers for special liturgies; assisting our various celebrants at mass; and preaching. I have also had a long-standing relationship with the Festa Italiana Mass Committee, and have become its liturgical advisor. | |||
| Guatemalan Ministry (top) | |||
| One other ministry that is very dear to my heart is our parish work in support of our Sister Parish in Chahal, Guatemala. I have visited the village 6 different times and have become deeply involved, not only in the financial support of the parish there, but also the two church run schools, the School Sisters of St. Francis medical clinic, and their convent. I also feel a deep spiritual bond with the people there who, while they have few worldly possessions and live in a poverty that makes the poor in the USA look fabulously wealthy, are open, loving, and generous with the little they have. | |||
| Other Parish Involvement (top) | |||
| Together, AnnaMarie and I conduct baptism instructions in our home for all new parents who have not previously taken such a class. (If you have questions concerning baptism or would like to have your children baptized, give me a call and let's plan it together.) Of all the things AnnaMarie and I do for the parish, however, I think my favorite activity is simply visiting with parish members and listening to their stories. If you'd like to talk, I'm often home during the day and can be reached at 965-3536, 392-2516 (those are home phone lines) or 366-1505 (a cell phone line) | |||
| External Internet Links (top) | |||
| Some web sites that I find useful: For family genealogy and records: Archdiocese Cemeteries Site: www.cemeteries.org Help on genealogy research: www.genealogy.com For Catholic information, answers to questions, Saints, etc.: www.catholic.net www.americancatholic.org www.universalis.com www.christian.org www.catalog.litpress.org www.liguori.org | |||
| ©copyright St. Bruno Parish 2003 | ||||