Pastor nears 30-year milestone in priesthood

Father Rick Spicer of Langley’s Saint Hubert Catholic Church loves to walk. Walking is something he enjoys so much he makes an effort to stroll through town on a daily basis.

His usual circuit is up and down Second and First streets, making pitstops at favorites like Good Cheer Thrift Store and The Star Store. The library is the usual turning point where he heads back towards the church.

For Spicer, these walks are more than just exercises. He’s been a spiritual leader in Langley for more than a decade, and they are a chance to soak up village vibes and say hello to friends and neighbors. It’s an opportunity to connect, understand and build relationships in a community he’s come to love and call home.

At 67, it’s the longest he’s lived in any one place. Spicer is from a military family and was ordained June 21, 1986, constantly moving until he settled in Langley in 2003. It wasn’t an easy path, however. In fact, some said it was impossible.

“Father Rick has dealt with his own physical challenges, and at one time had to go to extraordinary lengths to become a priest,” said Former Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy, who attends Saint Hubert.

Spicer has severe hearing problems, which have existed since birth. His affliction was unknown for the first few years of his life. His parents knew something was wrong and took him to doctors for tests. One believed he was born with cerebral palsy. Another thought he had an intellectual disability. Eventually his auditory disability was identified, but it wasn’t the end of his hurdles.

The auditory disability made school difficult for Spicer. He was told on several occasions that he wouldn’t be able to complete his studies, and at one point he was turned away from Saint Edward’s Seminary in Kenmore due to his hearing loss. Spicer was told on numerous occasions that the priesthood was beyond his grasp due to the physical handicap.

“Father Rick exemplifies overcoming adversity,” McCarthy said. “He’s a good example of courage in the face of adversity and persistence.”

Hearing aid technology was poor when he was a child. Early models of the 1950s were crude devices, simply turning up the volume for all sounds. It made it hard to discriminate between things that needed to be heard and background noise. Spicer opted not to use them until his teenage years when hearing aid technology had improved. But, as Spicer describes it, what he did have was sufficient.

“I was blessed with enough hearing to make it through school,” Spicer said. “Schools usually offered an interpreter, but I didn’t need or want one. However, it was often difficult to pick up on everything in class lectures.”

Today, Spicer is responsible for the spiritual health and wellbeing of many on South Whidbey. But this year marks his 30th in the priesthood, and Saint Hubert parishioners want to celebrate the milestone by throwing him a party.

The event, set for 5 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at Saint Hubert on Third Street, will feature a gamut of entertainment, including dancing, music and dinner. Sponsored by Knights of Columbus, tickets cost $25 per person and $45 per couple. It’s open to the general public.

Spicer strives to hear all angles of every story with open ears, balancing South Whidbey’s more conservative and agrarian community with the more left and environmental activist crowd. He says it’s not his job to get involved with politics, rather to lend an open ear to whomever is seeking one. He’s always willing to sit and listen.

“Regardless of their beliefs, he thinks all the other churches and everybody else in the community are children of the same god,” Saint Hubert parishioner Alvaro Reyes said. “He doesn’t put people down because they are part of a different denomination or religion.”

It’s something that he learned from his childhood growing up in a military family who regularly relocated to vastly different places, such as the southern end of the Bay Area, San Antonio, Texas, New York City, Heidelberg, Germany and Asuncion, Paraguay.

“Growing up in a military family that was always relocating gave me the ability to adapt to new settings and to not stay grounded to any one place, and I was able to take it in stride,” Spicer said. “I enjoyed the experience of traveling and it taught me many useful lessons.”

His ability to welcome all with open arms regardless of faith, political ideology and background has earned him the respect of many on the South End. Spicer is a man who walks his talk and is always willing to sit down for a chat with anyone, McCarthy said.

“I have the greatest respect for Father Rick,” McCarthy said. “He’s just a wonderful pastor and a great example of Christian living. He’s a wonderful ambassador for the city and South Whidbey.”