This newsletter is developed by the NCCB Subcommittee on Lay Ministry. The purpose of this newsletter is to highlight lay ministry trends, resources, models, and other key information that may be helpful to the U.S. Bishops. Please forward suggestions and comments to: Lay Ministry Project Coordinator NCCB Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women, and Youth 3211 4th Street, NE Washington, DC 20017-1194

Two Workshops to Address Canonical Aspects of Lay Ecclesial Ministry

The Department of Canon Law of the Catholic University of America has announced a workshop titled Gifted and Called: Problems and Prospects for Lay Ministry at the Dawn of the New Millennium. The workshop, which is designed for canon lawyers and those experienced with working with lay ministers will be held in Washington, D.C., March 10-11, 2000. The workshop presenters are Thomas J. Green, J.C.D., James H. Provost, J.C.D., and Elissa A. Rinere, J. C. D. Registration information is available from 202-319-5492.

The Midwest Canon Law Society Conference, to be held in Madison, WI , May 8-10, 2000, will have as its focus Cooperation and Collaboration for the New Millennium: Clergy and Laity Working Together. Keynote presentations will be given by Rev. Robert Kaslyn, Weston School of Theology and Dr. Lynda Robitaille, current president of the Canadian Canon Law Society. The conference will also include workshops and panel discussions. Further information is available from Dr. Michael Ritty at 608-821-3060.

New NALM Publication on Lay Ecclesial Ministry

The National Association for Lay Ministry has published Forging a Ministerial Identity, an address by Dr. Zeni Fox at its 1999 Conference. In the talk, Dr. Fox addresses the issue of identity, citing the work of Erik Erickson, who taught that the process of developing an identity has two centers, "the choice of an occupation and of an ideology or system of meaning." For many beginning lay ecclesial ministers, according to Dr. Fox, the choice of occupation is unclear - they find themselves responding to a sense that God is calling them to service within the Church. She then raises two questions: Is there a ministerial identity which is constant and Is a ministerial identity desirable?

Noting that systems theorists hold that "the more differentiated the leader, the more effective his or her ministry will be," Dr. Fox reflects on the ministerial identity of Jesus, concluding that forging the ministerial identity of lay ecclesial ministers must be a collective action of the Church. Available from NALM: 773-241-6050

New Subcommittee Named for Lay Ecclesial Ministry

Bishop John McRaith, newly elected chair of the Committee on the Laity, named Bishop Joseph Delaney to chair the Subcommittee on Lay Ministry. Serving with Bishop Delaney will be Bishops John Dunne, James Hoffman, Gerald Kicanas, and Emil Wcela who served on the previous committee. A major task of the new subcommittee will be to recommend to the Committee on the Laity how the work on Lay Ministry should be continued. The new subcommittee will be guided by the responses of bishops during the discussion of Lay Ecclesial Ministry : The State of the Questions during the General Meeting.

Over 100 bishops participated in eight break-out sessions after a panel during which Bishops Hoffman and Kicanas and Zoila Diaz, D. Min. and Zeni Fox, Ph.D. addressed key issues in the subcommittee report. (Texts of their presentations are available by calling 202-541-3001.) Feedback sheets were received from 125 bishops. All of the subcommittee proposals were affirmed by those bishops .The proposals to which the bishops gave the highest priorities included "scholarly research and writing about the theology of ministry including such aspects as ministry rooted in the sacraments of initiation as well as in the gifts of the Spirit, the relationship between baptism and orders, and the lay vocation to ministry" and "continued study of the relationship between the bishop and the lay ecclesial minister and that relationship's theological and practical aspects." The bishops also gave high priority to the Conference giving guidance on the formation and preparation of lay ecclesial ministers.

The bishops' comments on their feedback sheets indicated a desire for greater clarity around definitions, particularly ministry, and for continued guidance by the Conference on the issues involved with lay ecclesial ministry. The new subcommittee has scheduled its first meeting for February 1.

