Lay Ecclesial Ministers and the Future of Parish Leadership
by Marti Jewell, D.Min.June 27, 2006
In regional conferences being hosted by the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project, teams of lay and ordained pastoral leaders talk about their experience, hopes, and dreams for the future of parish leadership. They are giving us the blueprint for a future marked by deep change in life and parish as we know it. This is what we have heard….
Both lay and ordained pastoral leaders overwhelmingly hold a vision of the future of parish leadership that includes more commitment to collaboration and shared ministry, and an increased role of the laity in the life of the parish. Those working in parishes today recognize the changing demographics of both parishioners and parish leaders. They are realistic about what faces parish leaders in an unfolding future that is placing greater challenges in front of those who minister.
Both lay and ordained pastoral leaders are naming the “leadership role” of the lay ecclesial minister as one of planning, organizing, and implementing the work of the parish, and of empowering parishioners. This vision is expressed in the bishops’ document on lay ministry, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, which speaks of the leadership role of lay ecclesial ministers:
“[Lay ecclesial ministers] are to use their gifts and leadership roles always for the good of the Church, equipping the community for every good work and strengthening it for its mission in the world.”
(Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, p 26)
If the church is to continue to provide healthy, active, and spiritually alive parishes then we must attend to this vision.
Lay ecclesial ministers must have the education and formation of gifts necessary to assume “the leadership roles needed for the good of the church.”
• Educated: Solid theological education is needed so that they can serve parishes well and their ministry cannot be dismissed. Initial and ongoing education of those in ministry is critical for the life of the church. Unfortunately this is not everywhere available. The number of ministry formation programs being reported to CARA has decreased, as have the number of participants being reported.
• Skilled: Appropriate skills are needed to plan, organize, and implement the various ministries of the parish. Lay ecclesial ministers speak of making the life of the parish happen, knowing how to get programs running and which parishioners have which gifts and will offer them. Doing the day to day work of the parish calls for very specific skill sets that can be provided in formation programs.
• Formed: Disciplined formation is needed for a strong and well developed, personal and spiritual maturity. In parishes where lay ministers are often expected to work independently, whether they are the only on-site pastoral presence, as is the case in a growing number of parishes; or they work independently, even in a large staff, they will need to be self-directed, able to network, and have a healthy ability to do self care.
Lay ecclesial ministers must be able to collaborate with both the ordained and the parishioners in “equipping the community for every good work….”
• Relational: In order to provide for vibrant parish life in the future, those in ministry must recognize the interdependent web of relationship of pastors, parish pastoral staffs, and parishioners in working together for the mission of the church. Together they function as a total ministering community, the contribution of each essential to the life of the parish. We know that annually the number of parishioners continues to increase by nearly 2% and they are increasingly claiming their parish leadership roles. At the same time, the number of men available to pastor parishes is steadily declining and often pastors are assigned to multiple parishes. Working together is a growing necessity.
• Collaborative: Therefore, lay ecclesial ministers need to have an understanding of leadership that is rooted in and serves the community. They need to be collaborative in order to work within the growing isolation that many are experiencing. One gift lay ecclesial ministers bring to the parish is their ability to widen the circle of people who can work together to provide vital parish life. Not only is the ability to work collaboratively a desirable form of ministry, it is fast becoming a matter of survival!
• Diverse: Diversity training is needed for bringing together people of multiple cultural backgrounds. The minister of the future will probably need to be bi-lingual and able to work with multiple cultural populations in a given parish.
• Empowering: An area still in need of development, for both lay and ordained leaders, are the skills for empowering and animating the discipleship of parishioners. Absolutely critical to the future of parish, this includes affirming the ad extra as well as ad intra call of the baptized.
Lay ecclesial ministers must be personally prepared to “… strengthen the church for its mission in the world.” They need the assurance that comes from authorization and the support of the local church. And, finally, they need to know that their contribution to the life of the church is meaningful, is welcomed, and will provide them with a reasonable lifestyle. It is up to the church leadership of today – all of us – to ensure they have what they need to be Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.
