News

Bishop to commission 11 lay church leaders

By Patricia Kasten
Compass Associate Editor

Eleven lay women and men dedicated to ministry in the church of the Green Bay Diocese will be commissioned for leadership in that church.

The commissioning ceremony, with Bp. David Zubik presiding, will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, May 19, in St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, 140 S. Monroe Ave., Green Bay.

The ceremony marks the completion of the Commissioned Ministry Leadership Formation Program, a nationally accredited joint effort of the diocese and Silver Lake College in Manitowoc.

"Commissioning is really about stewardship: prayer, service, sharing" said Tony Pichler, director of the diocesan department of lay ministry formation. "These 11 people began the journey of the Commissioned Ministry Leadership Formation Program three to five years ago because each one had the desire to become the best minister possible in order to better serve the members of his or her parish faith community."

The program, which has been fully accredited by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops since 1995, will have commissioned 189 ministry leaders. Another 132 are enrolled in the formational process, which prepares lay people for leadership in five areas: pastoral ministry, worship, religious education, youth ministry and business management. Approximately 25 people are accepted into the program each year.

"The people who are being commissioned for ministry leadership on May 19 have answered a call, rooted in their baptism, to help the reign of God to become more and more of a reality here and now," said Pichler. "Each person has heard the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, visit the sick and imprisoned, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, and spread the Good News to the ends of the earth in his or her own unique way."

Those being commissioned and the area in which they will be commissioned are:

Gloria Ackerman, of Holy Cross Parish in Kaukauna, in religious education. Ackerman works part-time as coordinator of religious education for grades one through six at her home parish. In the last two years, she has been on two mission trips: one to the diocesan mission in the Dominican Republic working with Fr. Mike Seis; the second to Catholic Heart Workcamp in Virginia.

Theresa Fett, of St. Joseph Parish in Sturgeon Bay, in pastoral ministry. She works full time as an office manager for a local chiropractor and volunteers at her home parish. Her parish involvement includes extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, minister of hospitality, RCIA facilitator for the parishes of the Door County Catholic Community, Loaves and Fishes, coordinator for Women of Faith, and facilitator for adult education. Fett previously was a catechist for high school religious education, coordinator for RENEW 2000 and president of the Christian Women's Organization.

David Gibbons of St. Mary Parish in Menasha, in pastoral ministry. Gibbons works as a change order specialist in Kaukauna. He volunteers as a sacristan, a substitute server and lector, as extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Mass and local nursing homes and Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah.

Holly Jackson of St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Waupaca, in liturgy. She is part-time coordinator of liturgical music, and a volunteer at her parish. Holly is a graduate of UW-Stevens Point, where she majored in voice performance. She also provides voice lessons for students at Waupaca High School.

Jeffrey Kacala of St. Mary Parish in Kaukauna, in religious education. He is a pinsetter mechanic at an Appleton bowling lanes and serves as coordinator of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at his parish. He has experience with Catholic Heart Workcamp and is leading a Young Neighbors in Action group at St. Mary's, coordinating middle and high school faith formation in the Generations of Faith program and coordinating the confirmation program.

Robert Kamasky of Most Precious Blood Parish, New London, and St. John the Evangelist, Green Bay, in pastoral ministry (deaf and hearing impaired). Kamasky works in New London. He is very active with the deaf community in the diocese, including ministry to the hospitalized. He is chairing the 2006 Retreat for the Catholic Deaf Community in Door County and studying in the ministry formation program for Catholic Deaf Adults in Chicago. He has been a member of the Fox River Valley Association of the Deaf since 1966, as treasurer for 32 years and now as president. In July, he will attend the Religious American Sign Language Week in Brooklyn, Mich.

Christopher Schmitt of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Manitowoc, in youth ministry. Schmitt works in Two Rivers and volunteers at both his home parish and St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Two Rivers. His volunteerism includes Lifeteen core team, high school catechist, two mission trips with high school students to the Dominican Republic, three mission trips with students to Mississippi, and miscellaneous ministry activities.

Rhonda Uschan of St. Bernard Parish in Appleton, in liturgy. Uschan is assistant campus dean for student services for UW-Fox Valley. Her volunteer work at her parish includes the Worship and Spiritual Life Committee, the Life in the Spirit Seminar team and serving as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. She is also the choir director.

Jackie Wallace of Holy Cross Parish in Kaukauna, in religious education. Wallace works part-time as coordinator of religious education for grades one through six at Holy Cross Parish and is a member of GB-AREA District Four.

Joyce Woulf of Ss. Francis & Wenceslaus Parish in Coleman, in religious education. Woulf is a full-time religious education facilitator at her parish. She also volunteers as a RCIA team member and as a proclaimer, and is a member of GB-AREA, where she is a member of the Diocesan GB-AREA Board. She also takes her dog, Clancy, to area nursing homes.

Kathleen Zeman of St. Mary Parish, Algoma, and Holy Rosary, Kewaunee, in pastoral ministry. Zeman is a full-time pastoral minister. Through her ministry she has met many wonderful people in the communities she serves. She also writes reflective poetry.