Current
Ministry Position:
Project Coordinator, Celebrate the Call Project--an initiative to launch a Canadian
network of lay ecclesial ministers (LEMs). Responsibilities include co-authoring
a report detailing the stories and lived experiences of LEMs from across Canada;
the report chronicles their defining moments in ministry, the challenges they
face and their vision for the future. Organizing the Project’s first-ever
national conference to be held in Ottawa (May 11-13, 2005) is also part of our
current efforts.
How long have you been involved in this ministry?
The Project began in June 2000 when 70 lay ecclesial ministers gathered for
a lay institute sponsored by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. People found it
helpful to gather and share their common hopes and challenges of ministry, and
from this gathering a working group developed. LEMs in the United States have
the support of the National Association of Lay Ministers, a professional organization
dedicated to the education, promotion, and advocacy of lay ministers in the
U.S. Catholic Church, but Canada has no such organization to offer support.
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate shared our vision to support and network Canadian
LEMs and agreed to fund the project.
What are the challenges of your ministry?
Due to the sheer size of Canada, the Catholic Church here is very regionalized;
there are many experiences of Church here. Learning how the Church is set up
and structured in different regions is a challenge, though you also learn from
this and see a lot of creative ideas at work. Keeping momentum for the Project
going after 5 years is also challenging, as is experiencing the frustration
of so many LEMs who often feel isolated and unrecognized in this work.
What in your ministry gives you hope?
There is a sense of solidarity gained from sharing experiences with others,
and it is very rewarding to create a space and forum for dialogue whereby people
can discover and name their collective ministerial identity. Our recognition
and shared story gives us a sense of who we are as LEMs.
How did IREPM contribute to your skills and capacity to minister?
My time at IREPM helped me break out of my own experience of isolation - studying
alongside people from all over the world and being part of a community of people
who are also responding to a similar call to ministry. That reality and experience
of a global Church helped bring me home to my local reality. The Spirit is at
work in this, and in the world.
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