‘Blessed with a Wonderful Life’
Father Frank Ruff, celebrating his 50th jubilee, reflects on past, looks to future.
by Margaret Gabriel

Lay Ministry: Jay Gilchrist, left, and Father Frank, far right, pose with newly commissioned pastoral coordinator Paul Witte and his wife Ginny in 1999. Father Frank was the founder and director of the Glenmary Lay Pastoral Coordinator Program.

Father Frank Ruff says he had a startling realization in August 2008 at the Glenmary Congress. Several members celebrating 50 years since professing First Oath were recognized and in the midst of the celebration, he thought: “Next year that anniversary will be mine!”

Father Frank doesn’t often reflect on the past, preferring to look to the future, but says enthusiastically: “I’ve been blessed with a wonderful life. I’ve been blessed by Glenmary to start two churches in Georgia and to help start five missions with lay pastoral ministers in the 1990s. Those are exciting, extra-special privileges and it’s been so much fun!”

A thread running through Father Frank’s ministry, whether as pastor, sacramental minister or Glenmary’s president from 1983-91, is his outreach to people of other faith traditions.

“I was in seminary before Vatican II, so relating to Protestants wasn’t part of my training,” Father Frank says. But when he arrived in White County, Ga., to call together a Catholic community, he found only seven Catholics in a county of 30 Baptist churches. And, as a missioner, he was called to serve all those living in the county.

“I realized if I was going to serve these people, I needed to get to know them,” he says. And that meant learning about their faith traditions.

Father Frank started learning by asking questions, reading books and serving as a chaplain at North Georgia College. But he points to a 1965 event as “when my conversion really happened.”

He was invited to the Baptist Student Union at North Georgia College to speak about Catholicism and answer questions.

“My talk started at 6 p.m.” he says. “At 9, the security people came in and told us they had to close the room. We adjourned to the library. At 11, security told us they needed to close the library, so we went to a dorm and continued talking into the night.”

Prior to that night, Father Frank thought of his Baptist audience as “others,” or even competitors. But in the early morning hours, as he made his way home, he thought of them as family. “And I realized that you don’t walk away from family.”

Father Frank’s passion for ecumenism has played a role in all of his ministry assignments. And it led him to take an active role in Catholic-Baptist dialogue. He has served as field representative for the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, and has attended the annual Southern Baptist Convention for the past 40 years.

Today, as a senior member, he lives in the western Kentucky community of Trenton and serves as sacramental minister for the churches in Elkton and Guthrie—former Glenmary missions he pastored prior to taking senior membership.

“As long as I’m in good shape physically and mentally, I can see continuing as the sacramental minister here,” says Father Frank.

He enjoys the slower pace as a senior member and appreciates focusing on what he calls the third phase of his life.

Life, he says, can be divided into three phases: the first phase is for learning and the second phase is for production. “The third is for preparing to go home. In the third stage, you take time for spiritual development. My homilies should be better now because I have more time for reflection. Now when I pray, I’m more relaxed.

“Life is good,” he says. “I’ve expressed joy and delight in my journal. I’m happy to be old!”

The story above first appeared in the Summer 2009 Glenmary Challenge.
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