Developing Lay Leaders In the Companions of the Cross Parish Context

By

Randal Christian Hendriks

Ecclesial Bachelor of Theology St. Paul University, 2002

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Theology, Acadia Divinity College, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry

Acadia Divinity College, Acadia University Spring Convocation 2014

© by Randal Christian Hendriks 2014

This thesis by RANDAL CHRISTIAN HENDRIKS was defended successfully in an oral examination on 1st April 2014.

The examining committee for the thesis was:

Dr. Glenn Wooden, Chair

Dr. Charles Pottie-Pâté, sj, External Examiner

Dr. John Sumarah, Thesis Supervisor

Dr. Robert Wilson, Internal Examiner

This thesis is accepted in its present form by Acadia Divinity College as satisfying the thesis requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry.

ii

I, RANDAL CHRISTIAN HENDRIKS hereby grant permission to the Head Librarian at Acadia University to provide copies of this thesis, on request, on a non-profit basis.

Randal Christian Hendriks Author

Dr. John Sumarah Supervisor

1 April 2014 Date

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(This page is blank on purpose.)

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... v Acknowledgements ...... vi Introduction ...... 1 Chapter 1 Laity: A Theological Understanding ...... 5 Chapter 2 Contemporary Context: Companions of the Cross ...... 42 Chapter 3 Methodology ...... 74 Chapter 4 Research Findings ...... 83 Chapter 5 Key Elements of Lay Leadership ...... 120 Conclusion and Recommendations ...... 163 Appendices ...... 171 Bibliography ...... 177

iv Abstract

This thesis studies the development of lay leadership within the Companions of the Cross parish context. It begins with a study of the theological understanding of laity, in particular through the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Movements of lay leadership development after the Council are reviewed as well as the establishment of the Companions of the Cross Religious Community. Key elements of a leadership development strategy are proposed in light of research from focus groups of Companions of the Cross clergy and laity.

v Acknowledgements

I would like to offer a word of thanks to all those who have supported me in the development, study, research and writing of this thesis. I am grateful to my thesis director, John Sumarah for his wisdom, attention, and personal care. My gratitude extends to members of the Acadia Divinity College faculty and staff, fellow students, benefactors, focus group participants, family and friends. I was encouraged through the ongoing assistance of Joyce May, Frances Hendriks, Prisciliana Escobar, Tricia Everaert, Fr. Francis Donnelly, Matilda Kwok, Richard Beauchesne, Susanne Biro, Glenn Wooden, Jody Linkletter, Carson Pue, Clint Mix, Steve Brown and the Arrow Leadership program. Special thanks to the priests of the Companions of the Cross, who serve and empower lay leaders on a daily basis.

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Introduction

Throughout every generation in the history of the Church there have been challenges and opportunities placed before it and wonderful exemplars of the faithful who arose and faced them. Since the time of the Second Vatican Council a renewed emphasis has been placed upon the role of lay people in the mission and leadership of the Church. Through experiences such as the charismatic renewal, and more recently Pope John Paul II’s invitation to the new evangelization the Holy Spirit has opened the door towards a greater cooperation between clergy and laity.

Unfortunately, during the fifty years since the beginning of Vatican II1 there has been hesitancy on the part of laity and clergy alike to take up the challenge of cooperation in mission and leadership. One reason for this hesitancy is cultural expectation: it is still seen as the role of ordained clergy to carry out the ministry of leadership and mission. Many laypeople are so disheartened by the failures of clergy, be they moral, organizational, or otherwise, that they have lost hope in the

Church and its ability to engage them. At the same time clergy in roles of leadership and authority have been hesitant to delegate positions of leadership and authority to laity.

The Companions of the Cross (CC) began ministering in the midst of this milieu in the mid-1980s. The founder of this religious community of priests, Fr. Bob

1 The terms “Second Vatican Council”, “Vatican II” and “The Council” are used interchangeably in the text, and in quotations.

1 Bedard was fond of reminding priests and laity alike that ‘God desires to run the

Church’. He believed it is the responsibility of the leaders in the Church, lay and clerics alike, to identify what God is doing and support it. Through the Scriptures, the Tradition of the Church, and the particular charism of evangelization and discipleship, the Companions of the Cross have a clear sense of how God calls the

Church to its mission. What must be clarified is how they are to equip laity in the role of leadership as they work alongside clergy. With these challenges in mind, research was conducted with the goal of identifying and developing key elements necessary in a leadership-training program for lay people involved in parishes served by the Companions of the Cross.

Research was able to bring to light the importance and necessity of developing lay leaders within the Companions of the Cross parish context. Making this understood and identifying particular developmental areas presents a number of benefits to the Church. First, the prophetic word spoken at Vatican II will be responded to. Second, laity will feel engaged and enlivened in the Church. Third, clergy will be able to more clearly know what tasks are their own to take up, and what can be shared with or entrusted to laity, freeing priests to focus on ministry specifically assigned to them.

Chapter one outlines research undertaken specific to this topic, including study of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The specific context in which the Church found itself leading up to that time was also researched, including the writings of Dominican priest Yves Congar, whose insights and reflections were later affirmed and accepted in the many of the Council’s documents. The Council

2 documents will be reviewed, with a particular focus on passages referring to the laity. As the Council Fathers reflected upon the Church in the modern world, they turned their focus toward some key biblical images. Particularly relevant to the study of lay leadership are three images of the Church: as a pilgrim people, as the people of God, and as a people baptized into Christ, living out their three-fold mission in Christ as Priest, Prophet and King.

The first half of Chapter two includes a review of practices and teachings in the years following Vatican II and methods of interpretation. The second half gives an overview of the vision of ministry of Fr. Bob Bedard and the Companions of the

Cross.

Chapter three outlines methodology of research conducted by discussing lay leadership with laity and clergy of CC parishes. Qualitative research was carried out by way of a study of the lived experience of lay leadership through focus group discussions with laity and clergy in CC parishes.

Chapter four presents findings of the focus group studies, and chapter five presents a leadership development model based on those results, as well as a review of the particular contexts of different CC parishes. Finally, recommendations are presented in the conclusion.

I come to this topic after experiencing the challenges of developing lay leaders in the pastoral setting, and discussing these problems with fellow clergy. It was often the case that in our discussions we would wonder aloud whether it was simply the luck of the draw that we would find well equipped and capable lay leaders to work with, or there was a way to identify and develop the right people for

3 particular roles. There were some key concerns that priests would raise, such as the need for leaders to be evangelized and have a certain level of professional capacity.

Beyond these concerns was the vague understanding that something wasn’t quite working as it should.

This thesis makes the claim that the Companions of the Cross will flourish only in parishes where the people of God, laity and clergy alike, encounter God in the midst of trusting relationships. As laity are equipped to live out their baptismal calling in Christ as Priest, Prophet and King, leaders will be identified and equipped to catch, live, share, empower and guide the vision entrusted to their care.

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Chapter 1 Laity: A Theological Understanding

Since the Second Vatican Council there has been an explosion of both grace and effort within the Church to enable the laity to be thoroughly equipped for every good work, both in the Church and in the world. The focus of this thesis is to identify key elements for the development of lay leaders within the CC parish context. The goal of this chapter is to present the laity as a constitutive, relevant, and indispensable part of the Church. Without the laity the Church, as the Body of Christ, would simply not exist or be salt and light to the world.

Over the last one hundred years there has been a radical shift in the understanding of the laity’s role and identity. This chapter will outline the sources of this shift in understanding, most notably the work of theologian Yves Congar. The appreciative affirmation of the laity in his writing was well received at the Second

Vatican Council, which took place from 1962-1965. To place this grand ecclesial event and its contribution to a deeper understanding of laity in context, one must identify the historical antecedents of the Council. The Council documents will be studied with particular attention given to the images of the Church as a pilgrim people, as the people of God, and to the laity’s role in the life of the Church as they

5 live out their baptismal office of Priest, Prophet, and King. There will be further biblical study into some of these terms as well.

