Before unpacking the promise and vision of this document, it’s important to consider that God is indeed calling members of the lay faithful to an authentic and fruitful vocation of service to God’s people just as surely as someone experiences the draw to the religious life, the diaconate or the priesthood. Is this a new development? Let’s consider this reality as it began to unfold as early as when Jesus walked in our midst.

Early in his ministry, Jesus called forth those who he would ask to be special stewards of his message so that they could lead others to live out the message of mercy, forgiveness, salvation and love. As a people marked by mission, the apostles went out and brought the good news of Jesus to the people. Along with the apostles, many other disciples were called upon to also share this message. In Luke’s Gospel, we get a picture of this with the Galilean women among those accompanying Jesus and the Twelve. (Luke 8:1-3)

Throughout the history of the church, we see examples of other lay people who worked closely with the ordained and religious brothers and sisters. Some — think of Catherine of Siena or Thomas More —  have been declared saints by the church. Expansive writing by lay and ordained theologians throughout the decades prior to the Second Vatican Council raised the importance of lay people accepting their particular call to find and then live out their vocational path by virtue of their baptismal dignity.

At the Second Vatican Council, the world’s bishops produced the document Apostolicam actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People) to further bring about the recovery of the church’s rich theology of baptism that sees all its members as having the character of priest, prophet and king by virtue of their relationship to God as adopted sons and daughters. Seeing the great potentiality within the lay faithful, the bishops wrote, “This lay spirituality will take its particular character from the circumstances of one’s state in life (married and family life, celibacy, widowhood), from one’s state of health and from one’s professional and social activity. Whatever the circumstances, each one has received suitable talents and these should be cultivated, as should also the personal gifts one has from the Holy Spirit.”

While our theology of ordained and religious vocations has been fashioned and put into practice over many centuries, we are just beginning the process of integrating the gifts and presence of lay ecclesial ministers into the fold of church ministry and leadership. In doing so, we need to envision what it looks like when a lay person, who is rooted in the secular world (marketplace, government, educational institutions, homes, etc.), feels called to bring their spiritual gifts into the life and ministry of the church.

In the decades following the Second Vatican Council, more and more lay people began to step forward to serve in the church as teachers, youth leaders, liturgical planners, musicians, social service workers, Curial and hospital administrators and so on. It gradually became clear that these individuals approached their duties as ministries that flowed from a growing sense of vocation that expresses one’s baptismal dignity. Because some among the laity demonstrated a strong desire to consistently give a substantial amount of their time and energy to serve the church, the U.S. bishops and the many lay consultants began to consider the identity of these members and settled on the term lay ecclesial minister. While not creating a new order within the church, this hybrid term acknowledges that lay people do in fact have a place of ministry within the church. As the bishops and lay consultants who wrote Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord began to consider a lay ecclesial minister’s relationship to those in ordained ministry, they were able to identify four particular characteristics of this service rendered to the churches:

• 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.

Recognizing and acknowledging the presence of lay ecclesial ministers is just the beginning in a long process of nurturing, equipping and then integrating their service into the church. Given the recent work done by members of this diocese during the pastoral planning process, it is becoming more and more evident that many hands will be required to maintain the vibrancy and viability of our parishes. May God bless us during this process and give us the wisdom, desire and hope to see all vocations develop and grow for the benefit of the church and for the world we are called to serve as witnesses of Jesus Christ.

For the entire text of Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry (USCCB 2005), to www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/co-workers.pdf.