Are you being called to lay ecclesial ministry?
By Tim Puet
Catholic Times
All baptized Catholics are called to participate in the mission of the Church in some way. For many, this takes the form of service in such positions as Eucharistic minister, visitor to the sick, Parish Council member, catechist, and so forth.
Perhaps you have responded to Jesus’ call to in this way and find there’s still something more you’d like to do, as a way both of deepening your faith and of better fulfilling God’s purpose for your life.
This might be an indication that you are being called to lay ecclesial ministry, an area of service which has undergone a significant increase in the United States as more lay people find themselves drawn by the Holy Spirit to a deeper life in the Church.
The diocesan Office of Ministry Formation is sponsoring a four-part series titled “Foundations in Lay Ecclesial Ministry” for people who feel they might be called to various specialized lay ministries or to the diaconate. The sessions are geared to helping participants explore their sense of being called to serve, as well as developing their identities and gifts as ministerial leaders.
The series of Sunday afternoon talks will include discussions on the vocation of the Christian faithful (Sept. 27); the lay ecclesial minister (Oct. 25); the spirituality of servant leadership (Nov. 22); and an introduction to civil and canon law for ministers (Dec. 20). They will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Catholic Worker House, located in the former St. James the Less convent, 1652 Oakland Park Ave., Columbus. Cost of the four sessions is $100 and the registration deadline is Sept. 4.
Sheila Murphy, director of the diocesan Office of Ministry Formation, said the service of lay ecclesial ministers has four special characteristics: authorization from the hierarchy to serve publicly in the local church; leadership in a particular area of ministry; close mutual collaboration with the pastoral ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons; and appropriate preparation and formation.
“The nation’s bishops used the term ‘lay ecclesial minister’ to refer to such people in their 2005 document ‘Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord,’” Murphy said. “In a parish, these ministers may include the pastoral associate, director of religious education, youth minister, pastoral liturgist/musician, or the coordinator of the catechumenate, social concerns, or marriage and family life ministry.
“Beyond the parish, lay ecclesial ministry also encompasses health care and prison ministers, campus ministers, diocesan leaders, and others.”
The number of lay ecclesial ministers nationwide has grown substantially in the last two decades. A 1990 study by the National Pastoral Life Center indicated there were 21,569 lay parish ministers. By 2005 that number had increased by 42 percent, to 30,632.
Murphy noted that this expansion was not the result of any official Church directive or of the decline in the number of priests and Religious. “Rather, something new and exciting – namely, lay ecclesial ministry – has been taking shape in the life of the Church through the prompting of the Holy Spirit,” she said.
Mike Millisor, pastoral associate at Granville St. Edward Church, provides an example of the multitude of roles a lay ecclesial minister can play.
“I’m responsible for faith formation activities for everyone from children to senior citizens, including the Parish School of Religion and the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults,” he said. “In addition, I assist Msgr. (Paul) Enke (the church’s pastor) with pastoral care for the sick and homebound, and I’m the parish safe environment coordinator.
“One of my responsibilities that gives me particular satisfaction is the parish’s Catholics Returning Home program, for people who are Catholic but have become inactive in the Faith. We have it three times a year, and there’s always been interest whenever we’ve offered it. Participants are encouraged by it and tell others, and it seems to have created a strong impact and momentum of its own, one person at a time.”
Millisor, originally from Marion, has been a lay ecclesial minister since 1997, serving at Hilliard St. Brendan and Columbus Holy Spirit before coming to Granville.
“I was involved in the insurance industry, but felt a desire to move down a different life path in terms of satisfaction,” he said. “I had been an active lay person, so pursuing the lay ministry was a logical step.”
Susan Bellotti, a staff member at Westerville St. Paul Church, said she found herself becoming drawn to serve the Faith because the volunteer work she was doing in her free time in Colorado gave her more of a sense of fulfillment than did her jobs in the banking, health care, and utility industries.
“I couldn’t ignore the feeling that I was called to a deeper involvement with the Church,” she said. “So I decided to pursue a master’s degree in pastoral ministry at Seattle University, and doing this confirmed my excitement and enthusiasm.”
She came to the Columbus area after being accepted for a ministry position at Lancaster St. Mark in 1986. Since then, she has served with the diocesan religious education office, at Columbus St. Christopher and, for the last nine years, at St. Paul’s. As pastoral associate there, she is responsible for adult education, including the RCIA and Coming Home programs, and the Catholic Institute for Biblical Literacy, a two-and-a-half year study of sacred Scripture which is being expanded to other churches this year.
“It’s been a great gift working with adults, and I’m very humbled by their deep thirst for God and for serving him,” he said. “They have a profound sense of being freed from sin and of being surrounded by God’s graces. They can really define the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, perhaps because it’s something they’ve had to work toward rather than something that’s always been there for them, as it is for ‘cradle Catholics.’”
Frank Lesko of Columbus said he always has felt a desire to be of service to the Church and is studying for a master of arts degree in theology from Ohio Dominican University in hopes of becoming a full-time lay ecclesial minister.
Lesko, 34, already is active in social justice work as a member of the community living at the Catholic Worker House. He holds a full-time job for Penske Logistics, coordinating truck shipments to Big Lots stores throughout the Midwest.
“Strangely enough, I think this type of job is helping me in my Church-related activities because of the way it involves working with people in a number of different areas who all are working toward a common goal,” he said.
Lesko and other members of Catholic Worker groups hold jobs and live simply, sharing what they earn and helping spread a message of hospitality, nonviolence, and prayer for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and forsaken.
“It’s a lifestyle, rather than just a job, and it’s made me realize I want my involvement to go deeper. That’s why I want to get into ministry work on a full-time basis,” he said.
“Lay ecclesial ministry is undoubtedly an expression of renewal and grace,” Murphy said. “Moreover, the Church will be unable to be fully effective in accomplishing its mission without lay ecclesial ministers who exercise a vital leadership role, in collaboration with and under the guidance of their pastors, in calling forth and equipping the Christian community to be a credible sign of God’s reign in the world.
“One thing is clear: much more remains to be done in this regard and we stand to benefit from the generous response of more lay persons willing to share their gifts in committed service to the Church.” |