Context: Prior to Vatican II

From the time of the French Revolution to the turn of the twentieth century the Catholic Church was in a defensive battle against Enlightenment philosophies.

The revolutionaries of France had turned their backs on their past and looked forward to even better things to come. With this new liberty, equality, and fraternity, a religion that shackled the human spirit was no longer needed, as reason was the only god to be adored. Progress was the focus.2 The Church rejected this form of modernity and in response took a defensive stance. Sociologist Andrew

Greely points out that Church hierarchy saw science, rationality, and democracy as godless. 3 The Church had good reason to take this stance as Enlightenment

Rationalism, which fueled the French Revolution, pragmatically went about destroying the Church in France, confiscating its land, killing its clergy and imprisoning the pope.4

Throughout this time and well into the nineteenth century the Church continued to persevere. In the face of the modernist ‘attack’ there was a religious revival in the first half of the nineteenth century. As monasteries, churches, and

2 John W. O’Malley, What Happened at Vatican II (Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008), 54.

3 Andrew M. Greely, The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), 19.

4 Ibid.,19.

6 schools were being rebuilt and religious orders being founded and renewed, “the

Church saw no reason to lower the walls of this garrison fortress to allow in science or democracy or enlightenment. … The garrison Church had hardened into a permanent fortress. It would not change; it could not change.”5 While it had taken and celebrated the best that culture had to offer through the centuries, it seemed unbending in its unwillingness to dialogue with modernity.6 This defensive stance did not leave room for the possibility of genuine development of doctrine. Truth would always be the same, so there was no need to go back to earlier sources before the Middle Ages or to a modern understanding of other current philosophies.

A School of Theologians including Yves Congar would challenge this Baroque

Theology7 and pay a price for their controversial insights. This forging forward was a rebuke against an unreflective doctrinal stance, which was static and not open to the possibility of development.8 What now seems a quite normal and inoffensive investigation was in the early twentieth century seen as taking a combative stance against the Church’s teaching. Congar belonged to a group of theologians making a name for themselves as the nouvelle theologie9 (new theology), which was inspired by a return to the sources. This return was a historical search to discover verifiable

5 Greely, The Catholic Revolution: New Wine, Old Wineskins, and the Second Vatican Council, 20-21. 6 In the 1907 Papal Encyclical Lamentabili, Pope Pius X condemned 65 propositions held by modernists. 7 The baroque framework limited theology to a deductive, logical exercise, emphasized submission to authority, and conceived the church in strictly juridical terms.

8 Maureen Sullivan, The Road to Vatican II: Key Changes in Theology (New York: Paulist Press, 2007), 39.

9 Pietro Parente, Secretary to the Holy See coined this pejorative phrase in 1942, critically assessing and ultimately condemning the nouvelle theologie as another expression of modernism, which was to be avoided.

7 foundations in three areas: the bible, the liturgy, and patristic teaching. As this approach identified the contrast between past and present, it was an affront to many who saw the Church as an unchanging reality for millennia. Conflict arose as careful study revealed that present structures and practices were not always in line with earlier forms of the Church.

In the 1950s, the teachings of Pope Pius XII begin to show a willingness to change. A number of liturgical reforms were introduced during his pontificate, including permission for evening Masses on Saturdays and Sundays,10 liturgical use of the vernacular in certain situations, and a reinstituting of the Easter Vigil.11 At the same time, all change was strictly controlled. In his preface to the 1967 edition of

True and False Reform in the Church Congar states, “Pius XII, a great pope, was not fundamentally opposed to change, but he wanted strict control over any change, and even wanted all initiatives for change to be his alone … he was not only anxious to retain strict control but also was upset about certain methods that theological research was employing.”12

While there was liturgical renewal, theologians of the nouvelle theologie, including Congar, questioned the flaccid and inactive role the laity played in the

Church at this time. One example comes from a curial official who was asked what the role of the laity was. Monsignor George Talbot responded that their role was “to hunt, to shoot, to entertain. These matters they understand, but to meddle with

10 Vatican, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1941, 516.

11 Vatican, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1956, 153.

12 Yves Congar, True and False Reform in the Church (Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 2011), 1.

8 ecclesial matters, they have no right at all.”13 A fractured dualism of laity and clergy is certainly evident in this reflection, and it probably speaks to the sentiment of the time leading up to Vatican II.

Congar relates and comments on another anecdotal story of Cardinal Aidan

Gasquet when asked the position of the laymen in the Catholic Church:

The layman has two positions answered the priest. ‘He kneels before the altar; that is one. And he sits below the pulpit; that is the other.’ The Cardinal adds that there is a third that the priest has forgotten: the layman also puts his hand in the purse. In a sense that is still so, and always will be so: there will never be a time when laymen and laywomen are not on their knees before the altar, and sitting below the pulpit, and for a long time yet they will have to put their hand in the purse. Nevertheless, now and for the future they do these things, they feel differently about their position in the body of the Church.14

While the laity of the 1950s was still living in the culture of “pray, pay, and obey”,

Congar signaled that a change was needed in the life of laity and their active engagement in the Church. In his writing, Congar insists that the laity are the consecrated people of God given rights and duties both in the liturgy of the Church and in its worldly engagement. In his book, Laity, Church, and World based on addresses given to lay leaders in 1958, he challenges the medieval practice of implicit faith that is not lived out in practice: “It is obvious that a Church made up of

Christians who are wholly passive, even from the point of view of belief, will be but a listless anemic Church. The good health of the Church requires that the faithful be

13 Charles Stephen Dessain, John Henry Newman, (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1966), 117.

14 Yves Congar, Lay People in the Church (London: Bloomsbury Publishing Co, 1957), xi.

9 active, even if robustly healthy children are a bit more difficult to keep in hand than those who are ailing and spiritless.”15

While not revolutionary material to the ears of a twenty-first century reader, this would mark the beginning of a sea change in both ecclesiology and practice within the Church. Congar reminds his readers that the “Church” does not simply signify the hierarchical elements of the body, and that the laity are not simply directed as it were from outside, becoming objects, but are thinking living subjects with the initiative and mission to bring Christ to bear on secular life.16 Later in his address he outlines the role of the laity in the historical context of the early Church, through the Roman peace, and up to the Middle Ages. This placing of the Church in history was an expression of resourcement (a return to the sources).

In Lay People in the Church, he reminds readers that particular pastoral functions are the laity’s responsibility as well. Historically, the laity’s work included taking on administrative and legal matters. In one instance, he highlights a time when a layman17 was elected pope.18 He also shows that in the prophetic function the laity works in cooperation with the hierarchical arm of the Church in believing and in approbating, going far beyond mere passivity. He also uses the image of husband and wife to picture the interaction between hierarchy and laity as a dialogue of cooperation, something requiring deeper sharing, and finally

15 Yves Congar, Laity, Church, and World; Three Addresses by Yves Congar (Baltimore: Helicon Press, 1961), 38.

16 Ibid., 40-41.

17 This does not mean a layman elected pope would remain unordained. After his election he would be ordained as a priest before taking on the papal office, as is the case of Celestine V in 1294.

