My wife Kara and I are looking forward to a new ministry here at St. Jude’s. We are both professional educators and have taught in Catholic as well as public high schools for the past twenty-nine years. I have served as a deacon in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for five years. Prior to my ordination, I worked professionally for over fifteen years in the area of adult sacramental preparation. Since ordination we have continued to work as a team preparing couples for the sacrament of matrimony and currently conduct a monthly marriage preparation retreat in the Santa Barbara Region for the Archdiocese Office of Family Life. In 2011 we became active in the Romanian Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church. I serve as a deacon in the Byzantine rite; on Saturday evenings I assist in the celebration of Divine Liturgy (Mass) at St. John the Evangelist Byzantine Mission in Oxnard. We look forward to meeting you and helping in the ministry at our new home: Saint Jude the Apostle Church.