{"id":1643,"date":"2007-07-30T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-30T12:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/a-florida-deacon-you-can-only-play-so-much-golf.html"},"modified":"2007-07-30T12:08:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-30T12:08:00","slug":"a-florida-deacon-you-can-only-play-so-much-golf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/a-florida-deacon-you-can-only-play-so-much-golf.html","title":{"rendered":"A Florida deacon: “You can only play so much golf”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> It’s no secret that a lot of deacons embark on ministry as a second career, many after retiring. <\/p>\n

And now, it turns out some retirement communities (most notably in Florida) are becoming thriving havens<\/a> for deacons: <\/p>\n

Dana McCarthy lived a life of service for his country for 26 years. Now the retired Navy captain, who flew helicopters to rescue Apollo 13 astronauts after their splashdown in the ocean, is still devoted to service in his retirement years, finding fulfillment giving back to the community and church he calls home.<\/p>\n

The Village of Belvedere resident is affectionately called \u201cDeacon Dana\u201d by parishioners at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wildwood, where he officiates daily and weekend Masses for a parish that is growing 25 percent a year, which is due to more Villagers moving into homes built on the south side of County Road 466 in Sumter County. <\/p>\n

McCarthy also devotes many hours with his wife of 39 years, Diane, volunteering at Wildwood Soup Kitchen, an ecumenical ministry of 30 churches that feeds the hungry and homebound. He\u2019s also president of the kitchen\u2019s board of directors, as well as being involved in several other ministries.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only play so much golf, and you can only play so much bocce ball,\u201d said McCarthy, 62, flashing a warm smile.<\/p>\n

He has found serving others to be rewarding, and he believes many other seniors feel the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome think of retirement as \u201cWow! Now is the time for me!\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cI think it\u2019s also a time where you can give back. I would say take at least one day a week where you do something for others, however that might be.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on to say that Deacon McCarthy’s parish has six — six!<\/i> — deacons. Check out the link for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s no secret that a lot of deacons embark on ministry as a second career, many after retiring. And now, it turns out some retirement communities (most notably in Florida) are becoming thriving havens for deacons: Dana McCarthy lived a life of service for his country for 26 years. Now the retired Navy captain, who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Florida deacon: "You can only play so much golf" - The Deacon's Bench<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2007\/07\/a-florida-deacon-you-can-only-play-so-much-golf.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Florida deacon: "You can only play so much golf" - The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s no secret that a lot of deacons embark on ministry as a second career, many after retiring. 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