18 Yves Congar, Lay People in the Church, 244.

10 communion.19 This communion can be expressed in the sensus fidelium (sense of the faithful), a reminder that the Church is also to look from the ground up in discovering the truth it teaches. Congar celebrates this gift, but admits that it needs further reflection regarding how it is to operate in the life of the Church.20

The third address in Laity, Church and World challenges the layperson with the responsibility to evangelize:

The Gospel ordains that every disciple, every follower of Christ in one way or another fulfill the service of transmitting the faith, of being, with and through Christ, one sent to proclaim the salvation that he brings and to bear witness to his love. This is the greatest of all services that can be rendered to others, and it is essential to the building up and growth of Christ’s Church.21

Congar shows that it is doctrinally appropriate for lay people to share in the work of evangelization, by showing forth signs of the kingdom, bringing up their children in the faith, and witnessing through their lifestyles to the world around them. He calls for a fervent, living faith: “Something more than a simple profession of the truths in the Catechism. … I mean a biblical faith in the living God, boundless, openhearted trust, constantly renewed, that he will rule my life, live his mystery in me and radiate his love through me.”22 Beyond simple engagement, Congar presses for a notion of the Church as the people of God, a scriptural image that finds expression in the documents of Vatican II.

19 Congar, Lay People in the Church, 271.

20 Ibid., 271.

21 Congar, Laity, Church, and World; Three Addresses by Yves Congar, 63.

22 Ibid., 87.

11 In 1952 Congar’s book, True and False Reform, was barred from translation into any other language than what was already published. In 1954 Congar was exiled to Jerusalem and in 1955 to England, forbidden to have any contact with

Protestants. In Cambridge he wrote a poignant letter to his mother expressing his sadness and difficulty in not effecting the change he had hoped for and his frustrations with the Church:

The present pope has since 1950 developed to the point of obsession a paternalistic regime in which he and he alone tells everyone and each individual what he must think and do…. It is quite clear to me that Rome wants and has ever wanted only one thing: the affirmation of its own authority…. Practically speaking they have destroyed me…. All that I have believed and worked for has been withdrawn…. When at times I look back at what I have wanted to be and do, and what I have begun to do, I am heartbroken.23

In spite of this bleak outlook before him, there was a new dawn on the horizon. In 1960 Congar discovered while reading the newspaper that he had been chosen as a theological consulter for the Second Vatican Council, which had been convoked by the newly elected Pope John XXIII. It was an amazing turn around for one who was on the Church’s black list and forbidden to teach theology. Now he would be advising the bishops gathered from around the world as they formulated the official doctrine of the Catholic Church. In the final analysis, many of his ideas would be taken up in full measure in a number of documents at the Council.

Congar’s most noted contemporaries writing on the subject of the laity at this time included Gerard Philips, Edward Schillibeeckx, and Karl Rahner. All had significant influence before, during, and after the Council, being involved in the process of preparation for the Council and production of the documents. In their

23 Yves Congar, Journal d’un theologien (Paris: Cerf, 2001), 425-427.

12 writing before the Council they are in a type of theological ‘dialogue’ with Pope Pius

XI and Pope Pius XII. At the time, lay engagement was affirmed within the framework of the term Catholic Action. Pope Pius XI defined Catholic Action as the participation of the laity in the apostolate of the hierarchy, while Pius XII used the word collaboration in place of participation. Pius XII, in an address to the world congress on the lay apostolate stated, “The consecration mundi is essentially the work of laymen themselves, of men who are intimately a part of economic and social life, who participate in the government and legislative assemblies.”24

Karl Rahner saw the laity carrying out their apostolate through giving witness of their faith in the world, but he also wrestled with the distinction between laity and clergy. He was not satisfied with defining laity as what they are not: ordained clergy. He highlighted the inherent challenges of finding the place for those who have been entrusted with particular powers and roles within the Church outside of ordination. Since there are examples of laity “ consecrated” for particular tasks within the Church “In this strictly theological sense a woman can definitely belong to the ‘clergy’ even if the range of the hierarchical powers transferable to her is more limited than that of a man according to the will of Christ and even the practice of the apostles.”25 While some of his views were controversial and not as well received by the Council as Congar’s, he would make a significant impact at the council and beyond it.

24 Pius XII, Allocution to the second world congress of the lay apostolate, Apostolic Perspectives, 2:3&4 (Fall-Winter, 1957), 6.

25 Karl Rahner, “The Lay Apostolate”, Cross Currents 7, no. 3 (Sum 1957): 226.

13 Edward Schillibeeckx was a Dutch Dominican priest. In his work, The Layman in the Church, he notes the challenge the layman faces in being responsible to share the Good News with the world but not having the ability to have real dialogue within the hierarchy of the Church: “Further, since the layman shares in the responsibility for the salvation of the Church and of mankind, (the) Church ought to listen and weigh his comments on their merits. But in all this specifically lay Christian activity in the Church the laity never act in an authoritative capacity; that is the prerogative of the hierarchy.”26

Gerard Philips was the main writer of one of the central texts of Vatican II,

Lumen Gentium (Light of the Nations). Writing on the laity as a constitutive element of the people of God, he took the opportunity to move descriptions of the laity into a more positive light. Writing before the Council, he notes in The Role of the Laity in the Church that the word “lay”, particularly in Italian culture meant someone that is in opposition to religious influence27 but he claims that laity are not to be seen simply as an inferior part of a well-organized society. In fact, the lay person is one who must cultivate initiative and commit herself to pursuing holiness.28 Paul

Lakeland, in The Liberation of the Laity notes that Philips’ work is “A call to the laity to recognize their spiritual adulthood. The role of the Laity in the Church is also a

26 Edward Schillibeeckx, The Layman in the Church (New York: Alba House, 1963), 25-26.

27 Gerard Philips, The Role of the Laity in the Church (Chicago: Fides Publishers, 1956), 7.

28 Ibid, 7.

14 resounding appeal to the clergy to relate to the laity as adults to adults, to expect and reward responsibility and initiative.”29

Vatican II

After the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Cardinal Angelo Roncalli was elected pope and took the name John XXIII. When the cardinals elected this elderly man, seventy-seven at the time of his election, they thought his tenure would be a short one after the long rule of Pius XII. It was short in years but long on impact. A few months after his election he convoked an ecumenical council. Many were at a loss as to why he would do so. From a worldly perspective the Church was doing well: seminaries full, high attendance at church, and a positive outlook in general. In the past, councils were called when there were disputes about doctrine, and bishops were assembled to make authoritative decisions binding on the whole Church. The

Council of Nicaea was called to face the charges of the Arian heresy and resulted in the creedal statement professed in churches around the world every Sunday. The

Council of Trent, called in light of the Protestant reformation, gave examples of strict juridical30 decrees of anathema for those who would not follow pronouncements made by the Council. At the First Vatican Council, held in 1870, the understanding

29 Paul Lakeland, The Liberation of the Laity, (New York: Continuum International Publishing Group Inc., 2002), 46.

30 In the ecclesial and Vatican II context ‘juridical’ was a pejorative term referring to text written in formal, legal categories and language, with little room for pastoral application.

15 of papal infallibility was clarified and defined. Many thought that with this mode of papal teaching further councils would be unnecessary.

John XXIII credited the Holy Spirit with guiding him to convoke the Council.

Vatican II would be different from any council that went before it for a number of reasons. It departed from the defensive stance, evident in the theology of the day and also in councils that had come before it. Its language would be positive and engaging rather than restricting and defining. It would follow the resourcement of

Congar and other theologians who sought to ground Church doctrine in its historical context, based on scripture and the early Church fathers. It was to be an aggiornnamento (bringing up to date) of the faith that would make it possible to engage with the modern world. Finally, it underscored a belief of Congar that the healthy development of doctrine was possible. This is illustrated in a passage from

Dei Verbum (Divine Revelation): “For there is a growth in the understanding of the realities and the words which have been handed down. … For as the centuries succeed one another, the Church constantly moves forward toward the fullness of divine truth until the words of God reach their complete fulfillment in her.”31

Pope John XXIII opened the Council in October 1962. After his death in 1963 he was succeeded by Paul VI, who took a firm hand in guiding the Council to its fulfillment. By its completion in December 1965, sixteen documents were produced on topics ranging from the liturgy, to engagement in the modern world, to religious liberty. Certainly it is remembered for the documents produced at the Council, but

31 Vatican II, Dei Verbum, under “Dei Verbum” http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html (accessed October 1, 2012), par. 8.

