In this new school season, you may want to know that I'm going to be team teaching a course this fall at St. Catherine University for graduate students who are interested in theology and ministry. The specific course is titled, "Church and Sacraments." I did this once before, 18 months ago, and I think it was regarded as successful by the students and the school.
There are a variety of reasons and motivations from among the students for being involved with the class, but mine are pretty specific. I am surveying the landscape of the Catholic church these days, particularly at parishes, and noting that a couple of generations of well-trained, multi-disciplined pastoral ministers are disappearing because of age and retirement (or sometimes burnout). There is not a comparable cohort of candidates coming up behind them, and this is a real potential loss to the way that we "do church" in the years to come.
I presume that you are aware that our lay parish staff here at Pax Christi is exceptional in its professionalism and training and theological wisdom, but I don't see where the next generation is going to come from. The major barrier, as I see it, is the amount of time and money that it takes for potential ministers to become adequately formed for their pastoral work. Thirty years ago there were full classrooms of ministers-in-training in various theological institutions around here. That's in part because churches and religious communities had the capacity and the desire to help students financially and with time off in order to do that. Today, many of them just can't do that anymore.
The program at St. Kate's in which I'm participating now is designed for pastoral ministers (among others) who need solid grounding in Catholic thought but who aren't in any position to spend multiple years and tens of thousands of dollars earning a masters degree. I hope and believe that this is an opportunity for us to continue to provide excellence in ministry in our parishes.
As you know, Pax Christi was founded on the premise that lay ecclesial ministers are the major agents in the transmission of the faith in our parish. Clergy have their part to play, too, but it's not "all about Father," because that is not only impossible, it is not theologically defensible.
So I'm grateful to St. Kate's and to those who are engaged in this new thing.
CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW FOR A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM FR. MIKE