Father Jeff, as he is known, is a repeat winner in the Best Clergyperson category. The parishioners at Blessed Sacrament love him, and it's no wonder. The now-retired spiritual leader of more than 1,500 families in the church and school counts as one of his main accomplishments since 2011 that people found him to be approachable and that he listened well.
"You could come up to me and talk. I made myself available to people and I did listen to what they had to say," he said. "The most important part of my ministry is meeting people, to listen to where they are in their faith and life journey, and help them get a deeper relationship with the Lord. That is what I was really trying to do."
One of the greatest highlights? A sabbatical in Kenya. "I worked in a refugee center near the south Sudan border for six months with Jesuit Refugee Services," said Grant. "It really gave me a different perspective on ministry and how you care for persons, and how much our faith has in common even when the culture is different. It was a wonderful experience."
One of the challenges of Grant's nearly 14 years at Blessed Sacrament? The administrative part of the job, especially meeting the financial needs. "That's a lot of work. The real job for clergy is to walk with your people."
Retirement is a welcome change of pace for Grant. "Retirement allows me to fill in around other places in other diocese for other priests. It lets you see people you don't see every day. And, retirement gives me a change to read more. I haven't always had time to do that. This will allow time to do things at a slower pace. I like that."