16 even more so for being an extraordinary event in the life of the Church. The ability for bishop delegates to engage in dialogue with their colleagues from around the world, formally and informally, helped to shift parochial mindsets to a more universal vision of the Church. A number of distinguishing characteristics of Vatican

II are worth noting. It was the largest gathering of bishops at a council, and with over 2,500 delegates from around the world it was also the most international. It admitted lay people and non-Catholic observers who, while not being allowed to speak in the main sessions, with a few exceptions, were able to help focus attention away from solely ecclesiastical issues. Media attention was significant with regular updates given to the masses in a way never before imagined.

While the recent32 councils were juridical, legislative, and in scholastic language, the Council Fathers of Vatican II rejected that model and choose instead a more pastoral, positive language that was not unknown through history and used by classical authors like Cicero and Aristotle. The goal of this panegyric style was “the painting of an idealized portrait in order to excite admiration and appropriation . . . used extensively by the fathers of the Church, revived in the Renaissance, and revisited in the twentieth century by the proponents of la nouvelle theologie.”33 The style was not so much used to clarify concepts as to excite the hearer to see the attractiveness of certain ideals and to be inspired by them. After the Council, many commentators would reflect on the “spirit of Vatican II”, which referred to its positively focused and pastorally sensitive tone, seeing God at work in our midst,

32 The last two Councils before Vatican II were the Council of Trent (1545-1563) and The First Vatican Council (1870).

33 O’Malley, What happened at Vatican II, 47.

17 versus a recusant denunciation of the world. In Report from Rome Congar notes the spirit of positivity and good will found at the Council: “It is a spirit of frankness and freedom … a spirit of reverence and love for all men; it is open-minded toward others and has dropped any suggestion of scoring theological or clerical points.

Lastly, it is a sustained attentiveness to hear what God, who does speak through events, is asking from his church today.”34

The documents of Vatican II fell under three different categories, with documents being more commonly referred to by their Latin title after the Council.

Constitutions were at the highest level. These included Sacrosanctum Concilium

(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine

Revelation), Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), and Gaudium et

Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World). The latter document was a new breed of constitution. Never before had a constitution been titled “pastoral”. It was more practically attuned to engaging with the world, yet the

Council Fathers still wanted it to carry the weight of a constitutional document. The next level of documents were called decrees and dealt separately with a variety of issues such as the role of bishops, priests, ecumenism, and communication. A specific document on the laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity) will be studied in more detail below. A third set of documents, called declarations, were shorter in length and dealt with more specific issues such as education, how the Church is to relate with non-Christians, and religious freedom.

34 Yves Congar, Report from Rome, First session, trans. A Mason (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1963), 57.

18 To look at the issues raised regarding the laity, the following three documents will be studied in more detail: Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes, and

Apostolicam Actuositatem.35 Documents passed through a number of steps (not dissimilar to a bill making its way through parliament) on their way to final ratification, called promulgation. After the announcement of the Council by Pope

John XXIII in 1959, a number of preparatory documents (schemas) were prepared on different topics. These preliminary schemas were sent to bishops around the world in the months approaching the first session of the Council held in the fall of

1962. During the first session these schemas were rejected en masse, something that had never happened in such a startling way before and a sign that bishops of the world were not ready to simply “roll over”. Norman Tanner outlines this general response of bishops:

The rejection was radical. It was made clear that the draft decrees were fundamentally inadequate, that they could not be approved upon to the satisfaction of the majority in the Council, and that as a result they would have to be withdrawn and the Council would more or less have to start afresh. This amounted to quite a revolution. Indeed it constituted the first time in the history of the church that the expected agenda of an ecumenical Council had been so thoroughly overturned.36

A clear example of this can be found in the schema which would later, after various re-drafts and edits, be published as Lumen Gentium. The preparatory schema’s first chapter was titled The Nature of the Church Militant, and the second

Church membership and Necessity of Church for Salvation along with nine other

35 The Latin titles of these texts are not directly translated into English as they refer to the opening words in the documents. Lumen Gentium (Light to the Nations), Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope), Apostolicam Actuositatem (To intensify Apostolic Activity).

36 Norman P. Tanner, The Church and the World: Gaudium et Spes, Inter Mirifica (Paulist Press, 2005), 12.

19 chapters. Richard Gaillardetz in his book The Church in the Making: Lumen Gentium,

Christus Dominus, Orientalium Ecclesiarum notes the generally negative response by the bishops at the Council, summed up by the remarks of Bishop Emile de Smedt, who outlined the fundamental shortcoming of the document:

1) The tone of the document was inappropriately triumphalistic; 2) the schema reflected a clericalism in the pyramidal view of the church, placing the Pope at the apex and the laity at the base; 3) the document's vision of the church was excessively juridical, lacking in appreciation for the church as mystery. De Smedt also complained of the pompous style of the text and objected to the first chapter’s reference to the ecclesia militans, which he insisted was a medieval view of the church portrayed as an army on the march. Such an image was no longer appropriate, he insisted.37

The document went on to an intensive process of editing and re-visioning and approbation by the Council Fathers in its final form, receiving virtually unanimous approval by the Council Fathers and representing a significant shift in ecclesiology.

Gaillardetz notes, “ The history of the document from preparatory schema to its final form, represents one of the most remarkable shifts in ecclesiology ever found in an ecclesiastical document.”38 Key developments included a vision of the Church using biblical images of the Church as the people of God, and as a pilgrim people, in contrast to a church triumphant. Unity was another central element, as well as the laity, with their essential, positive character affirmed. In its chapter on the laity the universal priesthood of all believers was recaptured using biblical language as well as the universal call to holiness for all believers, not simply for those engaged in the vocations of ministerial priesthood or religious life.

37 Richard R. Gaillardetz, The Church in the Making: Lumen Gentium, Christus Dominus, Orientalium Ecclesiarum (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2006), 11.

38 Ibid., 26.

20 Apostolicam Actuositatem, focused solely on the laity, had a number of criticisms leveled at it when first presented to the Council Fathers. These included complaints about the limited amount of lay consultation, poor arrangement, and lack of alignment with Lumen Gentium, which was still in the process of revision itself.39 Others complained of clericalism in the document, its juridical tone, and favoritism towards certain groups involved in the lay apostolate.40 With those issues resolved in the final document it was affirmed and promulgated as a decree of the Council at the fourth session in 1965.

The document signified a deeper unfolding of elements found in Lumen

Gentium. The layperson living in the image of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King is stated in unequivocal terms, and will be studied later in the chapter. Laity is seen as a particular vocation in the life of the Church, and while there is diversity of the gifts given by the Spirit there is oneness of mission.41 The document speaks of a spirituality of the laity, the family as the domestic church, the laity’s influence on the world through witness of life, and engagement with the world. Concern is also raised that lay formation not simply be a recycled version of priestly formation. At the conclusion of the document a strong plea is given that the laity be united, joining in the mission of the Church:

39 Dolores Leckey, The Laity and Christian Education (New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006), 17.

40 Ibid., 17.

41 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, under “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church - Lumen Gentium” http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html (accessed October 1, 2012), par. 31.

