Image by Christin Hume on Unsplash
By Aoife Connors
The Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry (ACCLPM ) has a new eNews: Lay Pastoral Ministry News. The ACCLPM website has the latest edition and a form to subscribe (free). The article below is excerpts from this edition.
Parishioners are the unsung heroes of the church, working behind the scenes to keep parishes going and support the work of their priest.
Mission and ministry is not some airy fairy thing just for priests and holy people. It is the day-to-day hard slog of keeping the parish community running. Ministry is essential to offering a place for Catholics to gather, hear God’s word, celebrate the Eucharist and go out into the world refreshed and reinspired to live and share the Good News.
Parish ministry often begins by lending a hand at Mass, whether that’s proclaiming the word, becoming a Eucharistic minister or offering to sing with the choir.
… In 2011, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) established the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry (ACCLPM). Yet what do we mean when we refer to lay pastoral ministry?
Sr Kari Hatherell (ACCLPM Chair) explains that ‘through baptism all people share in the mission of the church, giving witness in their lives of the love of God, made visible in Jesus, through the power of the Spirit. However, some are called to ministry.’
‘In the past, ministry was thought to belong to the ordained priesthood and to consecrated religious but in the years since Vatican II there has been an increasing number of laity who have responded to this call.’ The ACCLPM was established to provide research, support and resources for people working in lay pastoral ministry across the Catholic Church in Australia.
Today, many lay people work as pastoral associates, catechists, sacramental coordinators, youth ministers in parishes as well as hospital and prison ministry, and a variety of other settings. The list is endless, Sr Kari says.
Sr Kari advises that all lay pastoral ministries needs to be carefully discerned by those entrusted with the parish leadership and authorised by the parish priest or local bishop.
‘Ministers should be given necessary formation and training for their ministry, and lay pastoral ministry must always work in collaboration with the pastoral ministry of the ordained.’
A major focus for the ACBC Lay Pastoral Ministry Council is a research project investigating the current landscape of lay pastoral ministry in Australia.
From this project, national guidelines will be published to promote and support Lay Pastoral Ministry. ‘This e-newsletter has been established so that we can begin sharing some of the results of the research and engage as many people as possible in drafting the guidelines,’ Sr Kari says.
(These excerpts are reprinted with permission. eNewsletter of the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry – Lay Pastoral Ministry News.)
