DIVERSITY OF MINISTRY, UNITY OF MISSION

Lay ecclesial ministry’s unique contribution to the church

by Anne Verbeke, Director
Lay Ministry Formation Program, Diocese of Gary, Ind.

 
This past October, I participated in a consultation on Lay Ecclesial Ministry sponsored by the USCCB Subcommittee on Lay Ministry. The consultation, which was held in Mundelein, Ill., included 15 bishops as well as pastors, lay ecclesial ministers and representatives from eight graduate schools within Region VII. Monsignor Philip Murnion facilitated the consultation, and he began by defining the role of the lay ecclesial minister. According to Msgr. Murnion, the role of the lay ecclesial minister can be viewed within several categories: volunteer, job, career, profession, vocation, office and ministry. He believes each category gives rise to different questions and issues. Among those present at this consultation, it was agreed that lay ecclesial ministry is a “public” ministry and as such, needs academic and spiritual formation in order to prepare the minister for service of God’s people. I share these reflections with you because it provides a glimpse of the discussion on the role of the ecclesial lay minister that is taking place within the Church.

As the director for the past 5½ years of the program that trains lay men and women for ecclesial ministry for the Diocese of Gary, Ind., I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about lay ecclesial ministry. The very first thing that comes to mind is that some laity and clergy view lay ecclesial ministry as a “new ministry” that has come into being due to the lack of ordained ministers. This is not only a false perception, but it fails to recognize that our baptism calls each of us equally to participate in the continuing mission of Jesus Christ. All are called but not all will respond; those who do respond will bring a variety of gifts and different roles. St. Paul tells us that “there are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord” (1 Cor. 12:4).

In the Church there is a diversity of ministry but unity of mission. To the apostles and their successors, Christ has entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in His name and by His power. But the laity are made to share in the priestly, prophetical and kingly office of Christ; they have therefore in the Church and in the world, their own assignment in the mission of the whole People of God.1 I would suggest that “diversity of ministry but unity of mission” expresses well the Vatican II vision of collaboration between the ordained and the laity. If we are open to this collaborative vision, then no one ministry replaces another, but rather they compliment each other by working together to continue the mission of Christ.

When I am speaking to parishes about the Lay Ministry Program, I invite the people to reflect on a very simple but powerful question, and that is: “What is God calling me to do?” If we have taken our baptism seriously, then we must continually discern where God is calling us to serve. It is a question that challenges us to move from our comfort zone to real discipleship – to a discipleship where our gifts are used in collaboration with others in furthering the mission of Jesus. We know from our lived experience that the response to God’s call takes on different forms. The large majority of the laity who hear God’s call responds by taking the gospel message to the world and community in which they live. As disciples our ministry is not limited by the walls of the parish church. However, some choose ministry as a vocation – as a way of life. These include the ordained – the priests and deacons, religious women, and lay men and women who have been identified as ecclesial ministers.

Those who aspire to be an ecclesial minister are required to enter into a three- or four-year preparation program that includes a number of theological courses and spiritual formation. Many diocesan programs, like the four-year program in the Gary Diocese, will lead to a master’s degree. The completion of the master’s degree is essential to the well-formed ecclesial minister. Many bishops have made the Ecclesial Lay Ministry Program a pre-requisite for those applying for the Diaconate Program. The ecclesial minister has a definite leadership role within a parish or diocese, and like deacons they are animators – in other words, they are to empower the laity to serve in the mission of Jesus Christ. An ecclesial minister serving in a parish would be the Director of Religious Education, the Director of Adult Formation, a Pastoral Associate, the RCIA Director, or the Director of Youth Ministry, to name a few. The ecclesial minister works collaboratively with the pastor and other staff in inviting the gifts of all the faithful so that there is “diversity of ministry but unity of mission.”

The call to discipleship – to continuing the mission of Christ by the baptized – is a call for everyone. The ordained and ecclesial ministries are certainly important to the Church, but so is the daily, weekly and monthly ministry and service that regularly happens in our parishes through the efforts of a large number of baptized laity. Their training and formation may not be as intense as the ecclesial minister’s training, but they too have discerned and answered the question, “What is God calling me to do?”

1 Cf. Dogmatic Constitution De Ecclesia, chap. IV, no.33; AAS 57(1965) p.37.

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