Deacon Russ Millspaugh was ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Orange in 2017. He is assigned to San Antonio Parish in Anaheim Hills. He married wife Jody in 1985; they have four children. Deacon Russ has been involved in Boy Scouts, Fiesta, Youth Ministry, Cursillo and TMIY Men’s Group. He and Jody are now leading Marriage Formation for engaged couples and Marriage Enrichment for married couples. Their guest in this episode is Fr. Joseph Nettekoven, who talk about his ministry serving in Alaska.
Called airs live weekdays at 2:00pm and Mondays at 5:00pm Pacific Time go to spiritfilledevents.com website or download our Spirit Filled Radio App for Android or Apple Devices.
Archives of shows from Spirit Filled Radio are available on podcast at spiritfilledevents.com
Deacon Russ Millspaugh was ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Orange in 2017. He is assigned to San Antonio Parish in Anaheim Hills. He married wife Jody in 1985; they have four children. Deacon Russ has been involved in Boy Scouts, Fiesta, Youth Ministry, Cursillo and TMIY Men’s Group. He and Jody are now leading Marriage Formation for engaged couples and Marriage Enrichment for married couples. Their guest in this episode is Fr. Joseph Nettekoven, who talk about his ministry serving in Alaska.
Called airs live weekdays at 2:00pm and Mondays at 5:00pm Pacific Time go to spiritfilledevents.com website or download our Spirit Filled Radio App for Android or Apple Devices.
Archives of shows from Spirit Filled Radio are available on podcast at spiritfilledevents.com
Welcome to call to serve on the spirit filled radio network as baptize believers and followers of our Lord. Each of us has been called to love and serve one another. This program will offer practical ways of serving and sharing our faith. Here's your host to get us started.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Hello, we are Deacon rasam Jody Mills five coming to you for sphere filled radio with our program called the serve. And a scripture I was reading the other day Romans chapter 15, verse 16, says to be a minister of Christ, Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable as sanctified by the Holy Spirit. When I read that I thought of Father Joe Netta COVID And with us today is father Joe net, a coven. Welcome to spirit filled radio and being on our program called to serve. Thank you.
Jody Millspaugh:Now Father, genetic Coven, we met him through a pastor at our parish at San Antonio. And he's just one of those magical men that we thought we have to have on our show here. So, but we're gonna start with the Holy Spirit prayer.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:So let us begin name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen. Come,
FR JOE NETTEKOVEN:Holy Spirit, to know the hearts of sherfane. So candolyn as the fire of your love, send forth your spirit, and we shall be created and you share me knew the face of here, let us pray. Oh God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit instructs the hearts of the faithful by that same Holy Spirit, we may be really wise and ever rejoice, consolations,
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Lord, Amen. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen.
Jody Millspaugh:So, you know, Father, Joe, we knowing you and in all the things that you've done specially for our parish and and those people that are important to you, you know, you have you have a such a deep commitment. Not a lot of people hear stories of how a man deserves to be a priest, and his personal journey to that you have a quite an extensive background that kind of brought you to where you are today. I'm just I'm just excited to have the listeners here that. So thank you for joining us today.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:So how many years have you been ordained a priest? Well, I
FR JOE NETTEKOVEN:was ordained in 75. I entered the seminary in 68. I was ordained when I was 30. So I know the world a bit where I got even into the seminary, but that journey course grew up in Southern California. A born in Santa Monica. Dad was in the World War Two. And I was born in 1945, in Santa Monica, and he came home for my birth. And when he went back, all the people where he was stationed were in Iwo Jima. He missed that. Wow. And then, you know, I'm sure some of the story of that. So he gave me life and he says I
announcement:you gave him say saved his lives. Yes. Wow.
FR JOE NETTEKOVEN:But he missed his brother, comrade. From that occasion. Anyway, so I grew up in Southern California, went through Catholic education, in grade school, high school. I went to public high school, went to Whittier High School. And my brother went to the same high school linear high. And so I had to follow in his footsteps. We were both altar servers. And he says, he always knew I was going to be a priest. Because I would come home. And I had one of my mom's goblets, and I would play act being a priest. Yeah. With Necco Wafers. Yeah,
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:I know.
