City attorney ordained as Catholic deacon
Deacon Charlie Harball
Charlie Harball stands outside of St. Matthew’s Church in Kalispell on Thursday. Harball was ordained as a deacon of the Catholic Church this summer after five years of dedicated study, including weekly trips to Helena.
By TOM LOTSHAWThe Daily Inter Lake
After five years of dedicated study, Charlie Harball was ordained as a deacon of the Catholic Church this summer. The Sacrament of Holy Orders was given June 29 at the Cathedral of St. Helena, with Harball one of 17 people ordained as deacons.“It was the largest ordination the cathedral of Helena has ever had. We had a great class of people,” said Harball, a lifelong Catholic who attends St. Matthew’s Church in Kalispell and also works as Kalispell’s city attorney.
Years ago, a friend asked Harball if he had ever thought about becoming a deacon. Formations, the five-year process for becoming a deacon, only come about once every 10 or more years.
“He said, ‘Well, if you want to do it, you have until Friday if you want to get your application in.’ So I did. And then I went from there,” Harball said.
For the last five years, Harball drove down to Helena once a month for full-day studies that ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Harball and the others studied theology, Christology, ecclesiology, liturgy, the history of the church and pastoral care.
Two other people from the Flathead Valley went through the formation process with Harball, Doug Cordier and Floyd McCubbins, both of whom live in Columbia Falls and go to St. Richard’s Church.
“We all went through the whole five-year process together, so we became a very tight-knit community,” Harball said.
Deacons have been a part of the Catholic church since its inception, helping priests take care of social concerns and looking after widows and orphans. It eventually became a transitional role for priests.
The church let the diaconate die at the turn of the last century but reinstituted it in the 1960s.
Deacons assist priests, but they don’t say mass, do confirmations, hear confessions or handle reconciliations.
“We serve at the altar for mass. We have the facilities to baptize and marry people and bury people, so we’re kind of a cradle-to-grave type of thing for families,” Harball said.
Some people are passionate about hunting or fishing or hiking. Harball said he always has been most passionate about his faith.
For the last 15 years, Harball has taught the Right of Christian Initiation for Adults at Saint Matthew’s, helping people who want to learn about and join the Catholic Church. It’s something he always has enjoyed, and as an official representative of the church, he plans to continue doing it.
For now, while he works full time as Kalispell’s city attorney, he’ll continue to devote about 10 hours a week to the church. While some Kalispell employees praise Harball and speak highly of his “saintlike patience,” he said he doesn’t ever try to proselytize around City Hall.
“I’m not out there trying to convert souls,” Harball said, adding that people come to the Catholic faith in their own time.
“This is kind of the next step for me to go to,” Harball said of his own faith and formation as a deacon. “When I retire from the city, I’ll probably go full time [for the church]. Then that will be my job, and I know what I’ll do until I drop dead.”
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.
After five years of dedicated study, Charlie Harball was ordained as a deacon of the Catholic Church this summer. The Sacrament of Holy Orders was given June 29 at the Cathedral of St. Helena, with Harball one of 17 people ordained as deacons.“It was the largest ordination the cathedral of Helena has ever had. We had a great class of people,” said Harball, a lifelong Catholic who attends St. Matthew’s Church in Kalispell and also works as Kalispell’s city attorney.
Years ago, a friend asked Harball if he had ever thought about becoming a deacon. Formations, the five-year process for becoming a deacon, only come about once every 10 or more years.
“He said, ‘Well, if you want to do it, you have until Friday if you want to get your application in.’ So I did. And then I went from there,” Harball said.
For the last five years, Harball drove down to Helena once a month for full-day studies that ran Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Harball and the others studied theology, Christology, ecclesiology, liturgy, the history of the church and pastoral care.
Two other people from the Flathead Valley went through the formation process with Harball, Doug Cordier and Floyd McCubbins, both of whom live in Columbia Falls and go to St. Richard’s Church.
“We all went through the whole five-year process together, so we became a very tight-knit community,” Harball said.
Deacons have been a part of the Catholic church since its inception, helping priests take care of social concerns and looking after widows and orphans. It eventually became a transitional role for priests.
The church let the diaconate die at the turn of the last century but reinstituted it in the 1960s.
Deacons assist priests, but they don’t say mass, do confirmations, hear confessions or handle reconciliations.
“We serve at the altar for mass. We have the facilities to baptize and marry people and bury people, so we’re kind of a cradle-to-grave type of thing for families,” Harball said.
Some people are passionate about hunting or fishing or hiking. Harball said he always has been most passionate about his faith.
For the last 15 years, Harball has taught the Right of Christian Initiation for Adults at Saint Matthew’s, helping people who want to learn about and join the Catholic Church. It’s something he always has enjoyed, and as an official representative of the church, he plans to continue doing it.
For now, while he works full time as Kalispell’s city attorney, he’ll continue to devote about 10 hours a week to the church. While some Kalispell employees praise Harball and speak highly of his “saintlike patience,” he said he doesn’t ever try to proselytize around City Hall.
“I’m not out there trying to convert souls,” Harball said, adding that people come to the Catholic faith in their own time.
“This is kind of the next step for me to go to,” Harball said of his own faith and formation as a deacon. “When I retire from the city, I’ll probably go full time [for the church]. Then that will be my job, and I know what I’ll do until I drop dead.”
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.
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