Parish life coordinator installed
at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish

By Margaret Nelson

Even though it’s Lent, St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis was celebrating on Feb. 26. That’s the day Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein visited the parish to install its new parish life coordinator, Robert Decker.

In his homily, the archbishop said, “In the Gospel, Jesus offered living water. Living water is offered today by Jesus, but it is through the Church.” He added that parish life coordinators help the priests oversee the parishes to “provide opportunities for their communities to worship in Spirit and in truth.”

The archbishop asked parishioners to pray for vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and religious life.

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish is a strong community of faith and Decker is “a fine, generous and dedicated pastoral leader,” Archbishop Buechlein said.

During the commissioning, Dr. Louis Wright, chairman of the parish council, offered a symbolic key and a Bible for the archbishop to present to the parish life coordinator. The archbishop then introduced the sacramental ministers, parish staff and parish council to their newly installed leader.

Decker and his wife, Ann, moved to St. Andrew Parish last July after living for 30 years in St. John Parish in Osgood. They are the parents of four grown children and grandparents to three. Their family and friends from southern Indiana joined the celebration.

Decker has been a farmer, cabinetmaker, high school teacher and assistant principal. He discerned his call to parish ministry during a 2000 Christ Renews His Parish weekend. Last fall, he became one of 25 aspirants in the archdiocesan deacon formation program.

Decker has bachelor’s degrees in science from St. Francis College, an administrator’s principal ­certificate and a master’s degree in teaching from Indiana University. Last spring, he completed work at Saint Meinrad for a master’s degree in theological ­studies.

Decker said he has found that people at the parish are eager to help.

“It’s such a welcoming community,” he said. “Everyone is open to everyone else. Parishioners are vibrant, compassionate and hardworking. There is a core of volunteers who work several days a week.”

(Margaret Nelson is a member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis.) †