FR JOE NETTEKOVEN:Yep. So at any rate, nothing much developed out of that, through high school, went to college, Cal State Fullerton. Then it was on. As I was graduating, this, this was very interesting. I was dating at that time. And in one of my classes, I was going into education and one of my classes, and one of the ladies said to me, why do you want to go into education? There's no money in it. Now back in the 60s, you had There wasn't much money, I think it was, like $12,000 a year, wow was what they paid? Well, those days, you know, money never made that much difference. My target was more doing what I wanted to do what I felt compelled to do. But she threw in this little factor of my husband is just starting with a company called IBM. And they're looking for people just graduating from college. Oh, so that was back in the 60s. You can imagine what my life would have turned out had I followed that. But that's what started me thinking, is education really what I want to do, is this the job I want. And that's where it clicked in me, I was on the Letters and Science building. And, and the balcony of, of Cal State Fullerton, which is completely changed. There was only orange groves out there. So I began to think, and that's why I said, you know, I know my own mind, once I start something, I'm going to stick with it, right. And so I said, I'm gonna try the seminary. I'm gonna try that and see if that works. So I entered the seminary with the Dominicans up in Oakland, and started my seminary through Cal State Berkeley, because they had what they call the graduate theological union, which was a composite of different religions have a Franciscans of Jesuits of Dominicans of Salesians, a number of different orders. Wow. And so I got my most of my seminary education there. And then I transferred from there, I began thinking that religious life was not necessarily one of the things I wanted to do. And so I transferred down to St. John's, and investigated the diocesan life. And that felt more fitting to me, where I could own a set of golf clubs and go out and play golf. Yeah. So anyway, went to went to St. John's. Now, St. John's at that time, the Diocese of orange hadn't been. Oh, yeah. So I took as my first assignment to go out with the Navajo Indians on the resume. So I was with them for a year, well, actually two years more of seminary, and a year of priesthood with them in New Mexico. So I was on the reservation. Helping out is funny, I number of stories out there, I really grew. I really grew in tuned with the native mentality with with people that have very few means about, about their livelihood. And so I would drive to the different boarding schools in a bus. I had a bus driver's license from from being up in Oakland, because I would ride the seminarians in the bus to different places. So it got me out of the convent or monastery. So there's stories about that. And I told the seminary officials Oh, you know, this is a decent Linden has to be or Oh, yeah, we do. So close, not too far from San Francisco. So I have to take the bus over to San Francisco, and stop by Fisherman's Wharf and have some nice to eat over there. Yeah. So at any rate, so I knew how to drive a bus. And when I got to New Mexico, I, I got a new mexico driver license. And I would drive the kids from the boarding school, bring them to church and, and talk to them along the way. Their talk was, you know, riding horses, why do we have to do this? School is so boring. So I said, well, listen, school is very important. Very, very important. I said, I went high school, I went to college, I got my degree. I went into the seminary, spent seven years in seminary, and all of that led me to become a priest and to be out here with you. You know, I said So education is very important. And they said to me, and you only drive a bus so anyway, you Getting getting on with the story. Now, Father, you
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:mentioned that the start of your your priestly life is down in New Mexico and with the Navajo reservation and all that. You think that's what brought you to where we've known you as is the preset goes to Alaska, you think that that was the kind of a calling that you didn't know of?
Unknown:Absolutely. Absolutely. That was part of it. The other part of that that story is that I've already always had attraction to Alaska, not necessarily to the native population. But my grandfather was one of my grandfather's was, was an entrepreneur. And in 1898, he went and established a claim and known for the gold rush. Oh, yes. And my other grandfather on my mom's side was a shipwright, which means he couldn't build boats and ships. So he went out on whaling expeditions in the Aleutian Islands. So I'm Alaska has always been in the background. And then I put that together, after I got my pilot's license. And on my first trip up to Alaska, I met the bishop up there. Bishop Michael ConnectKey, made contact with him, he invited me back, especially because I was a pilot, like two different churches. And so that's how that started. And then, because of that missionary connection, yeah. And my, my background, I really wanted to serve up there. And he was excited that I would I would be there as succeeding bishops have been as well. And having gone up there so often, I got to know the people, even in the villages that that I visited, and I've gone all over the villages up there on the west coast of Alaska, not mostly in southeast where all the cruises go. This is in the wilds of Alaska. And along the coast is the up Eskimos. There's and then along the north, there's the Inupiat Eskimos, there are different, like different tribes tribes up there. And I got to know them extremely well. So that whenever I came back, it was like, a home homecoming, right that I got to know the people. And I mean, they captured my heart. They really did. And because they get, they have very few priests. Yeah, yeah. And
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:I was reading an article from Alaskan Shepherd. Uh huh. That you're known as a city slicker priest of Alaska.
