The Chrism Mass with Bishop Ken presiding was a real celebration. The spirit which pervaded everyone was one of unity, love, and friendship; it always seemed that we were all truly so happy and blessed to share that sacred moment together. There were many smiles and hugs amid the rejoicing! The music was wonderful too, and I would be singing to myself all day. Bishop Ken had a gift for liturgy; he is the only preacher whose homilies I can still recall – when I usually can’t remember the homily from last week. Ken’s remarks still bring meaning to my life. I was fortunate to be serving as a DRE under Bishop Ken so I was privileged to hear many of his talks; he truly was here to serve the people of the diocese. Thank you God for the gift of Bishop Ken’s life and love.

Dear Sisters of my heart, I just LOVED your reflection on memories of Ken and the Chrism Mass(es) that filled us all with a sense of community, hope, and zest for sharing the Love of God! Thank you for filling me with memories that brought me to tears and gratitude and affection for all you have given me through the years.

Thank you for the lovely reminder of how special Bishop Ken was and how he touched so many lives in our diocese.
I have one wonderful memory of our young son (now 39!) and Bishop Ken. As you may know, Bishop Ken would go each Catholic school during Catholic Schools week. All the children of Pinconning St. Michael’s loved it when he came.., because he spoke to them, not down to them. It was obvious that he truly cared about even the smallest ones of our diocese. Our school children especially loved it too, because at the end of Mass, he would announce that he was going to talk with the principal and see if he couldn’t arrange a day off from school for them – how they looked forward to that statement each year.
The personal memory is of our youngest son, who must have been in the third grade at that time. There had been a biblical series on television that year and we, as a family, watched it. It was well done and we all learned from it. Well, to make a long story short, Bishop Ken always asked questions of the children during his sermons. One was a bit more difficult and not one hand went up…then, much to my amazement, I saw our son’s hand slowly rise, he was called on and answered the question correctly. When he came home we told him how proud we were that and asked him how he knew the answer – he replied that he remembered it from the biblical series that we had watched. Then he said that the “Pope” was really nice and gave everyone a day off from school!
God bless you for answering God’s call and for the wonderful work you do.

Great article! I know that he has a special place in your hearts and was a great leader in the church in Saginaw! Thanks for sharing your memories….

The one and only time I met Bishop Ken was at a Charismatic Conference which I new nothing about (just went with a friend). Clearly the Spirit in him touched my heart and I know only that I wanted what he had….without knowing anything about what that was. I was a woman locked behind many walls (my own self protection) and he was one of the ways the Lord got my attention as something new…something that I had never experienced. I remember walking around after he celebrated Mass in the hopes of find him just to talk about what was different. Clearly that was many years and the Spirit of God found me after that and now I grow in the Spirit daily, but it began with a man who was happy and gave something new without his ever being aware. He was and is eternally a man of God’s grace.

Awesome letter. What Joy he brought. Thanks for the memories.