Educator, coach, legislator, deacon

Years ago, Doug Cordier came home from a church retreat with a new sense of conviction and a plan.

“I was ready to sell the house and move to Nicaragua,” Cordier said, to pursue work and service in his Catholic faith.

But wife Char wasn’t convinced. They both had jobs at local schools, she said, and they couldn’t just sell the house and become missionaries. Instead, Doug began the process of becoming one of Western Montana’s newest deacons of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cordier and 17 others, including fellow Columbia Falls resident Floyd McCubbins and Kalispell city attorney Charlie Harball, were ordained at the Cathedral of St. Helena on June 29. It was the largest ordination of any kind that has taken place in Helena.

Cordier has served in many roles over the years — educator, coach, state legislator. But it is in this newest position that he feels he can be of most service to his community.

“We are first and foremost the servants of everybody,” Doug said. “I think anyone who has gone through the diaconate process has done so out of the desire to be of service to everybody.”

Doug represented House District 3, the Columbia Falls area, in the 2007 Legislature. He chose not to run for re-election because of his desire to become a deacon.

“It was a very easy decision. In my parish, some people weren’t happy with the way I voted. I can’t be divisive in my community,” Doug said. “I knew it was something I was called to do.”

Doug joined the program in 2007 after going through a series of interviews, background checks and a physical exam and submitting numerous letters of reference. Deacons are ordained for life, so the screening process is thorough.

Char stood behind this new plan. Her support was invaluable, Doug said, and necessary. In the Diocese of Helena, the wife of each deacon candidate must not only consent to his involvement but also fully participate in the program with him. For her, this meant traveling to Helena for one weekend each month for almost five years, doing every reading and completing every assignment alongside Doug.

Char didn’t know that she would be required to participate until the first meeting of potential candidates. When she found out, the choice was clear. Doug wouldn’t be able to continue without her, and she had always wanted to pursue further learning in the church.

“It was such a wonderful experience of growth,” Char said. “You get a full theology course without enrolling in a program.”

Now that Doug is ordained, the two will operate in a partnership as they identify and address needs in their community. Deacons can preach, perform baptisms and preside over weddings and funerals — duties reserved for the ordained.

They also serve a variety of different needs in the church, depending on each deacon’s strengths. Some might take charge of a community food bank, organize a hospital ministry or minister to the incarcerated. Doug will be taking on administrative duties at St. Richard’s Parish in Columbia Falls.

Deacons’ wives can take an active role in their husbands’ duties, working with them in the hospitals and jails. They can also take a supportive, behind-the-scenes role, which is what Char plans to do.

Doug emphasized his appreciation for the people of St. Richard’s who, he says, have been incredibly “supportive and wonderful” in his quest to be a deacon.

Doug offered special thanks to his wife.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this without her, and I wouldn’t want to do it without her,” he said. “She’s been such a light for me.”