FR JOE NETTEKOVEN:Yeah, I, because I only go during the summer. I do. Yeah. Now I have had I have had assignments where they asked me to come and do Easter services. So I've been in Nome during Easter. I've also been in um, you know, the, the dog sled race. Yeah, I did. I did her. I was there for one season when the dog sleds came in, because it ends in Nome. Yeah. And what an experience that was to Wow. But the people up there are so deserving, as we'll talk a little about deacons here if you want. Yeah, the DX kind of program up there is extremely important. The Eskimo, philosophy and and wisdom and life is that to be an elder, to be a person in position of, of wisdom, and to be a leader in the community. You have to be married, you have to be married. That's why they don't have any native vocations to the priesthood. No, at all my time up there. I had not known one or one who even aspired to it. Yeah, because marriage is so important. But for the DIAC in it, they're already married. And then they get encouraged to want to help in the church. And boom, there you you have a deacon that can perform some sacraments. Yes, you know, and for marriages and baptisms. And they also do the funerals too. Or they don't have bass obviously. But they're very well connected with people for funerals. And so Deacons in the villages, and I'm talking out in the wilds of Alaska. deacons are are very, very important. And Catholicism is very alive there. The Jesuits did a magnificent job of catechizing the whole area in Alaska, magnificent job There is a Catholic Church in every village. Really, they have their Wow. Now there have been others that have come in Mormons or whatever, but nothing to the Catholic presence up there. Wow. So it's part of their life and it fits their philosophy of life too. Because their philosophy of life is respect of nature, respect of nature, respect of life. They respect life. So that, yes, they go out, and they forage and they hunt. And they fish, but they they pray and Thanksgiving of that, that animals that came to them to give his life so that they might continue their life.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Yeah, see, it's funny, I'm as you're saying that, we've been watching the series on Disney plus life, life below zero lighter loads 00. And they do they exactly what you're saying is, is when they, you know, when they take a life of an animal for their food, they do they have their the ritual and everything on that, and they respect the animal, you know, it's just been amazing.
Unknown:So that when the Jesuits came through, then they played off of that they incorporated that right into their teachings. And so it was, it was a fairly easy transition then to bring in Jesus and God as the author of the life, right. And for me, for a priest to come into that. And to see that faith in in people like that. It's a blessing to me. Yeah, I'm honored. It's a gift. I am honored by that. It reinforces my faith in what I do. And to see the smile on people in wheelchairs, you know, this one gentleman in one of my villages demonic, I went to anoint him. Very small, very small house. And no, they don't live in a loose, very small house, very small house, but they have, they have pictures and pictures of their family. And so their family is right there. Pictures are very important to them. Very important. But anyway, he was not doing well. And I came in to anoint him. And he's sitting in his wheelchair he's looking at and I have a picture of it, looking up at me, and he has just this wonderful smile on his face. After I anointed him. How could you be paid for something? Yeah, that's, it's just a gift.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:That's amazing. You're listening to the spirit filled radio, and our program called to serve we're Deacon rest and Jody Mills spa, here talking to Father Joe Netta coven. And one of the things that I know you shared with Jodi and I, over the years we've been with you in Alaska trip is the villages don't get a priest all the time. So so when you come, they seem to be more hungered for your presence and for communion for mass than the sacrum mass sacrament, right? Because they don't get it like like in Orange County, you can go anywhere else any hour of the day. They don't exactly how was that feeling when you were able to go into those towns like that into those villages. It's
Unknown:wonderful. The one thing because priests are so scarce up there, I have an itinerary that I have to follow. So like I'm in, I'll only be in one village for 10 days, when I had my sabbatical, I spent it all up in in Alaska, spent three months up there. And it was just wonderful that I could spend a little longer and in some of the villages, but I could cover a lot more villages than I could in one month. But confession confessions, yeah, you know, confession, and then mass, not just communion, they do communion services, right. And they have they have like faith leaders that instruct Eucharistic ministers to do a communion services, or the deacons. There's not a deacon in every village. But those deacons will be like in a home village and then travel by boat. Oh, our however they can get to the next village. So weather is going to determine Yes, a lot of their movement, with with priests or whatever there too. But the sacraments with with Mass and Confession and Anointing of the Sick. Those are really, really important things. And to be a part of that, you know, and to see the joy, the joy in people's eyes and being able coming to church to priest is here.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Yeah, yeah, I think it's something we know in Orange County that a lot of times we take that for granted. I don't know. And and during the COVID It woke up a lot of people that we do that you know in yet in Alaska, it was already that way, kind of sort of, you know, we're, we're until a pre showed up right then there was mass. Maybe you can share with us maybe a challenge or two that you had in Alaska with this whole with your whole ministry
Unknown:challenge with the ministry.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Maybe the weather, cold.
