CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Marshall County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jarret Heil, back and second from right, was recently ordained as a deacon with the Archdiocese of Dubuque during a ceremony on Saturday, June 27. Also pictured are his wife Dawna, their four children and Archbishop Thomas Zinkula.

Jarret Heil’s Catholic faith has always been a core tenet of his life and work, and the current chairman of the Marshall County Supervisors, who is a Marshalltown High School graduate, Haverhill area farmer and the finance director for St. Francis Catholic School and St. Francis Church, recently took the next step in his journey by becoming ordained as a deacon with the Archdiocese of Dubuque during a ceremony on Saturday, June 27.

During a recent interview, Heil told the T-R he has been actively involved in his parishes as a youngster growing up in Marshall County, and it continued when he moved to Pella to attend Central College and during his time in Washington, D.C.

“I felt the calling from the Lord to serve him in a deeper way and serve our community of followers,” he said.

The ordination process, he added, took about five years in all as he took classes in Waterloo every other Saturday, and he explained that his role includes three main aspects: ministry of the word, ministry of the liturgy and ministry of charity. He will be leading baptism classes for all families within the parish along with assisting at mass and being able to perform weddings, funerals and baptisms.

“And then charity is really being the hands and feet of Jesus, and I take that a little bit further of being the eyes of Jesus and looking at others, and the heart of Jesus, with compassion,” he said.

As part of that work, he’ll be volunteering at the Emergency Food Box, doing service for Catholic Radio of Marshalltown and coaching youth sports teams.

“It’s important to have that connection with the church and the people, so connecting the altar to the people is kind of that role, and that was what Jesus’s ministry was, charity, so that’s the role of the deacon,” Heil said.

After the recent reconfiguration of the Archdiocese, his pastorate area will include churches in Marshalltown, Traer, Tama, Chelsea and Belle Plaine, and Heil is excited to share his faith with parishioners and have candid conversations in his new role.

“I think, in our current world, people think it’s taboo to talk about religion and faith, but at the same time, it’s probably one of the top things on people’s minds, especially when you start thinking about the afterlife, and being someone that’s available just to talk to people about faith and my relationship with Jesus and what it means to me and who I am and how I am as a person and how we are to be to others and just being available to those conversations and to minister people in that way is what I am excited (about),” he said. “You know, you read through the Bible, from the Old Testament all the way through the New Testament, it is full of very exciting stories to talk about and many lessons that can be learned. I think if we all followed that, our society would be a much better place, and just being able to share that with others is really exciting to me.”

The day after his ordination, he led a Mass of Thanksgiving in Marshalltown, assisting at the altar with his children, and he preached the homily with family and friends present. Heil, a Republican who served as the Marshall County Treasurer for 12 years before winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors in the 2022 election, is seeking a second term as a supervisor in the November election.

Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.