About the Book
The United States bishops ' document Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord is a vital resource for the ongoing development of lay ecclesial ministry. Building upon Co-Workers and affirming the recent renewal of the laity and the flowering of lay ministries, Reflections on Renewal contributes to efforts to reshape ministerial language and practices in the church today. It explores the theological and pastoral foundations of ministry, including how all ministry is rooted in the sacraments of initiation, and suggests ways of refining or redefining our understandings of lay ecclesial and ordained ministries so that we as church can respond more fully to the call of God in our lives and world. At the same time, the book recognizes that lay ministry developed organically as the work of the Spirit and is, foremost, a cause for rejoicing.
This collection of essays is grounded in Fordham University's commitment to the church and its mission in the world. It honors the thousands of laypeople who have answered a call to serve the church in ministry.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Foreword vii
Archbishop Gregory Aymond
Introduction: The Fordham University Convocation xv
Donna Eschenauer
Part I
Chapter One
The Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry in the United States 3
H. Richard McCord
Chapter Two
How Co-Workers Came to Be Written 11
Amy M. Hoey, RSM
Chapter Three
From Communion to Mission: The Theology of Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord 19
Edward P. Hahnenberg
Chapter Four
Engaging in a Collective Gasp: A Historical Perspective on Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord 35
Anthony Ciorra
Part II
Chapter Five
Swimming Against the Tide: Language and Political Design in Lay Ecclesial Ministry 53
Kieran Scott
Chapter Six
Lay Ministry and the Challenges Facing the Church 73
Bishop Howard J. Hubbard
Chapter Seven
Being a Minister and Doing Ministry: A Psychological Approach 85
Lisa M. Cataldo
Chapter Eight
A Latino/a Perspective on Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord 103
Claudio M. Burgaleta, SJ
Chapter Nine
The Sacraments of Initiation: A Guiding Theme for the Future of Lay Ecclesial Ministry 114
Donna Eschenauer
Chapter Ten
Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord and an Evolving Ministry 125
Zeni Fox
Chapter Eleven
Formation of Lay Ecclesial Ministers: Rooted in a Genuinely Lay and Ecclesial Spirituality 139
Janet K. Ruffing, RSM
Chapter Twelve
Ministry in Service to an Adult Church: How Lay Ministry Fosters Mature Faith in the Catholic Parish 151
Michael P. Horan
Chapter Thirteen
A Cause for Rejoicing: Hopes and Horizons for Lay Ecclesial Ministry 167
Harold D. Horell
Bibliography 188
Contributors 196
Index 201
About the Author :
Harold Daly Horell is an assistant professor of religious education at the Fordham University Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education. He received his PhD from the Boston College Institute of Religion Education and Pastoral Ministry. His publications include Human Sexuality in the Catholic Tradition (Rowman and Littlefield, 2007), edited with Kieran Scott, and Horizons and Hopes: The Future of Religious Education (Paulist Press, 2003), edited with Thomas H. Groome.
Review :
The thirteen essays in Reflections on Renewal provide a wide and deep perspective on pastoral life today.American Catholic Studies
The contributors to this impressive collection of reflections offer critical insights and pose provocative questions concerning the present and future direction of ministry.Pastoral Music
Too often lay ecclesial ministry is approached as a response to the declining number of priests rather than both as a vocation rooted in Baptism and a work of the Spirit in our age. In Reflections on Renewal, editors Eschenauer and Horall engage readers in a collaborative, reflective process that both broadens and deepens the conversation. Bishops, theologians, and lay ecclesial ministers provide the foundational essays and reflective questions. Readers are taken behind the scenes of discussions that birthed the USCCB document Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, given a rich history and theology of lay ecclesial ministry, and provided with concrete ideas on how to foster renewal of ministry and the church.Julia Upton, RSM, Provost, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York
. . . an excellent source book of essential information for understanding lay ecclesial ministry coupled with keen critical reflections on salient issues attached to it. The editors, a lay ecclesial minister and an academic, have included essays from those closest to the USCCB document and those who reflect on it from a variety of helpful angles--historical, theological, educational, sociological, psychological. I heartily recommend it to those responsible for lay ministry formation and for all who want to probe the state of the question on lay ecclesial ministry.Mercedes Iannone, Professor, Pastoral Ministries, St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens Florida
This volume presents a critical engagement on the vocation of lay ecclesial ministry in the United States. A ‘prophetic conversation’ that justifies the need for a global and ecumenical reflection on renewal, particularly with the local churches of Asia, Oceania, Latin America and Africa, in which U.S. immigrant perspectives on ministry are rooted.Faustino M. Cruz, SM, PhD, Visiting Professor in Practical Theology, Seattle University
This is an important and timely book for all who have a concern for present and future directions of lay ecclesial ministry in today’s church and society. A rich and comprehensive gathering of writers from a range of disciplines present an analysis and review of key issues in contemporary ministry that are presently faced by both academics and practitioners. Forthright in the approach they take, the authors engage with the realities and complexities of renewal in the diverse and multi-leveled ecclesial communities of the post Vatican II era. A valuable book for pastoral theologians and for parish groups.Dr. Maryanne Confoy, RSC, Jesuit Theological College, Melbourne, Australia
In these times, the very future of the Church may well depend on the future of lay ecclesial ministry. Reflections on Renewal: Lay Ecclesial Ministry and the Church is a groundbreaking book that advances the conversation toward a new vision for lay ministry and indeed for all the functions and forms of ministry in the Church.Thomas Groome, Professor of Theology and Religious Education Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, Chair of Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry, Author of Will There Be Faith (HarperOne, 2011)
The shift in the ministry paradigm from ordination to baptism and the present emphasis on the universal vocation to holiness and mutual service—this is the single most important characteristic of Catholic Christianity in our time. Reflections on Renewal presents a series of well-informed and thoughtful essays from leading scholars on the vision and pragmatic realities of lay ministry for today and tomorrow. Archbishop Gregory Aymond’s enlightened foreword is an engaging overview of the expanded possibilities for well-educated and well-formed lay women and men in serving the gospel, the community of disciples, and the reign of god. The call to ministry, this volume makes clear, is expanding, not contracting—and its shape goes back to Christian origins, a retrieval of how the Church acted in its first century. This book is about the hidden seed, growing secretly—so compelling it will soon be made manifest!Robert A. Ludwig, Ph.D., Professor of Pastoral T
