Jeff Ostrowski, Kurt Krueger, Jim Pryce and Ron Potempski will be welcomed into holy orders on Saturday, Oct. 3, at the cathedral
DETROIT — As September comes to a close, the Archdiocese of Detroit prepares in hopeful and prayerful anticipation for the ordination of four men to the permanent diaconate at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.
Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger will ordain Kurt Krueger, Jeff Ostrowski, Ron Potempski and Jim Pryce, who will be sent out to proclaim the Gospel to the faithful of southeast Michigan and serving the ministry of the Word of God, both in liturgy and in charity.
The few soon-to-be deacons' first parish assignments will be announced at the time of the ordination Mass.
In-person attendance at the ordination Mass is by invitation only, but all are welcome to watch the Mass online at aod.org/livemasses or the Archdiocese of Detroit's Facebook or YouTube channels.
Get to know the Archdiocese of Detroit’s four new deacons ahead of their ordination:
Kurt Krueger
Kurt Krueger, 60, belongs to Holy Family Parish in Novi. With his wife, Mary, he is the father of five adult children.
Krueger graduated from Novi High School in 1984 and from Lawrence Technological University in 1990. He works as a senior field application engineer for Vector North America Inc., a software company based in Novi.
While discerning the diaconate, Krueger and his wife began praying the Liturgy of the Hours, knowing that permanent deacons make the promise to pray it daily.
“It took more than a year to confidently pray the hours … What I didn’t expect is how quickly the hours structured the start and end of each day,” Krueger said. “This was an enormous blessing for Mary and I that carried us through the hard days as well as the easy days during all five years of formation.”
Krueger served his parish internship at St. Joseph Parish in South Lyon under the supervision of Deacon Chris Booms. During her husband's formation, Mary Krueger began to pursue a master's degree in pastoral studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary. Upon completion, she plans to use her degree to provide spiritual care at church or in a hospital.
The Kruegers are dedicated parishioners at the Church of the Holy Family, where Mary serves a catechist, Vacation Bible School leader, lector, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, prayer minister and finance committee member.
The couple is approaching Krueger's upcoming parish assignment with hope and prayer.
“We hope the Lord sends us to a new parish community that will become our home as we seek to let the Lord use our gifts, talents, and abilities in service to Him, for His people, according to His will,” Krueger said.
In his spare time, Krueger is involved with the Knights of Columbus, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Boyne City Yacht Club, where he enjoys sailing. Krueger's other hobbies include reading, exercising, mountain biking, skiing, wave running and traveling.
Jeff Ostrowski
Jeff Ostrowski, 46, attributes the beginning of his journey to the diaconate to a profound spiritual encounter with the Holy Spirit at the Encounter Conference in Toledo, Ohio, in 2019.
“This encounter set me on fire for the Lord,” Ostrowski explained. During the Lenten season, he took part in Exodus 90, an intense, Lent-like period of prayer, fasting and discernment. After several months of reading Scripture and praying in contemplation, on March 28, 2020, he reached out to a priest at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, hoping to find a spiritual director.
“As we spoke, unexpected words came out of me: ‘I think the Lord is calling me to be a deacon,’” Ostrowski recalled. “In that moment, I was as surprised as Father was. But beneath the surprise was a quiet sense of spiritual peace — as though something long hidden had finally been brought into the light.”
Originally from Dearborn, Ostrowski now lives in Plymouth with his wife Erin and their three children, ages 11 to 14.
Ostrowski graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn in 1998 and went on to Wayne State University in Detroit, where he received his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering with a minor in theater. In 2008, he graduated from Wayne State a second time with a Master's in Computer Engineering. He works for Ford Motor Company as a senior manager of in-vehicle software.
The Ostrowski family’s home parish is Our Lady of Good Counsel in Plymouth; however, Ostrowski returned to Dearborn for his pre-diaconal internship, serving at the Church of the Divine Child under the supervision of Deacon Bob Calleja.
He has volunteered his time and talents at the Lennon Pregnancy Center, participating in parental education and the fatherhood mission; offered spiritual care at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital; served with the St. Aloysius Neighborhood Services at the summer produce station and backpack ministry; and as a Day Center and Bridging Center volunteer at the Pope Francis Center in Detroit.
Ostrowski is also a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and is active in his parish men’s prayer group, OLGC Regular Joe’s, as well as music ministry and the Knights of Columbus.
In his spare time, Ostrowski enjoys producing live theater through his involvement with the Players Guild of Dearborn, where he is an actor, past president and board member. He also enjoys fishing and gardening.
Ostrowski says his call to the permanent diaconate is not just about “doing” things in the Church; rather, he hopes “to become a man set apart for others.”
“A deacon proclaims the Gospel, assists at the altar, and serves others in charity. More deeply, he is called to reflect Christ the Servant in his very life — learning to place the needs of others before his own and to trust that God will provide what is needed along the way,” Ostrowski said.
Ostrowski said his wife, Erin, and his children have helped form him into “a man for others.”
“As C.S. Lewis writes, ‘The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only — and that is to support the ultimate career.’ In that vein, Erin spends the majority of her time supporting me and our three children inside and outside the home,” Ostrowski said. “I look forward to sharing my ministry alongside them as we serve other families together within the Archdiocese of Detroit, as these domestic churches are the foundational building blocks of both society and our faith communities.”
