These four words open Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, the American Church’s definitive resource guide on the development of lay ecclesial ministry. The title reminds us of the parable Jesus told about the landowner going to the marketplace and calling workers to come help tend his vineyard (Mt. 20:1-16). This parable brings to mind that Jesus calls some lay individuals from the marketplace of the world to come and work in his vineyard, the church.

The call to work in the vineyard is actually a call within a call. All people share in what Vatican II called the universal call to holiness: “all Christians in whatever state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity, and this holiness is conducive to a more human way of living even in society here on earth.” Yet, within that more general call to serve the Lord some lay men and women are called to work in the vineyard of the Lord as lay ecclesial ministers.

“The term reflects certain key realities. The ministry is lay because it is service done by lay persons. The sacramental basis is the Sacraments of Initiation, not the Sacrament of Ordination. The ministry is ecclesial because it has a place within the community of the Church, whose communion and mission it serves, and because it is submitted to the discernment, authorization, and supervision of the hierarchy. Finally, it is ministry because it is a participation in the threefold ministry of Christ, who is priest, prophet, and king.”

In our world today, the service of lay ecclesial ministry is not just a nice way to involve lay people in church activities, it is essential to the functioning of the church: “Sharing in the function of Christ—priest, prophet and king—the laity have an active part of their own in the life and activity of the church. Their activity within the church communities is so necessary that without it the apostolate of the pastors will frequently be unable to obtain its full effect.”

Yet this service is not like volunteering to work with the Red Cross. Rather it has deep theological roots. It is a “calling,” a true “vocation” to ministry, and like the vocation to the life of a priest or a deacon, one does not simply sign up to be a lay ecclesial minister.

“Ecclesial” service is marked by four characteristics:

• Authorization of 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
• Preparation and formation appropriate to the level of responsibilities that are assigned to them.

Authorization

Authorization means that a person’s “calling” must be tested and confirmed. Those chosen for lay ecclesial ministry must be “known for genuine love of the whole Catholic Church.” This is a process called discernment. Discernment involves not only the individual, but also and more importantly, the church. The process includes such mundane things as checking references, conducting background checks, and testing a candidate’s psychological and emotional states with various screening instruments as an “objective means of determining an individual’s suitability for ministry.” Discernment for lay ecclesial ministry also includes an examination of a person’s desire to perform loving service, what his or her prayer life is like, and what special gifts he or she can bring to ministry. The final decision rests in the hands of the bishop, under whose authorization a lay ecclesial minister will perform.

Leadership

Lay ecclesial ministry, while not a specific job title, is about a lay person performing a specific “job.” That job is defined by what special gifts and talents a person brings to the church. This talent is matched up with the needs of the particular local church and the person is assigned a leadership role in a particular ministry, including such “jobs” as “the pastoral associate, parish catechetical leader, youth ministry leader, school principal, and director of liturgy or pastoral music.”

Ecclesiality

A lay ecclesial minister must above all be “ecclesial,” that is church-oriented. He or she must be a person who exists in full communion of heart and mind with the Pope as successor of Peter, and whose ecclesial identity is shaped by obedience to the bishop of the diocese and to the universal magisterium and is expressed by generous collaboration with ordained and other lay ecclesial ministers alike.” The lay ecclesial minister must be able to work closely with the bishop, priests, and deacons as together they serve the church.

Formation

Finally, lay ecclesial ministers need to be properly prepared for rendering service as a member of a pastoral team. While they may be performing a specific job, like youth minister, for which they may have to be trained academically, they are also church ministers and thus need to have even more than academic and professional credentials. The recommended formation of lay ecclesial ministers includes:

• Human formation—which is meant to lead one to real human maturity psychologically, physically, socially, and sexually
• Spiritual formation—which is meant to lead one to a deeper relationship with God and neighbor
• Intellectual formation—which is meant to lead one into a better understanding of faith, Scripture, theology, dogma, and canon law
• Pastoral formation—which is meant to develop in one the knowledge, attitudes and skills for effective ministry and pastoral administration in support of that ministry

In the context of youth ministry, many dioceses offer certification programs that abide by the National Certification Standard for Lay Ecclesial Ministers and match up well with the guidelines of Co-Workers and another important volume on lay ecclesial ministry to youth, Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry.

The Holy Spirit is clearly acting within the church today to bring to life the vision of Vatican II of an active and engaged lay ministry. Practical realities like the shortage of priests and religious are compelling a pro-active response on the part of the church to fill the gap. But the church is taking appropriate steps to ensure that a lay ecclesial ministry is properly rooted in the theology and doctrine of the church as well.

___________________________________________________________________________

Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., 2005. Available online at: http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/

Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) (LG), no. 40, in Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations (rev. trans. in inclusive language), edited by Austin Flannery (Northport, NY: Costello Publishing, 1996). All subsequent Vatican II references come from the Flannery edition.

Co-Workers, p.11.

Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Apostolate of the Lay People, no. 10; see also LG, no. 33, and Congregation for the Clergy et al., Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests (Ecclesiae de Mysterio) (Washington, DC: USCCB–Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1998), Foreword.

Co-Workers, p. 25.

Co-Workers, p. 32.

Co-Workers, p. 11.

Co-Workers, p. 25.

National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers, developed by NALM, NCCL, NFCYM, and NPM and approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., expanded edition 2006.

Renewing the Vision: A Framework for Catholic Youth Ministry, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C., 1997. Available online at: http://www.nccbuscc.org/laity/youth/rtvcontents.shtml.