The rosary was the doorway for newly ordained Deacon Kenneth Plude; it was quiet, yet transformative.
“That’s where God started working on my heart,” he reflects.
His journey toward the permanent diaconate unfolded gradually, shaped by prayer and openness to service. Years before his ordination by Bishop Jeffrey Walsh at St. Mary Cathedral on April 18, Kenneth was learning to say yes—first to God, then to ministry.
Call to Ministry
Deacon Kenneth and Mary, his wife of 33 years, did not rush God’s timing. They received it the way they had received every grace in their marriage—prayerfully, patiently and together. Over years of shared discernment, what began as a quiet stirring became joyful surrender.
“God called me to diaconal ministry after raising our four children—Sonya, Scott, Andrew and Nick—and welcoming the majority of our six grandchildren,” Kenneth reflects. “The vocation did not interrupt family life; it flowed from it.”
In the hidden sacrifices of parenthood, in the fidelity of marriage and in the blessing of grandchildren, God was already forming his heart.
“It was after serving those in the peripheries that my heart was led to the altar of service,” he offers, recognizing Christ in the poor and forgotten and discovering that love of neighbor always draws us closer to the Eucharist.
After retiring from a 25-year career as a history and physical education teacher and a 30-year coaching career, Kenneth did not seek leisure; he sought the tabernacle. Beside Mary at daily Mass, the steady call of the Spirit became undeniable.
Formation and Faith in Action
A 2014 pilgrimage to the Holy Land became a defining grace. Walking where Christ walked, he encountered the Gospel’s reality and asked how he could give more in return. That question led to more than six years of formation, spiritual direction and virtual study through the University of Dayton, the University of Notre Dame and the seminary program at the University ofSaint Mary of the Lake.
Spiritual growth remains ongoing. Disciplines such as Exodus 90 and ministry at Safe Haven Ministries in Charlevoix deepened his discipleship.
“When we empty ourselves of self-will,” Kenneth says, “we make room for grace. Service becomes joy rather than obligation.”
He views the diaconate as a way of living—an expression of Christ’s call to serve.
His understanding of stewardship echoes four decades of planting nearly 40,000 trees. “You plant a tree knowing you may never sit in its shade,” he observes. “Faith works the same way.”
Now serving at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Charlevoix, Deacon Kenneth ministers as an icon of Christ the Servant. For him, the diaconate is a complete offering. “That’s where the joy is.”
