News

Lay ministry continues to grow

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

	WARM WELCOME: Green Bay Auxiliary Bp. Robert Morneau, pastor of Resurrection Parish, greets Rick McCord, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth, at the Co-workers in the Vineyard workshop, where McCord was the keynote speaker. (Rick Evans photo)

The number of laity serving in ministry in the Catholic Church continues to grow.

According to a 2005 survey conducted by the National Pastoral Life Center, more than 30,000 lay ministers are working in parishes nationwide, an increase of 53 % since 1990.

This growth prompted the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to release the document Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. Approved in November of 2005, the document is designed to serve as a reference for the development of lay ecclesial ministry. Unlike recent USCCB documents about priestly formation and the ministry of permanent deacons, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord does not propose norms. Instead, it suggests strategies and resources for local integration of lay ecclesial ministers within ministry structures in dioceses. Last week, workshops were offered at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Green Bay, and St. Patrick Parish in Menasha to study the document and explore its implications in the Diocese of Green Bay.

The workshops featured panel discussions moderated by Tony Pichler, diocesan Lay Ministry Formation Director. Panel members included Dcn. Pat Whitcomb, pastoral associate at St. Therese Parish, Appleton; Sheila DeLuca, pastoral associate at Resurrection Parish, Allouez; Sr. Diane Baumann, ANG, director of Religious Education at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Neenah; and Fr. Dean Dombrowski, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Champion, St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Humboldt/Eaton, and St. Kilian Parish, New Franken. "Where We've Been and Where We Are" served as the theme for the discussions.

Rick McCord, executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women and Youth, delivered the keynote presentations. McCord assisted the bishops in writing Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.

"The document places lay ministry in a framework where we can think about it, talk about it, and then, I hope, give it future support and direction," said McCord.

Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord outlines four characteristics of lay ecclesial ministry:

• A clearly defined position in some area of ministry.

• Necessary authorization to carry out this leadership in a public manner.

• Close collaboration with ordained ministers.

• The required education and formation for a leadership role and its responsibilities.

Up to the local bishop

"It's really up to the local bishop or his delegates to decide which roles within a diocese fit into lay ecclesial ministry," said McCord.

"The document opens with 'God calls. We respond,'" he added. "This is a call to discipleship. It is a call that precedes all other calls. The call to holiness is what we all have in common. Now the call to discipleship is not the call to ministry. All ministers are disciples, but all disciples are not ministers. A minister shares in the work of pastoring. The Second Vatican Council recognized that others can be called to assume roles of public leadership in the church."

McCord invites all people involved in ministry or interested in ministry to read the document and reflect on it.

"While it doesn't establish norms, it offers a theological approach to understand lay ecclesial ministry and adapt strategies to the local church," he said. "It affirms the need for fruitful collaboration between ordained and lay ministers. They must complement each other and not be in competition. No one ministry stands apart from the church's community and vision."

Lay, ordained both needed

Bp. David Zubik, who chairs the USCCB Committee on Laity, also emphasized the need for collaboration.

"Neither of those ministries, ordained or lay, are dispensable," he said. "They need to be respectful of each other. My hope for the Church of Green Bay is that everyone who is a part of lay ecclesial ministry realizes that they do matter, and we need to work together to move the church forward."

"I'm offended when anyone references lay ecclesial ministry as a reaction to the decreasing number of priests," said Bp. Zubik. "Lay ecclesial ministry is not a stopgap measure but a growing of the church."

McCord praised the Diocese of Green Bay as a "pioneer" in the development of lay ministry referencing the Commissioned Ministry Program, the first in the country.

Bp. Zubik wants to build on that success.

"It's important that we don't rest on our laurels," he said. "We need to do a lot more. We need to support lay ecclesial ministry in every parish and tear down whatever walls are there. Our church here is extremely vibrant and very passionate. What needs to happen is we need to be able to continue the conversations."

Ministry example in diocese

Fr. Paul Demuth, diocesan Vicar for Ministers, provided an example of Co-Workers in the Vineyard in action in the diocese. He referenced the Parish Assistance Team led by Doris Vincent, diocesan Associate Director of Administration. The team features representatives of various diocesan offices, both ordained and lay ministers.

"We meet once a month for an hour," said Fr. Demuth. "We can put any situation in the diocese on the agenda. We are trying to work collaboratively on behalf of you in the parishes. This way you receive one message, not six people telling you different things."

Fr. Demuth discussed Comprehensive Ministry Guidelines within the framework of the diocese. He said Guidelines for Lay Ministers are close to completion.

An array of gifts

Mark Mogilka, diocesan director of Stewardship and Pastoral Services, addressed leadership planning in relation to Co-Workers in the Vineyard.

"We have such an array of gifts and I've seen marvelous things in many of our parishes, but we need more," he said. "Many of the things in our parishes are just activities and are a part of survival mode. We've got to get beyond thinking 'How are we going to get through another year?' or 'How did we do it last year?' It starts with leadership and leadership planning."

Mogilka encouraged those involved in parish leadership to determine the parish vision, look at the reality of achieving that vision, and determining the necessary action to move from the current state to the vision.

"Go out and make disciples," he said. "Do not circle the wagons and survive another year. What is your parish vision?"

"Has anyone ever been energized by naming their problems?" he added. "Begin planning and evaluation with what you are doing well. Become a 'for-prophet' organization, Decide who will do what by when and who will have oversight."

Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord is available from Catholic book retailers or for online reading at www.usccb.org/laity/laymin.