Lay Ecclesial Ministry

The term lay ecclesial minister reflects "certain key realities: The ministry is lay because it is service done by lay persons…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." (Co-Workers in the Vineyard)

In the 1995 US Bishops' statement "Called and Gifted for the Third Millennium" noted that "'since the Second Vatican Council new opportunities have developed for lay men and women in the Church.' Lay ecclesial ministry has emerged and taken shape in our country through the working of the Holy Spirit." In 2005 they noted in Co-Workers in the Vineyard that the discernment of this vocational call to LEM is a process that "requires prayer, dialogue, and evaluation. ... At the same time, [LEMs] know that a self-discerned call by the individual is not sufficient." Their call must also become one that is discerned within the Church and authenticated by the bishop, or his delegate, who alone is able to authorize someone to serve in ecclesial ministry.

Persons called to lay ecclesial ministry posses certain dispositions, which are further developed during the formal preparation process. They include (Co-Workers in the Vineyard):

1. Being in full communion with the Catholic Church, able to minister joyfully and faithfully within the hierarchical communion that is the Church
2. The desire to serve the Church and its mission, which proceeds from love of God and God’s people
3. A commitment to regular personal prayer, frequent participation in the Mass beyond the Sunday obligation and in the other sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance
4. Zeal to live a Christian life, and willingness to live and teach as the magisterium teaches
5. Emotional maturity, including the ability to sustain friendships and professional relationships and the management and appropriate expression of both anger and affection
6. The intellectual gifts needed for the specific ministry
7. A commitment to good communication and conflict resolution skills

The US Bishops state in Co-Workers in the Vineyard that "by virtue of their call, lay ecclesial ministers take on a new relationship to the mission of the Church, and to the other ministers who work to accomplish it." Therefore, they must be persons:

• Who are for genuine love of the whole Catholic Church
• Who exist 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 dioces ... and is expressed by generous collaboration with ordained and other lay ecclesial ministers alike

The Archdiocese of Seattle has developed two certification programs so that lay ecclesial ministers may undertake formation and/or graduate education, preparing them specifically for service in the local Church. Recent Church documents emphasize the need for dioceses to provide academic and financial resources for discernment, education and formation of LEMs. Completion of either program leads to Archdiocesan certification as an LEM.

1. Christifideles, in collaboration with Seattle University and the University of Portland, is a program for LEMs who are seeking additional ministerial formation, including a graduate theological degree.
2. Companions in God’s Service provides formation for LEMs who already have a graduate theological degree from an approved program.

Lay Ecclesial Ministers serve the local Church in many ways. The following are some sample positions in the Archdiocese of Seattle.

Parish Coordinators	Pastoral Associates	Catholic School Teachers and Principals
Youth Ministers	Directors of Religious Education	Social Justice and Outreach Ministers
Liturgists	Musicians	Hospital Chaplains
Spiritual Directors	Diocesan Agency Directors	Social Worker with Catholic Charities
Detention Ministers	Parish Administrators	RCIA Directors or Coordinators
Campus Ministers	Ministers for Pastoral Care	Ministers with Young Adults
Ministers with Seniors	Ministers for Adult Faith Formation	Ministers for Children’s Faith Formation

"An appreciation of the distinct gifts and apostolate of the laity will naturally lead to a strengthened commitment to fostering among the laity a sense of shared responsibility for the life and mission of the church. In stressing the need for a theology and spirituality of communion and mission for the renewal of ecclesial life, I have pointed to the importance of 'making our own the ancient pastoral wisdom which, without prejudice to their authority, encouraged pastors to listen more widely to the people of God'" (Novo Millennio Ineuente, 45).

"Certainly this will involve a conscious effort on the part of each bishop to develop within his particular church structures of communion and participation which make it possible, without prejudice to his personal responsibility for decisions he is called to make by virtue of his apostolic authority, 'to listen to the Spirit who lives and speaks in the faithful'." (cf. Pastores Gregis, 44)

"More important, it calls for the cultivation in every aspect of ecclesial life of a spirit of communion grounded in the supernatural sensus fidei and the rich variety of charisms and missions which the Holy Spirit pours out upon the whole body of the baptized in order to build them up in unity and fidelity to the word of God (cf. Lumen Gentium, 12). An understanding of cooperation and shared responsibility which is firmly rooted in the principles of a sound ecclesiology will ensure a genuine and fruitful collaboration between the church’s pastors and the lay faithful." (Pope John Paul II, Ad Limina Address , December 10, 2004. Origins)