The new deacon on the block

by Nicole McKay

Deacon Craig Timmerman will be the first to admit he doesn’t always know his limitations. "I tend to take on too much," Timmerman said as he sat down to talk after participating with his family in a rolle bolle tournament at the Best Western in Marshall, MN. This week alone he had also helped run a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall Newman Club, a Catholic club on campus.

Recently he took college students to see The Passion of The Christ and held a discussion regarding the movie afterward, which lasted until 2 a.m. He had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. the next day. And these were only his campus activities.

After hearing about the deacon, you may wonder several things. First, why does he take on so much? How did he end up at SMSU? And what in the world is rolle bolle?

The deacon answered my last question first. "It’s a Belgian sport," Timmerman said. "[My family and I] always did it growing up. Every Thursday we’d play in Ghent.... Ghent is ‘The Rolle Bolle Capitol of the World.’"

Timmerman is known in the Newman Club for his trademark grin and his hearty, distinctive laugh. He is also known for his sense of humor and youthful spirit.

Deacon Craig has many reasons to feel at home at SMSU’s Religious Center. For one, he grew up outside of Green Valley, a town seven miles from Marshall. It was in this setting, with his family consisting of his three brothers and his parents, that he cultivated his Catholic roots. "I strongly believe any vocation starts in the family," the deacon said. "And I know that it did for me."

His parents not only stressed the importance of church attendance, which has had a profound effect on him, but they also made sure to integrate it in the daily lives of their children. "We said prayers before bed as a family," Timmerman said as an example.

He added that his mom also listened to the radio while doing the dishes and, at a certain time of the day, she’d listen to the rosary. Deacon Craig said if he or his brothers were walking through the kitchen at that time, she would make them stop what they were doing to pray the rosary. "It was like, avoid the kitchen [at that time]," he said with a chuckle.

As he matured, he understood why his parents made Catholicism so much a part of his upbringing. "They did it because it was important to them," Timmerman said. "And I realized it should be important to me too."

His parents encouraged him vocationally as well as spiritually. When Timmerman told them he was considering priesthood, he said they were always supportive. And as it turned out, his vocation didn’t take him far from home.

"When you study to be a priest, you study for a diocese," the deacon said. This means that he will function as a priest for the New Ulm diocese.

The bishop has the ability to place a priest in any parish within the diocese. "I was not expecting to be here at all since it was so close to home," Deacon Craig said. Usually priests are not placed in a church so close to their roots. Somehow despite the trend, Timmerman ended up at Holy Redeemer in Marshall.

While working for Holy Redeemer, Timmerman became involved with the Campus Religious Center as well, and consequently with the Newman Club. He first began attending the club’s weekly Tuesday suppers and had to work hard once again to not take on too much.

"Going into the Newman Club, I knew there was no youth minister. I was almost afraid I would take on a role which is not my job," the deacon said. However, students feel the deacon offers much guidance for the club, even on an unofficial level.

Timmerman said he feels he can connect with the college-age group because he himself is not far from that demographic. "I’m still going to school, grad school now, but it’s still a familiar environment to me," the deacon said.

Timmerman said he understands the search for meaning and questioning of life that many college students go through. He feels very set and secure in his beliefs, but also believes he learns from talking with the students. They help him to stay open. He can also appreciate that faith is a process and can convey that to others.

"Everybody’s at their own place [spiritually] and needs to be continually growing," Deacon Craig added.

And Timmerman shows joy in helping students on their journeys of faith, in between his rolle bolle tournaments. His involvement at SMSU is only a part of a ministerial year of internship at Holy Redeemer parish in Marshall. He also works a half-day a week at the Office of Worship and Spiritual Life for the Diocese of New Ulm.

Editor’s note: Deacon Craig was ordained to the diaconate on October 9, 2003 and will continue his studies for priestly ordination at the Pontifical North American College in Rome in the fall.