21 This most sacred Council then, earnestly entreats in the Lord that all laymen give a glad, generous, and prompt response to the voice of Christ, who is giving them an especially urgent invitation at this moment, and to the impulse of the Holy Spirit… Thus they can show that they are his co-workers in the various forms and methods of the Church’s one apostolate, which must be constantly adapted to the new needs of the times.42

A third document that would have significant impact on the role of the laity following Vatican II was Gaudium et Spes. After revisions the schema was given significant time and debate in the third and fourth session of the Council. While it was not seen as perfect, the document was received with general affirmation and approval. Council Fathers were wary to send the writers back for major revisions, but concluded that an imperfect document was better than none at all. The document outlined how the Church was to engage with the modern world. It addressed the challenges of atheism, service in the Church, and (most directly relating to the laity) the fourth chapter addressed the responsibilities of Christians.

Tanner states its appeal is in the “mingling of lived experience with ideas, theory and practice, the divine and the human.”43

The document insists that any discussion about laity must acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is at work among all people. It acknowledges the call to human community. There is a spirit of humility in the document as it acknowledges that the

Church does not always have ready answers to all the problems the world faces. It is an abrupt about face from the monolithic fortress mentality shown by the Church in the centuries leading up to the Council. There is also an affirmation of the work of other Christian Churches. This will be important as Catholic pastors and leaders

42 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 32.

43 Tanner, The Church and the World: Gaudium et Spes, Inter Mirifica, 29.

22 begin to learn from other Christian Church’s experiences of empowering the laity.

Finally, there is acknowledgement given to the challenge of balancing the responsibilities of taking part in worldly duties, while still addressing personal spiritual responsibilities.

Biblical Images

Lumen Gentium and the other documents of Vatican II outline a number of biblical images. These include the Church as sheepfold (Jn. 10:1-10), as a tract of land to be cultivated (Matt 21:33-43), as the edifice of God (1 Cor. 3:9), and the

Church as members of the body (1 Cor. 12:12, Eph. 4:15-16). Biblical images regarding the laity include those who let Christ’s light shine within them (Acts 2:17-

18), exhibit diversity within their roles (Rom. 12:4-5), cooperated with other leaders in the Church (Phil. 4:3, Rom 16:3) and struggle against the powers and principalities of darkness in this world (Eph. 6:12). Three biblical images take pride of place in Vatican II and will be studied in more depth: 1) The Church as a pilgrim people, 2) The Church as the people of God, 3) Laity in their baptismal calling to live in Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King.

The Church as a Pilgrim People

The image of a pilgrim people connotes an image of humility: we have not yet reached our final goal, our final resting place, but we’re moving along a path laid out

23 for us by God. This was the case of Abraham leading his own clan to settle in a new land (Gen. 12); Moses leading the people of God from slavery to freedom (Ex. 12); or

Ezekiel calling God’s people out of sinful and destructive patterns to return to the covenant made by God (Ez. 18:30-32). Always God is leading his people forward, to something more, even if it seems to them beyond their reach. The first chapter of

Lumen Gentium gives images that are reminders that the Church is still on a pilgrimage of becoming. The sheep of the fold (Is 40:11, Ez. 34:11ff) are still to be reared, managed and guided along. The land (1 Cor. 3:9) and the vineyard (Matt.

21:33-43, Is 5:1ff) still need to be tended, cultivated, pruned, and harvested. The building, founded on the apostles (1 Cor. 3:11) with Christ the cornerstone (Matt.

21:42) will continue to be built up as living stones (1 Pet. 2:5). Even in the image of the body, there is the sense of moving towards greater completion, growth, affirming the necessity of the flourishing of all the members in both unity and diversity (1Cor 12:12ff), to be more perfectly molded into Christ’s image (Gal. 4:19).

All these images of the Church reveal its pilgrim nature. It is in the state of becoming. This does not take away from what it already is, but is a humble acknowledgement that there is more to shepherd, harvest, build, and reveal.

The pilgrim people are not only in the state of becoming something more, but of course have a purpose and final end: “ Its goal is the kingdom of God which has been begun by God himself on earth, and which is to be further extended until it is brought to perfection by him at the end of time.”44 As a pilgrim people the Church has an eschatological nature. While her sacraments and institutions pertain to this

44 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 9.

24 world she herself dwells among creatures who “groan and travail in pain until now and await the revelation of the sons of God.”45 Held firm in this eschatological vision,

“The Church has a single intention: that God’s kingdom may come, and that the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass.”46

While the pilgrim people are reminded to be focused on the things that are above, the desire for the salvation of all people impels them to be engaged in the secular world, and that duty “increases the importance of their obligation to work with all men in the building of a more human world.”47 The laity’s role as pilgrim people is to advance the temporal order, free from the trappings of wealth and posturing, to advance the kingdom, and to reform the temporal order of the world.48

Thus, it will be the challenge of God’s pilgrim people not to become too comfortable in this life. The pilgrim nature of the Christian life will always challenge laity and clergy alike to follow the path of Christ, the way of suffering, the way of paschal mystery, dying so that we can rise again “still as pilgrims in a strange land, tracing in trial and in oppression the paths He trod, we are made one with His

45 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 48.

46 Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes, under “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World-Gaudium et Spes” http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html (accessed October 1, 2012), par. 45.

47 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 57.

48 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, under “Decree on the Apostolate of Laity - Apostolicam Actuositatem” http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_decree_19651118_apostolicam-actuositatem_en.html (accessed October 1, 2012), par. 4.

25 sufferings like the body is one with the Head, suffering with Him, that with Him we may be glorified.”49

Finally, the pilgrim people can celebrate those whose pilgrimage is complete and already stand before the face of God. Through them “we are inspired with a new reason for seeking the City that is to come (Heb. 13:14, 11:10) … shown a most safe path by which among the vicissitudes of this world, in keeping with the state in life and condition proper to each of us, we will be able to arrive at perfect union with

Christ, that is, perfect holiness.”50 This communion of saints is also part of the living stones which we are built upon, never forgetting that it is Christ “from Whom as from its Fountain and Head issues every grace and the very life of the people of

God.”51

In the context of developing lay leaders in the CC parish context, all these aspects of pilgrimage are vitally important. It is often the temptation for pastors and lay leaders to feel that they have already “arrived”. In this position it is not necessary to move forward toward new initiatives since what was always done has worked so well. Clergy and laity alike must be challenged, their vision lifted to discern the greater things to which God calls them. They can expect trial, misunderstanding, and negative responses if they are in the process of plowing new territory, planting, weeding, and watering. As they see this as the normative pattern for kingdom building, guided by the Spirit they will take solace in Christian

49 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, par. 7.

50 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 50.

51 Ibid., par. 50.

26 community, the sacraments, and the communion of the saints. With their eyes fixed on Christ, the inspirer and the one perfecting their faith they will realize that they have not yet “arrived” but are being consoled and strengthened on their pilgrim way.

The Church as the People of God

The image of pilgrim people is one of people on a journey, always invited to raise their eyes heavenward toward a greater vision, even while building the kingdom on earth. The image of a people of God is one of unity and trust. The journey is made in communion; it is made as one people walking and ministering together. This can be seen in both the old covenant and its fulfillment in the new.

The term for the people of God in the Greek Old Testament is laos. In The

Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective Paul Stevens gives a thorough summary of the word as it was used in both the Old and New

Testament.52 His insights are summarized as follows. Translating from the Hebrew

‘am, laos could be used for the terms such as “crowd” or nation of people, but would most prominently be expressing the image of the people of God. From the Old

Testament to the New, a unity of shared vision, purpose and ministry existed. It was

God’s desire that his people would be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). In fact,

Stevens notes, “ the idea of a priest- people predated the formation of a priesthood

52 Paul Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapid, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2000), 29-30.