Ron Potempski
Ron Potempski, 57, can see how God has been preparing his heart for the permanent diaconate long before he received the call.
Potempski, an engineering manager at DCS Corporation, said one of the first ways was through his wife, Marie, with whom he shares two children.
“From the moment I met her, I recognized there was something different about her,” Potempski said. “She lived with a quiet joy, deep gratitude, and an unmistakable love for life that remained constant throughout every season. As we built our marriage, raised our family, and balanced the responsibilities of work and parenthood, I watched her continue to grow in her relationship with Christ. In time, God called her to the Secular Carmelites, and I witnessed her respond to that call with generosity and faith. Her openness to God’s will gradually awakened in me a desire to seek Him more deeply and become more attentive to His presence in my own life.”
The call itself came “unexpectedly” when praying before Mass at his home parish, SS. Cyril & Methodius in Sterling Heights. As he watched Deacon Jerry Smigell prepare the altar, he knew in his heart that he “should be doing this.”
“I tried to dismiss it, but I was not able to,” Potempski said.
He brought the experience before God in Eucharistic adoration, and admitted that he didn’t know what a deacon was or what the diaconate ministry involved.
“The very next day at Mass, Deacon Jerry gave the homily. He began by saying, ‘As you know, I’m a deacon for the Archdiocese of Detroit. I’d like to explain what a deacon is and what a deacon does,’” Potempski said. “I knew this was no coincidence, but I still unsuccessfully tried to dismiss it.”
God continued to make the calling crystal clear, however. The following day, while at work, a colleague told him he should become a deacon.
“No one had ever said anything like that to me before,” Potempski said. “For me, it was another confirmation that the Holy Spirit was leading me toward the permanent diaconate. Looking back over this journey, I can clearly see God’s providence at work. It has become a journey of continual conversion, teaching me that God’s call unfolds in His time, often through the ordinary people and moments He places before us. For that, I remain profoundly grateful.”
Potempski graduated from Warren Woods Tower in 1987. In 1992, he earned a degree in computer science from Oakland University, followed by his master's in computer science in 1996, also at Oakland.
Potempski served his internship at St. Michael Parish in Sterling Heights under the supervision of Deacon Franz Hoffer. He has devoted time to serving the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Henry Ford Health Systems, Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, the Detroit House of Recovery, where he assists those recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, and Liberties Inc., which provides daytime shelter for those struggling with mental health issues.
His hobbies include spending time with his family, exercising, pickleball, conditioning, landscaping and barbequing.
After his ordination, Potempski hopes to be a “faithful servant” to all those he reaches through his ministry.
“As a deacon, I hope to meet people where they are, listening with compassion, encouraging them in their faith, and helping them encounter Christ through the life of the Church,” Potempski said. “I believe the ministry of a deacon extends beyond the sanctuary into everyday life. My goal is to bring Christ into the ordinary moments of family life, the workplace and the community, demonstrating that Christian service begins with charity, humility, and a willing heart. Above all, I pray that my ministry will always point others to Jesus rather than to myself, allowing Him to work through my words, my actions, and my witness.”
Jim Pryce
Jim Pryce has been involved in the Church from a young age, beginning as an altar server at age 10.
Pryce, now 64, worked his way up to being the head altar server. From there, he began to work at the parish rectory at St. John the Baptist in Ypsilanti on evenings and Saturdays while attending Ypsilanti High School. After high school, he attended Eastern Michigan University and became a lector and extraordinary minister.
Pryce joined the Knights of Columbus, eventually becoming his council's grand knight. Shortly after, he found himself at a 24-hour Eucharistic adoration in his home parish, St. John Neumann in Canton, when he felt God asking for more of him.
“As I looked up at the Lord, it was almost like Claymation, as I saw the Lord tell me, ‘I need more from you,’” Pryce explained.
Pryce had considered the permanent diaconate before, but at the time, he was working long hours while his wife, Denise, took care of their then two young children.
“The diaconate just wasn’t going to work at that time. Then, that early morning at St. John Neumann happened,” Pryce said. “I knew what the Lord wanted, as many people had told me, ‘I think you would make a great deacon.’
He and Denise, who is also heavily involved in parish ministry as the lead funeral sacristian and a choir member, decided to make the permanent diaconate a part of their lives.
“I see my vision of being a deacon as being a person to assist in the parish where needed, as well as working within the community in spreading the good news of our God and helping others with any issues they may encounter,” Pryce said.
Pryce did his internship at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Northville, under the supervision of Deacon Ric Misiak. He works as the lead maintenance technician at Pinnacle Management in Ann Arbor, and spends his free time hunting, collecting baseball cards, golfing, traveling with family, teaching hunter education, watching Detroit Tigers baseball and volunteering for a variety of projects and organizations.
In addition to his involvement with the Knights of Columbus in Ypsilanti, Canton and Plymouth, and as a former member of the color guard, Pryce also served as the former president of the Tri-County Sportsmen’s League, and for 20 years as a DNR hunter education instructor in Saline. He is also a former board member of District 8 Michigan United Conservation Clubs, and the Order of Alhambra's Manresa Caravan #217, working with people with intellectual disabilities.
