Lay ecclesial ministry seen as 'traditional and radically new'

Published: 2007-08-21

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. (CNS) -- One of the "top three or four most important ministerial shifts" in the last 2,000 years has been the "emergence of lay ecclesial ministry over the past 40 years," said Edward P. Hahnenberg, assistant professor of theology at Jesuit-run Xavier University in Cincinnati. He said it was on "a historical par with -- and in fact may even eclipse -- the changes to the church brought about by the rise of communal forms of monasticism in the fifth century, the birth of mendicant orders in the 13th century, or the explosion of women's religious communities in the 19th century." Hahnenberg, who is also a theological adviser to the bishops, put the development of lay ecclesial ministry within a broad historical context as being both "traditional and radically new." He was one of the keynote speakers at the National Symposium on Lay Ecclesial Ministry, held July 31-Aug. 3 at St. John's University in Collegeville. The theme was "Working in the Vineyard of the Lord." The symposium explored areas such as formation, pathways to ministry and the ministerial workplace.

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