27 within the priest-people.”53 It is only after the people worship the calf (Ex. 32) that

Moses provides them a priestly caste. This is similar to the people’s demand for a king (1 Sam. 8:7), which the Lord allows, even though it is seen as a rejection of his kingship over them. So too the Lord allows a priestly class, yet once exiled and away from the temple, and ultimately after its destruction, the people of God begin to re- appropriate their universal priestly calling. In Numbers 11:26-30 Moses celebrates that two people who are not officially assigned to the prophetic task are prophesying and he wishes that all of the people of God would do the same.

The Old Testament people of God is one ministering people, called out by God at times to reveal his plans. Ordinary people like Jacob, struggling with his family;

Job, trying to makes sense of the disaster that has befallen him; Hosea, overwhelmed in his marriage; Daniel, making his way in a foreign land, letting their actions and words speak prophetically. Ordinary people who were all called to stand and give worship before God as one people. All kinds of people in the laos, not of the priestly caste were doing God’s work, revealing God in a deeper richer way to his people, and to other nations.

When James uses this term to reference the community of believers in Acts

15:14 a revolutionary understanding is revealed to the early Christian community.

They were the new people of God (Pet. 2:9, Titus 2:14) and they would receive the full outpouring of the Spirit prophesied by Jeremiah, speaking of a new covenant, with the law written on their hearts (Jer. 31:31-34); Joel prophesying a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-32); and Isaiah speaking of a time when all

53Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical , 34.

28 would be called priests of the Lord (Is. 61:6). Stevens acknowledges the continuity between the old and the new covenant in terms of their identity: there would be a great universal gifting of all people in the new covenant. This can be seen in a shift from priestly caste to universal priesthood (2 Pet. 2: 9-11); in particular calls for particular people to the universal call upon all people (Eph. 4:1); and in cultural separation through diet and customs to the invitation to be all things to all people (2

Cor. 5:20). All these experiences represent a shift toward a greater union and common calling given to the new people of God. None are excluded from the call to service and ministry. Certainly there are a number of roles and distinctions, but

Stevens makes the case that there was no distinction between clergy and laity, as these terms did not exist: “Rather there is one people: the laity, the Greek word being laos. And laos includes the leaders.”54 The images of the Church mentioned earlier in the chapter, referring to the pilgrim people, are corporate terms, not differentiated into clergy and laity.

What did leadership look like among the people of God? In the early Church it was expressed in a number of different forms: proistemi (as a verb: the one who goes before), kybernesis (as a function: administration), episkopoi (as a responsibility: overseer), diakonos (as a service), presbyteroi (elders, or wise people), and poimenes (as a metaphor: shepherds). Stevens believes these multiple models of leadership suited the occasions and contexts the Church encountered.55

54 Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective, http://www.languageinstitute.co.gy/uploads/5/8/3/2/5832757/the_other_six_days1.pdf (accessed November 1, 2013), 9. Note: online version differs from published version.

55 Stevens, The Other Six Days: Vocation, Work, and Ministry in Biblical Perspective, 146.

29 Regarding the distinction between the missionary and institutional aspects of the early Church, apostles were charismatic missionary preachers, whereas bishops, presbyters, and deacons were stable within a given local community.56 In reference to the pastoral epistles toward the end of the first century, it cannot be determined whether in addition to a single bishop (1 Tim 3:2), there were a number of presbyters. Raymond Brown believes that as a group the elders were giving direction to the whole community and also exercised care for individual Christians in matters of belief and practice.57

Frances Young in The Theology of the Pastoral Letters provides a number of insights into the early Church.58 In the first century Church, bishops and presbyters overlapped in their responsibilities, with the bishop being the president of a college of elders. The texts of the pastoral letters reflect a process of transition, and the natural and technical use of a number of the terms is not clearly distinguished. It seems plausible to use the language of “household” in reference to the bishop. He is the one vested with God’s authority to administer the Church as God’s household, to oversee the behavior of the members of the household, to see that sound teaching is given, and that proper order is maintained in gatherings for worship. It is also his responsibility to see that there is orderly interaction between members of the household community of different status who have different roles to perform.

Formalization continued and Jewish patterns and structures were taken on. The

56 Richard Jaworski, as cited in Course Notes: The Pauline Corpus: Class 10, 10.

57 Raymond Brown, as cited in: Richard Jaworski, Course Notes: The Pauline Corpus, Class 10, 11. 58 Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters (Cambridge: University Press, 1994), 99-104.

30 bishop as Christian administrator began to acquire the function of the synagogue head, while the deacons fulfilled the roles of synagogue officials who performed practical tasks. The elders/presbyters began to be constituted as a governing council that had the authority to appoint and advise the bishop.

By the end of the first century, Churches associated with James, Paul, and

Peter have established presbyters in place.59 Ignatius of Antioch in 112 CE speaks of a three-fold ministry of bishop, presbyter and deacon, even giving a theological justification for it. By the end of the second century this threefold ministry is in place throughout the Church. The Johanine community is seen by some as the closest expression of an egalitarian community (1 Jn 2:20,27) and there is little emphasis on institutional structures and apostolic authority. Instead it is a community of disciples guided by direct union with God.60 Brown suggests that this ecclesiology would eventually lead to a polarized community with two opposing sides both believing they were following the guidance of the Spirit. He goes on to suggest that John Chapter 21, with its focus on Peter’s pastoral authority, was added later to convince Christians that the pastoral authority seen in other church communities was according to the will of Jesus.61

A mistake when studying the early Church is to put too much emphasis on one expression of leadership to the exclusion of others. The exercise of episcopal leadership is to be seen in relation to the leadership role of the presbyter and the

59 Thomas Rausch, Authority and Leadership in the Church (Michael Glazier Press, Delaware, 1989), 56. 60 Ibid., 59.

61 Raymond Brown, The Community of the Beloved Disciple (Mahwah, NJ, Paulist Press, 1979), 159.

31 role that all the people of God play in discernment and decision-making. To focus on only one aspect of leadership will lead to conflict and division. Congar states,

To put these different aspects into opposition with one another, and even separate them, to erect one or another into the principle of the Church’s constitution, as various heresies have done, bringing about episcopalianism, presbyterianism, congregationalism, this is to misunderstand the living organizational reality of the total Church.62

Vatican II, in recapturing the image of the people of God celebrates the different roles of service, oversight, administration and shepherding. There is diversity, interdependence, solidarity, and sustenance, which are expressed in the gifts of the members of the body, and their unity in belief.

In Lumen Gentium and Apostolicam Actuositatem the people of God are given a clear vision of their identity and kingdom purpose in a positive, appreciative light.

Discerning the signs of the times in the Church and in the world, the people of God are to build the kingdom of God in the concrete realities of this world, working together in unity, “to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to judge them in light of the divine word, so that the revealed truth can always be more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage.”63

While there had been a clericalization of authority and responsibilities through the history of the Church, Lumen Gentium moves the Church back toward a more biblical foundation. In chapter four, dedicated to the laity, it clarifies, “Everything that has

62 Congar, Lay People in the Church, 282.

63 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 44.

32 been said above concerning the people of God is intended for the laity, religious and clergy alike.”64

A number of paragraphs throughout Lumen Gentium and Apostolicam

Actuositatem address the aspects of trust and unity proper to the people of God. One way is in the diversity of its members: “We foster within the Church herself mutual esteem, reverence and harmony, through the full recognition of lawful diversity. …

Hence let there be unity in what is necessary; freedom in what is unsettled, and charity in any case.”65 The people of God are sustained in this unity through participation in the Eucharist in which all are to actively participate in the way proper to themselves.66 As well, unity will exist within the people of God and solidarity with the world as every member unites their suffering with Christ in his passion and death.67 Other signs of unity include married life and the formation of children by their parents, things that perpetuate the people of God, and build up the domestic church.68

Unity is also expressed by celebrating the equality69 of members and dignity which leads them toward perfection: “Sharing a common dignity as members from their regeneration in Christ, having the same filial grace and the same vocation to

64 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 30.

