Deacon George Reade as diocesan chancellor is a good fit

Friday, Mar. 20, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Deacon George Reade has been appointed chancellor for the Diocese of Salt Lake City by the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, succeeding Lyle Crocker. 

Deacon Reade will remain the property and real estate manager, a position he has held for two years. He also has been serving as a deacon assigned to Saint Ambrose Parish.

In considering Deacon Reade for the position, Monsignor Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general, presumed that he would not be interested because of his Church assignments and secular job as a real estate agent. 

“When I heard [Deacon Reade] had asked what type of person we were looking for to fill the position, I told him, ‘We were looking for a churchman like you,’” Msgr. Bircumshaw said. “The rest is history. Deacon George has obviously had to cut back on his involvement in his secular career and modify somewhat his ministry at Saint Ambrose Parish, which he loves, in order to take on the full-time combined position, but this ministry and Deacon George seem immediately to be a perfect fit. Deacon George knows the Church and has the multi-tasking skills needed to handle with aplomb and ease the requirements of the position. 

“He is also a consummate Christian gentleman with the people skills that such a position requires,” Msgr. Bircumshaw continued. “The diocese is blessed to have Deacon George as our new chancellor.”

“[Deacon Reade] is a good man to be the chancellor because he has the necessary qualities and experience; he’s soft-spoken and he will be very good,” agreed Deacon Silvio Mayo, chancellor emeritus. “He is a gentle person and he listens to people.”

The chancellor coordinates and oversees the different departments in the pastoral center, working closely with the bishop and the vicar general.

Deacon Reade, who was ordained in 2004, is from Riverside, Calif. He was raised Episcopalian and converted to Catholicism 20 years ago after going through the RCIA program at St. Ambrose Parish “when Monsignor John Hedderman was the pastor,” he said. 

“I met my wife, Mary, 22 years ago and she was going to St. Ambrose,” Deacon Reade said, adding, “I sat down in the church and I felt like I was home. I was baptized and we got married.” 

Deacon Reade and Mary went to the Holy Land about 16 years ago with his brother-in-law and his wife. 

“My brother-in-law is a deacon in the Episcopal Church, and we talked about it; when I came back I started formation in the diaconate program,” Deacon Reade said. 

At that time, Benedictine Sister Jeremiah Januska, Sister of Mercy Sister Georgita Cunningham and Deacon Owen Cummings were the diaconate formation instructors.

The diaconate formation program gradually deepened Deacon Reade’s faith as he learned more and more, he said. “I gained some self-confidence I never had before in front of my peers, the other candidates, doing things I had never really done before like preaching – that pushed me out of my comfort zone,” he said. “It gave me a lot of grace and growth; I was starting over with a new chapter in my life, discerning as I went along. The four years passed so quickly.” 

Deacon Reade said he made “a lot of good, close friends.” 

One thing that was easy for him that may have been more difficult for some of the other diaconate candidates was the changes wrought by Vatican II, he said. “That was all I knew, being a convert. The cradle Catholics had to become accustomed to the changes.” 

One thing is certain, Deacon Reade has always felt God in his life, he said.