When Auxiliary Bishop Edward William Clark sprinkled holy water on the walls and blessed the new Deacon Mission Center in South Los Angeles Oct. 21, it was an answer to more than 30 years of prayer and more than four years of hard work for Deacon Peter Wilson.

The newly renovated former convent, adjacent to St. Michael Church and School will be an education and renewal center used by the deacons and lay men and women volunteers to provide continuing education programs for all parish communities in the area. The center will offer development and training in leadership, Bible study, spirituality, catechesis and continuing education for priests, deacons and men and women religious, as well as the laity and community leaders.

For Deacon Wilson, creating the Deacon Mission Center means providing a strong community outreach ministry that includes support groups for youth at risk and for youth in detention, programs for gang prevention and programs for youth with alcohol and drug addiction.

The seed for the center was planted when Wilson lived on Fifth Avenue and attended nearby St. John the Evangelist Church in the early 1960s. After moving to Simi Valley with his wife, Norvell in 1969, he felt a call to return and help the youth in the area. As he approaches his 25th year of diaconate service at St. Rose of Lima Church in Simi Valley, he has spent the last four years working to make his vision come to fruition.

"I have a ministry in detention (at a juvenile detention center) and I would meet all of these kids from down here," he said. "The rate of return was so great, I said that there has to be something that we can do, but it took many years to decide that."

According to Wilson, outreach into the community will be vital. Once the center volunteer staff has established a relationship with a family, they will assess the family's needs and determine whether their children are at risk or already are in gangs. The staff will then connect them with deacons who can provide area residents with professional counseling --- psychological, spiritual or financial.

"We have a long way to go as far as ministry, but we have the resources because the diaconate has all kinds of talent," Wilson explained. "We have doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, accountants --- you name it, we have it. With this resource center, if I see a group that has a certain need, I utilize all of the [deacons in the five pastoral] regions. So they are all cooperating."

He said that the outreach ministry would offer programs to Spanish speaking neighbors.

"We have bilingual Masses here," he said. "We can celebrate together but to go out and minister together and solve problems in the community, that is what we are all about."

Wilson said about 16 deacons and their wives have spent the past four years working to create the non-profit organization. "I realize that it is a difficult task, but you have to start at grassroots," he said. "You can't start a ministry and stop when the money runs out. That is why we have started a non-profit. A lot of donors would like to see us especially teaching in the inner cities."

While the organizers were searching for a home base, Msgr. David O'Connell, pastor of St. Michael, offered them the newly remodeled building. With freshly painted white walls and shiny tile flooring, the spacious, two-story center with conference rooms, ministry rooms, offices, a kitchen and a chapel, was exactly what Deacon Wilson needed.

"The parish here accepted us," Wilson said. "They want us here and they want us to get in and get going and start doing outreach ministry."

He said he hopes to eventually spread out into the surrounding parishes and give outreach leadership classes to train the laity.

During his homily at the Mass of Thanksgiving before the center blessing, Bishop Clark said that the role of the deacon is spoken of more often in the New Testament than the roles of priests or bishops. According to the bishop, the aspect of service is more integral to the work of a deacon than any other aspect of his work.

"I think that one of the marvelous things about this new particular ministry is that the deacons of our church recognized a need --- a need in the inner city to serve in so many ways and to be more visible," the bishop said. "This deacon mission center becomes their home for this ministry here in this part of our archdiocese and it is a significant role."

During the Mass, Msgr. O'Connell welcomed the deacon ministry to the parish. Through the Deacon Mission Center, he said, volunteers will serve as "fishers of men and of women and bring people to the great word of Christ."

"There is a great need in this area of St. Michael and all the parishes around here," Msgr. O'Connell said. "There are many young people who are in terrible trouble these days. We know of many families that are falling apart in our neighborhoods. Our neighborhoods themselves are filled with so much violence and difficulties that there is a great harvest here."

Wilson agreed to take on the challenge to change the community and "to raise up a new generation."

"Our journey is just beginning," he said. "The hard work is still ahead of us. Just as we gather this morning in worship, we are going to do the same thing in the outreaching communities in the inner city."

For more information on the program or to volunteer, contact Deacon Peter Wilson, (323) 752-0085. To give a donation, make checks to "Deacon Mission Center," 1039 W. 87th St., Los Angeles, CA 90044-2107