65 Ibid., par. 92.

66 Ibid., par. 11.

67 Ibid., par. 11.

68 Ibid., par. 11.

69 While laity and clergy share a common dignity, Vatican II states there is a difference in degree as well as in essence between ministerial priesthood and the priesthood of the baptized. See Lumen Gentium, par. 10.

33 perfection; possessing in common one salvation, one hope and one undivided charity.”70 This common dignity is revealed through the complementarity existing in the body, with laity and clergy working together to see the kingdom come: “ And if by the will of Christ some are made teachers, pastors and dispensers of mysteries on behalf of others, yet all share a true equality with regard to the dignity and to the activity common to all the faithful for the building up of the Body of Christ.”71

Along with an acknowledgement of dignity there is a celebration of how the members bring different gifts and talents to help in the fulfillment of the Kingdom:

“Thus in their diversity all bear witness to the wonderful unity in the Body of Christ.

This very diversity of graces, ministries and works gathers the children of God into one because "all these things are the work of one and the same Spirit" (1 Cor.

12:11).”72

In studying the development of lay leaders, a deep understanding of trust and unity is key. When there is a realization they have a role to play, and that they are invited to be part of something larger than themselves, leaders become motivated. One of the greatest challenges to overcome when working with lay leaders, especially those working in a particular ministry or apostolate, is to help them see they are part of something larger. The leader can be totally consumed in his or her own tasks and not see how this work is connected to the rest of the Body of Christ. As well, while the dignity and noble purpose of all the people of God is

70 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 32.

71 Ibid., par. 32.

72 Ibid., par. 32.

34 acknowledged by the Council Fathers, clergy must translate this into real acts of acknowledgement, affirmation, concern, and guidance. These two areas of concern will be addressed in the following chapters.

The Church as Priest, Prophet, and King

One of the central ways the people of God work together is in unity through the universal calling they share in the three-fold office of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King. In the following section these three offices, and the laity’s expression of them will be studied.

Apostolicam Actuositatem in its introduction clarifies the ideal of unity through oneness of mission found in the universal priesthood of all believers:

In the Church there is a diversity of ministry but a oneness of mission. Christ conferred on the Apostles and their successors the duty of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling in His name and power. But the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world.73

In paragraph ten of Apostolicam Actuositatem the strong language of the necessity of the laity is outlined. Their work does not simply “add on” to the work done by clergy, but brings it to its full effectiveness.74 This language of the laity as a priestly, prophetic and kingly people is a recovery of biblical imagery and an example of resourcement at the Council.

73 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, par. 2.

74 Ibid., par. 10.

35 If the ministerial role of the bishop and priest is to conduct the sacraments and shepherd the people of God, what is the laity’s priestly, prophetic and royal function? Apostolicam Actuositatem sketches a picture of the layperson in this role.

Through the priestly office the laity are invited to sanctify the world they live in and are a part of. This reality is two-fold. First, it takes place in the Church through their active participation in the sacraments and liturgical prayer. In this way they intercede for others and unite their sacrifices to the one offering of Christ and can say with Paul, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.”(Col. 1:24) Secondly, they do their work of priestly duty through their participation in formation and administration:

Strengthened by active participation in the liturgical life of their community, they are eager to do their share of the apostolic works of that community. They bring to the Church people who perhaps are far removed from it, earnestly cooperate in presenting the word of God especially by means of catechetical instruction, and offer their special skills to make the care of souls and the administration of the temporalities of the Church more efficient and effective.75

The laity carries out the priestly office of sanctification in a second way through their holy actions performed. Husbands and wives sanctify one another as they follow the invitation of Ephesians 5:25-28 in laying down their lives for each other. Of course, these three offices are not separate activities but all expressions of the diverse ways that God is at work in every individual.

The prophetic ministry is carried out in the lives of lay women and men through their witness to the world in word and deed. By not being conformed to the

75 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, par. 10.

36 expectations of this world they give prophetic sign that they are living for something more. Lumen Gentium expresses the call to witness through their lifestyles: “Let them not, then, hide this hope in the depths of their hearts, but even in the program of their secular life let them express it by a continual conversion and by wrestling against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness.” 76 A life of prophetic witness means not conforming, not living according to the expectations of this age (Rom. 12:12).

If one arm of a prophetic laity is the witness of lifestyle, the other is a witness through words and direct engagement with others. This proclamation of the kerygma can only take place if the speaker first holds this truth in the heart and lives it in a way that it is attractive to others. As this happens they will be ready to respond at the proper time “to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (1 Pt. 3:15). Guided by the Holy Spirit they will be able to share that truth with those around them, in the world. While the bishop and priest are tasked with the mission of prophetically proclaiming the faith every Sunday at

Mass, Lumen Gentium reminds us,

So too the laity go forth as powerful proclaimers of a faith in things to be hoped for when they courageously join to their profession of faith a life springing from faith. This evangelization, that is, this announcing of Christ by a living testimony as well as by the spoken word, takes on a specific quality and a special force in that it is carried out in the ordinary surroundings of the world.”77

76 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 35.

77 Ibid., par. 35.

37 In the wake of Vatican II a dynamic movement of the Spirit has awakened in the hearts of bishops, priests, and lay faithful alike to heed the call to evangelize. This will be studied in depth in the second chapter.

Turning to the Laity’s share in the kingly office of Christ, paragraph thirty-six of Lumen Gentium holds up Christ as the image of one who subjects himself and all created things to the Father so that “God might be all in all.”78 To do this, the disciple’s first task is to conquer sin in his or her own life. A second way of living in

Christ’s royal mission is through service: “He has shared this power so that serving

Christ in their fellow men they might by humility and patience lead their brethren to that King for whom to serve is to reign.”79 A royal people are also called to be stewards of the earth and of the goods distributed through humanity’s ingenuity and imbue the culture with moral values. It is the royal prerogative of the Christian to reconcile their duties to the Church and society: “Let them strive to reconcile the two, remembering that in every temporal affair they must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity which can be withdrawn from God's dominion.”80 The document warns against doctrines of the world which have no regard for faith or religion, and do not respect the religious

78 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 36.

79 Ibid., par. 36.

80 Ibid., par. 36.

38 liberties of their citizens.81 They are therefore obliged to act and not abdicate these responsibilities to their pastors or other religious leaders.

In the context of parish life it is evident that there is no room for passivity. In the Council’s Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, the laity are called to full, conscious, active participation, and collaboration in the liturgical life of the Church.82 It would be the challenge in the years following the Council to see this happen concretely.

As members of a universal priesthood of believers, in a way not acknowledged before, the document also lists the rights of the laity, and as people of the kingdom, what they can expect from those who hold ecclesiastic authority over them. They have a right to hear the Word of God and receive the sacraments. They are encouraged to both share their needs and express their opinion concerning the good of the Church. Lumen Gentium states, “ Let this be done through the organs erected by the Church for this purpose.”83 We will look at a number of those structures, formal and informal in the coming chapters of this thesis. With these rights, lay people are also called to engage with their shepherds in reverence and charity, willing to submit in obedience to their pastor’s decisions and to pray for them.

81 While at the time this was a veiled challenge to communist doctrines, the Council fathers do not name it as such, and therefore this challenge and teaching can be applied to other ideologies of extreme secularism that we now face in the 21st century.

82 Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, under “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium" http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html (accessed October 8, 2012), par. 41, 48.

83 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 37.