Unknown:Even that didn't bother me. No. Even during the summer out in the villages where I went, it gets cool. It gets in the middle of August, I remember frost on the ATV that I was driving to the different houses. Yeah, frost, no electric blankets. But I would have a number of blankets on my bed. That big things big things. Running water. Hot water, inside toilets. flushing toilet. Having a chair having a bed. Those are some of the big items that I found lacking in some places. There were some honey buckets that yeah, if you if you remember what a honey bucket is, yeah, yeah, I've had to use those had to use outhouses. Food, food is another thing, I would pack some of my food with me, cans, cans of tuna fish, some hotdogs, things like that. So I would bring some of my own food. Some of the villages had village stores, the native stores. And they have they have food in there. But it has to be flown in to so sometimes they don't have everything that you would like to find. And in Walmart,
Jody Millspaugh:right? No Walmart, they're
Unknown:in Fairbanks, they do. But people will fly out and go to Walmart and Sam's Club and whatever. And then bring back their lockers full of food supplies. But yeah, I would go to the village store and sorry, no bread today. The plane came in and people. They got it. Yeah, but but that that was good. I I wanted to feel exactly what they feel by go through. Yeah. So crazy things. Really nothing that I even even flying. You know, as I'm a pilot, I, I flew myself to some of these villages. In later years. I didn't want to take the time to fly up because it takes a lot of time to fly my on an airplane up there. So I would fly commercially. And then they would have these little bush pilots that would take you to different and that that was much, much better. Because then I didn't have to check the weather myself. Right? Yeah, they didn't. There was that's another element to that. That complicates things, right. Yeah. So as far as scary things, not really scary things. I got into this one airplane one time they were flying out. And as soon as we were taking off, it was a twin engine since we are taking and I told the pilot that I was a pilot. So he had me sit in the copilot seat, which I always wanted to do in case something happened. Yeah, yeah. So at any rate, I got in there. And since we took off some guy in the back was yelling could hardly tell what he was saying. But that the heater they have heaters in these airplanes for the winter times. And it was blowing the heat old blowing heat on his neck. As I got into the copilot seat, my knee hit the switch. Oh. And because of my getting into the seat, so he had to stop and find out exactly what he was complaining about. And then reset the button. So that was one of my experience. Yeah, but no, as far as any kind of harrowing thing. No, no.
Jody Millspaugh:Yeah, I think it's so beautiful to see all when you were discerning even to the priesthood, you know, going to education versus Okay, what do you really want and money wasn't the issue. You wanted to see what pleased you. You had this experience and in New Mexico, and then you got your pilot's license. I don't know how other young men think but when they think I would assume that they would think like becoming a priest. I gotta let go of all my interests and everything else because I'm going to be a priest, right, but yet you incorporated it Yeah. And because you did that you were able to do this whole ministry in Alaska, because you brought your whole self with you into your priesthood. Yeah. He didn't leave anything behind. Except probably the girlfriend was still really more about that. But
Unknown:I wrote to her, she never wrote back.
Jody Millspaugh:But I think it's beautiful to see if God isn't choosing you just to go like be a workhorse for him to incorporate what you like to do. Even the golf clubs. Yeah, yes. So that he can use you as a whole person to encounter these people that don't have a completely different life than what we're used to in the mainland, as they would say. So even
Unknown:even flying to me was a tool. One of the tools I had Yeah, bag, right. Yes. I enjoyed it. Yes, I have the talent for it. I always liked flying. My dad would whenever I was sick, he would bring me an airplane because he absolutely did in the war. He, he worked on Douglas dauntless. And was mechanic on it. So he always brought me an airplane. So I always had this fascination with airplanes. So but the airplane became a tool to me, I enjoyed it. It was, you know, imagines going anywhere in Alaska. And seeing it from my map.
Jody Millspaugh:That perspective. Yeah.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:That's amazing. Well, we're gonna wrap this up. But before we do, you know, our listening audience, there's men out there, there's probably women out there thinking of religious life or the priesthood or some type of discerning what kind of words of wisdom could you give them?
Unknown:Bring your own gifts to the table, bring your own gifts. One of my assignments up there was to go into this one village and the sister who ran the ministry up there. She told me, okay, now, I want you to visit these people I want, they want their house, bless these people want confession? These people want this, they want that. So after one week, I went to her, I called her on the phone. I said, Sister, I've done all this. What else is there for me to do? And he said, Joseph, your presence is your gift to them. Just be there, walk around the village, walk along where they're fishing, bless their boats, bless their catch line ever. Just your presence is a gift to them. So that really affected me. Yeah, that affected me. And so I would say to people, you know, I learned to fly after I became a priest. You You may not know what your gifts or talents are and how you might use them in your career, how you might use that. Just know that your presence is condensed, right? Yes. Yeah. So think about? Yeah, think about that.
Deacon Russ Millspaugh:Well, we're gonna close with the prayer, the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen. Dr. We want to thank you for the gift father Joe. We want to thank you for for all the tools that he has been using in his ministry life through you, and you have guided him and we asked you to continue to guide him as he journeys along with you your name we pray, Amen. Father, Son, Holy Spirit, amen. And as we wrap up this week's program with Father Joe Neda COVID, we are reminded that all of us are being called to serve our community, as God is called that we are Deacon rest and God well spa with spirit filled radio, Called to Serve program. wishing you all a blessed day, and pray that you hear God's calling to serve others. Amen.
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