Father Gene Schaeffer, the associate pastor at Holy Redeemer, was born December twenty-seventh, in New Jersey. Before Father was 13 years old he had lived in 13different houses across New Jersey, Florida, and Missouri. Father Gene grew up mainly in Missouri, then New Jersey, then Florida. Before he became a priest, Father was an information technology manager and managed computer games before he became a priest. While Father was an IT manager, he got married and had two children. Currently, one of his children lives in Troy, Missouri, while the other one lives in St. Charles, Missouri.
He decided to become a priest for three reasons. He was a permanent deacon for 14years as an IT manager, which helped him to become a priest faster. His kids were also moving out, so he didn’t have to take care of them anymore. While talking to a spiritual director, he was asked, “Why aren’t you a priest? He responded, “Well, I’m too old.” The director said “No you aren’t!” One of the problems of becoming a priest is that you can’t be married. Only in the Anglican Order can you be married and still become a priest. So Father got divorced and an annulment to become a priest. Then the spiritual director showed Father some potential seminaries he could attend, and he ended up going to a place in Boston.
Father wouldn’t change anything about being a priest. “I like rules, and the Church has the right idea of a priest.” In fact, Father thinks that “the Church should be more open to older guys instead of being only focused on young ones.”
If Father wasn’t a priest, he thinks that he would still be an IT manager and a permanent deacon. Father’s favorite hobbies are, working, playing video games, Frisbee, and golf. Holy Redeemer is Father Gene’s first Parish and we all hope he will continue to serve the Church and us as a priest.
