Lay ministers applaud bishops' statement on their ministry

Published: 2006-06-13

CLEVELAND (CNS) -- When the U.S. bishops issued their document on lay ecclesial ministers last November, it sent a message to the nearly 31,000 professionals and another 2,100 volunteers in lay parish ministry that they play an important role in the work of the church. Feelings of affirmation, satisfaction and gratefulness about the document were expressed widely by 200 lay ecclesial ministers who gathered in Cleveland June 1-4 for the 30th annual conference of the National Association for Lay Ministry. They discussed and analyzed the practical implications of the bishops' document, "Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord," and what it means in their work at parishes across the country. "Lay ecclesial ministry has emerged and taken shape in our country through the working of the Holy Spirit," the document states. Karla Bellinger, pastoral minister at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Wadsworth, Ohio, said the document acknowledges the "validity" of the call of lay people to ministry within the church. "Perhaps the document will, in time, give a name and credibility to the role of lay ecclesial ministers," she said.

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