From Our Tradition . . .

Lay Ecclesial Ministry Not a Substitute, but a Model and Impetus for Other Forms of Lay Ministry
Unfortunately, the word ministry has been overused. Everything has become ministry.... This turns ministry into a nebulous term. It removes ministry from its genuine context within the Church community. It separates ministry from its vital relationship to the Church's mission.

Ministries, correctly understood, are actually a particular set of services which have been so identified by the Church. These ministries include lector, minister of communion, youth minister, minister of hospitality, minister of religious education, pastoral coordinator. Each of these services has the Church community as its subject. Each is instituted to assist the community - in being ready and able to carry out the Church's mission....

All ministries must flow from mission. Ecclesial ministry always directs the community to the Church's mission in and for the world. So, lay ecclesial ministry is not a substitute for other forms of lay ministry. Rather, it serves as a model and an impetus for them:

• Lay ecclesial ministry embodies fundamentals which are essential to all lay ministry:
  
  
  Every ministry is rooted in the community experience of faith. Ministry is nourished by the sacraments, by prayer and public worship. The purpose of every ministry exists within the realm of faith - the goals always include faith.
  
  All ministries are instituted and overseen by the Church to make certain they are in accord with the Church's mission. The Church's mission is to carry on Christ's mission of salvation. The ultimate goal of every ministry is the salvation of all God's people. Ministers are not free agents with personal agendas. All ministers are commissioned by the Church, serve in the name of the Church and are accountable to the Church. All are appointed to a common task - to collaborate in the Church's mission. They are authorized by the Church and should not be seen as a replacement for the ordained.
  
  

  Lay ecclesial ministry fosters other forms of ministry:
  

  Ecclesial ministry models an attitude of service within the Church community. This attitude imitates Jesus who comes into the community to serve and not be served. It inspires the members of the community to a life of service. Hence, out of lay ecclesial ministry flows lay ministry in the world, for the world.

Bishop Walter Sullivan, Bishop of Richmond, Address to Collaborative Ministry Summit, Wilmington, December 12, 1999

From Our Jewish & Christian Neighbors. . .

Workshops at World Methodist Council Event Stress Lay Leadership
Several workshops at the Millennium Event of the World Methodist Council, held in Houston in November, stressed the importance of lay leadership.

Bishop Neil Irons, president of the North American section, said that "the 21st century is the time when the ministry of the laity (will be) recognized ... in terms of taking responsibility for Christian life and work in great varieties." He further stated that the church will need well-trained clergy members, but clergy who can help the laity find out what they need to do and help discern God's will for them.

Rev. Hal Brady, an Atlanta pastor, stated that North America is "moving from a society dominated by clerics to a society where the laity dominate the church." He cited three causes for the shift: the rediscovery of the Bible, essentially making everyone a minister; a looming void in clergy leadership as large numbers of ministers retire in the next 10 to 15 years; and changes in church staffing that will result from dwindling discretionary income among the middle class.

United Methodist News Service

From Around the World . . .

Belgian Cardinal Reflects on Lay Leadership in Parishes
Cardinal Godfried Daneels of the Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, recently gave an interview to the editors of Church. When asked whether the U.S. experience of lay people as paid members of parish staffs with their sense of vocation was similar in Belguim, Cardinal Daneels responded that while there are many lay people working in parishes there, "not so many ... are free to do it full time."

Commenting on the important roles that lay people can fulfill, Cardinal Daneels emphasized that it is important "to preserve the distinction between ordained ministries and nonordained ministries without making a hierarchy....Both are important....The one is founded on baptism, the other on ordination. That distinction is vital for the Catholic Church."

For the cardinal, "The best pastoral workers are those who really love Christ and the church and say 'I will give my whole life to this.'"

Church, Fall '99, p. 22.

Email us at flwymail@usccb.org
Secretariat for Family, Laity, Women & Youth | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.