Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Lay Ministry Projects

What type of parish projects have lay ministers completed? This is a frequently asked question, so I would like to highlight some of the more successful projects.

Kim Green from St. Peter Claver in West Hartford is an amazing woman. Kim came to the Lay Ministry program two years ago as a cancer survivor and still battles her cancer today. She wanted to work in the area of ministry to the sick and especially to those who suffer from chronic illness. Kim began a ministry called Heal; help, encouragement and love.


HEAL provides services to the sick in three ways:
  • Sacramental Service (hospital visits, home visits, Reconcilaiton, Eucharist and Anointing of the Sick).
  • Charitable Service (meal preparation, doing errands like buying groceries, light chores, telephone calls, prayer shawls etc.).
  • Spiritual Service (praying with and for the individual by placing their names in books of intentions and church bulletins, offering prayer cards and reading material.)
There were many phases in the process of setting up this ministry. After the project recevied approval of the pastor and parish staff, it was presented to the parish council and then promoted at all the masses to recruit volunteers. A process was developed to identify the needs of the homebound. And then training sessions were held for volunteers interested in this ministry.

This ministry covers a wide range of services that might be needed by those battling illness or homebound on a permanent basis. So the talents and time of many parishioners are needed to make this work. To view the attractive brochure Kim designed for HEAL, click here.
Congratulations Kim on a job well done.


To find out more about the Lay Ministry Program or to apply for the program, click here.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

RCIA- North American Forum Webinar- June 8

The North American Forum will be offering an online Webinar called Mystagogy: A Catholic Approach to Living the Christian Life on June 8, 2010 (2 pm ET, noon MT, 11 am PT (The presentation will last 1 hour).
Presented by Rev. Ron Oakham, O.Carm. Fr. Ron Oakham serves as pastor of St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish in Tucson, AZ. He is also a team member of Forum, has served as an Associate Director of Institutes and is the author of One at the Table: The Reception of Baptized Christians. For more information on this webinar click here.

Congratulations to the Lay Ministry Class 2010

On Friday, May 7, 2010, Archbishop Mansell commissioned 26 lay women and men as lay ministers for the Archdiocese of Hartford. These men and women came from 18 different parishes in the Archdiocese and spent 2 years studying and working in various types of parish ministries, including adult faith formation, baptismal preparation. bereavement ministry, catechesis, evagelization, marriage liturgy preparation, ministry to the sick and elderly, parish council and planning RCIA, social justice, stewardship and youth ministry. Each candidate worked on a parish project, some of which  will be highlighted in future blogs.