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Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2008 / I baptize you ...'

by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published January 11, 2008

Photo courtesy of the LaForest family Deacon Scott LaForest baptizes his daughter MaKayla, held by her mother Juanita. Deacon LaForest is only one of few men who’ve been able to baptize their own children.

Dearborn — Deacon Scott LaForest experienced a rare privilege last month — bringing his own children into the Church.

He baptized his infant twins, Zachary and MaKayla, in early December, becoming only one of a few men who have baptized their own children. Being the youngest deacon in the archdiocese, at 36, helped give him that opportunity. Typically, by the time a man discerns a call to become a deacon, his children are older or grown — the average age of the 15 deacons ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit in October was 57 — which enables them to baptize their own grandchildren or other younger relatives.

"Baptism is the most important sacrament that I'll be able to administer to them," said Deacon LaForest, who serves at St. Martha and St. Joseph parishes in Dearborn. "To know I was chosen to do that — who am I to do this, especially to bless them?"

Deacon LaForest is one of hundreds of men and women called to a vocation being remembered this National Vocations Awareness Week, Jan. 13-18.

His roots in the diaconate go back to his early childhood. He remembers pretending to be a priest with his friends, using one of his grandmother's tablecloths as a chasuble. He served at the altar, too, but his interest waned in high school, when he began to notice girls.

Vocations National Vocations Awareness Week is Jan. 13-18, a time to pray for vocations to the Church.

He entered the Navy, met and married his wife, Juanita, in 1993 — she's from Virginia, near where he was stationed — and they had Stephanie, now 14. They returned to Michigan and settled into his family's home parish, St. Pius X, Southgate, and started getting involved and volunteering. He mentioned to the pastor there, Fr. Peter Petroske, that he'd once been interested in the priesthood, and Fr. Petroske brought up the diaconate.

"God has been calling me my entire life," he said.

After he investigated a bit more, and discussed it with Juanita, he felt it was something he both could and was being called to do. His studies and formation were a tough road, as he works 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. shifts as a building maintenance technician with Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., and a few hours of evening classes left him with little time to sleep and less time with his family. In all, it took nine years of studies for him to complete the diaconate program.

Kristen Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic Juanita, Stephanie and Deacon Scott LaForest, with twins MaKayla and Zachary, at St. Joseph Parish, Dearborn, where Deacon LaForest serves.

Deacons complete summer ministries, and Deacon LaForest remembers that he was encouraged to pick ones that frightened him. His first assignment was Angela Hospice — "I could not say good-bye, I loved it so much," he said — the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Wyandotte Hospital, and with the youth group of St. Alfred Parish, Taylor. His fourth summer was spent at Vista Maria, a home for pregnant teens, where he had to tutor young women in math and spelling — two of his worst subjects.

He remembers trying to learn the material online before the tutoring sessions. "God is very humorous," he said. But, when it was over, it reassured to him that if someone wants to accomplish something bad enough, he or she will find a way to do it.

Not only was the tutoring a success, but his grades while studying at Sacred Heart Major Seminary were A's and B's — higher than most of his classes in high school — and although he was shy growing up, he's now able to preach to a whole congregation. "That's how I know I'm supposed to be doing this," he said.

The family found out early last year that they were expecting two new bundles of joy, after seven years of trying for more children. Deacon LaForest believes that God wanted to wait until he was closer to being done with formation, and said he was almost afraid to tell people because he thought people might not accept him as a deacon or believe he had enough time to devote to the Church.

"It's just been the complete opposite," he said. "The support we've had, at times, has been very, very overwhelming."

Juanita was nine months pregnant on ordination day, and she remembers how horribly hot it was in the cathedral — it was in the 90s, although it was October — and how even thought she was terribly uncomfortable, she was one of the wives bringing up the gifts. Zachary and MaKayla LaForest were born Oct. 28, two weeks later.

"We were finally blessed," Juanita LaForest said. "God must have thought we were good parents because he gave us two (more)."

The baptism, at St. Joseph, was a bit difficult for him, as he had to be both deacon and dad, not including the responsibility of bringing your children into the Church. Plus, it was his first baptism, having only practiced on a rubber baby, but a whimper or two from MaKayla was the only problem.

Now, Deacon LaForest is getting used to the routine of working his day job — including praying for the Detroit Lions when he drives by their training facility every day — and serving at the two parishes. He doesn't have it completely nailed down yet, as he occasionally forgets his vestments at one parish when he's supposed to be at the other. ("We bought him a second set for that reason," Juanita LaForest says.)

Deacon LaForest also jokes that his son finally brings a little more testosterone into the household, as even his cats and "probably all the fish in the tank" are females too, he said. He says he looks forward to taking his son deer hunting with his own father, although the trips usually involve few, if any, actual deer, and taking him for White Castle burgers, a prospect met with a bit less enthusiasm from his wife. And he's glad he got the opportunity to take some time off after the twins' birth, as he didn't get more than a few days to spend with newborn Stephanie as he was still in the Navy.

Stephanie and Juanita LaForest agree that although the years of their father and husband in school were hard, and they didn't get to see him much, they kept the end result in mind. "It was worth it," Juanita LaForest said. "It's where God wanted us to be. We are the deacon's family — we are in this ministry together."

Deacon LaForest jokes that he has "Deacon Scott" on his shirt "in case I forget who I am today." "'Deacon' means 'servant,'" he said. "Every time someone calls me 'deacon,' I say 'thank you' for reminding me why I'm doing this."