Phil Rzewnicki, OFS
Permanent Deacon (ret.)

919-961-0206
philrzewnicki@gmail.com

Opportunities in my professional career as an agronomist and my voluntary church ministry as an ordained permanent deacon have enabled me to be happily married to my wife, Anna, for 51 years. I was baptized Roman Catholic soon after my birth in my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. We have raised one son and two daughters. We have three grandchildren (two in Ohio and one in Virginia). We are currently empty nesters, except for one dog.

My career as an agronomist in the Cooperative Extension Service has employed five land-grant universities. Each community’s local Catholic church parish was the ‘home base’ for social and faith-based activities. Anna and I often volunteered in faith formation and led scripture studies in each parish. This included participation in interfaith discussion groups and the Cursillo and Charismatic renewal movements. In Nebraska, I felt a calling to the diaconate. I was ordained in 1985. Since coming to Raleigh in 2003, I have been involved with prison ministry, have become a certified spiritual director, and have led and taught in ecumenical Christian spiritual formation in the Triangle area. I was a deacon for St. Thomas More Parish in Chapel Hill (8 years) and Holy Cross Church in Durham (11 years) in this diocese. In 2020, I professed to live the rest of my life as a Secular Franciscan.

I have been a certified spiritual director since 2009. I listen with a compassionate heart. I encourage my directees to tell me what is going on with their relationships with others (family, co-workers, acquaintances). Questions on my part are open-ended to encourage conversation. I emphasize being a companion on a directee’s spiritual journey, assuring confidentiality on my part. We explore together where or how God is relating to him or her. I consider it a privilege to gain their trust.