39 Those who are shepherds are to spend the time required to recognize and promote the laity’s dignity, give them prudent advice, and allow them the freedom to carry out their work in a suitable way and upon their own initiative. The pastor is to “consider with fatherly love the projects, suggestions and desires proposed by the laity.”84 The document goes even further, describing what can be hoped for by this “royal assembly” of those living out their kingly roles of service, whether as laity or clergy:

From this familiar dialogue between the laity and their spiritual leaders: in the laity a strengthened sense of personal responsibility; a renewed enthusiasm; a more ready application of their talents to the projects of their spiritual leaders. The latter, on the other hand, aided by the experience of the laity, can more clearly and more incisively come to decisions regarding both spiritual and temporal matters.85

Through the documents of Vatican II, relying on the Word of God and an evolving understanding of the role of the laity, a solid framework was laid out for renewal of the Catholic Church as it approached the third millennium. With the foundation laid, there was much work left in building the structure that would make the Church a home for the laity to take on roles of leadership, and participatory roles of collaboration and innovation.

These will all be studied in the next chapter, for the fruit of Vatican II gave birth to a new community of priests, the Companions of the Cross, who set about rallying lay people to hear and respond to the invitation of Jesus: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all

84 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 37.

85 Ibid., par. 37.

40 in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matt. 5:14-16)

41

Chapter 2 Contemporary Context: Companions of the Cross

After the historic events of Vatican II, which produced sixteen documents regarding how the Church was to express its identity and carry out its mission, the question remained in the minds of clergy and laity alike, “how will we make this happen?”

The first part of this chapter will include some thoughts on the difficulties involved regarding how Vatican II would be interpreted within the Church. The second part will review key movements, events, and writing taking place after the Council. These phenomena include the participation of the laity in the liturgy, papal documents, theological writings, the rise of the Charismatic Renewal, the development of base

Christian communities, the new code of canon law, the synodal structures found in all levels of the Church and the directive documents they produced. The third part of the chapter will look at the story of Fr. Bob Bedard and the founding of the

Companions of the Cross as well as the vision and structures by which the community is guided.

Interpretation

A challenge during the years following the Council—and still today—was that implementation was not always carried out in a consistent way throughout countries, dioceses, and parishes. Varied interpretations of the documents led to

42 either a restrictive, limited implementation, or new initiatives which went far beyond the guidelines of the documents, claiming that they were simply following the “spirit of the Vatican II”, something documents would never be able to fully express.

The struggle from the end of the Council to today is understanding the hermeneutic key that could be used to interpret Council documents. Ormond Rush, in his book, Still Interpreting Vatican II: Some Hermeneutical Principles, lays out three different lenses through which Vatican II can be viewed. One can start from the place of understanding what the authorial intentions of the bishops were in writing the documents. This entails understanding the context and traditions leading up to Vatican II and how the documents evolved through the sessions of the

Council.1 He believes that this reconstruction of the “mind” or “spirit” of the Council is a legitimate step in its interpretation but not the only one. A second step is the hermeneutics of the text itself.2 If the first step is looking at the “spirit” a second approach focuses on a more strict interpretation of the “letter”. Finally, a third hermeneutic discussed by Rush is that of the “receiver”. Beyond a historical context, or even the words on the page, how the word and teaching is received by the people of God also shapes and determines how the documents are accepted and integrated into the living experience of the Church.3 The receiver in this case is the one who truly brings these documents alive. These three approaches have often been taken

1 Ormand Rush, Still Interpreting Vatican II: Some Hermeneutical Principles (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 2004), 1.

2 Ibid., 35.

3 Ibid., 52.

43 up independently, leading to opposing or disparate interpretations. Those looking for an antecedent for their own ideology simply need to claim that they are following the spirit of what the bishops intended even if it was not laid out specifically. Those in a defensive posture remain so close to the text that they cannot adequately see the documents in any kind of context. Finally, those who rely only on the hermeneutic of reception are liable to fail in bringing the documents to life if they have not first understood the spirit in which they were written and the power the text, in and of itself, conveys. Therefore a holistic and integrated approach is necessary.

Pope Benedict in an address to the Roman Curia in 2006 was concerned about divergent interpretations in opposition to each other: the hermeneutic of rupture versus the hermeneutic of continuity. Looking at Vatican II and the following years as simply a rupture would be to create a disconnect between the Church before Vatican II with the Church after.4 Referring to the need for continuity, he quotes Pope John XXIII, “It is necessary that this certain and unchanging teaching, which is to be faithfully respected, be deeply studied and presented in a way that corresponds to the needs of our times. The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another, retaining nonetheless the same meaning and message.”5 Pope Benedict underscores the fact that a new expression of the faith must be based on “ an informed

4 Rush, Still Interpreting Vatican II: Some Hermeneutical Principles, X.

5 Walter M. Abbott ed., The Documents of Vatican II (New York: Guild Press, 1966), 715.

44 understanding of the truth expressed”.6 He acknowledges that it is through the tension of both continuity and discontinuity that reform exists. While the foundation, groundwork, and structure for pastoral planning and implementation remain the same, the way they are applied can change. 7 While the Council documents move the Church to a greater openness to the world, the limitations of social science and modern thinking detached from tradition must also be acknowledged.

Fifty years later, with many words and terms like “spirit of Vatican II”, so filled with ideological weight, seemingly forcing people to pick sides on an issue before they even know what the concerns surrounding them are, it may be helpful to find new words to describe these three events. For instance, movement may describe traditions leading up to Vatican II and the evolution of the documents themselves. Text may describe the words on the page, that which is kept in the archives, the printed pages of the documents themselves. Integration may describe not only that the movement and the text have been received but also how they can be integrated into the daily life of the people of God.

In this light, it may be more obvious that none of these three foundations can stand independently. Movement must always tend toward structures and channels that can harness its dynamism and force. Anchored in the text itself, it will enable a

6 Pope Benedict XVI, Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia, under “ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE ROMAN CURIA OFFERING THEM HIS CHRISTMAS GREETING” http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/december/documents/hf_ben_xvi _spe_20051222_roman-curia_en.html (accessed October 29, 2013)

7 Ibid.

45 richer and fuller understanding, which will enhance the ability for a more complete integration of the Council by all of the people of God.

Movements, Events, and Writing: Liturgical Renewal

In the years following the Council a number of initiatives, movements, and structures were established that enabled a greater development of lay leaders in the parish setting. A direct and tangible effect of the Council, experienced while it was still in session, was the extended acceptance of the celebration of the sacraments in the vernacular language: “But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the

Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended.”8 From 1964 forward, bishops at the national conference level requested approvals for different parts of the Mass in the vernacular and by 1970, when a new missal was published, all prayers and parts of the Mass could be spoken in English.

This liberation of the liturgy, now heard in the common tongue, broke down the garrison walls of the Mass, allowing the laity to more fully experience its treasures.

Other changes established to enable the full, active, and conscious participation of the liturgy by the laity included a more extensive selection of scripture passages in the lectionary. This further enabled a deeper appreciation of the scriptures, which in the past laity were not encouraged to read. A more dialogical approach to engage

8Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat- ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html (accessed November 15, 2013) par. 36.2.

46 the laity in the prayers of the Mass such as responsory intercessions and the “sign of peace”. Engagement was also enhanced through the priest’s stance facing the congregation at the altar as opposed to having his back towards them: "The altar should be built apart from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be celebrated facing the people, which is desirable wherever possible.”9

While laity had taken part in service of the liturgy as choir members, altar boys, and ushers, over time laity, men and women alike, were also allowed to take on other liturgical roles such as lector and extraordinary Eucharistic minister. These public forms of leadership in the community raised the profile of the laity. While sometimes controversial in its establishment, the symbolism of seeing another lay person reading scriptures from the pulpit or standing side-by-side with the priest distributing communion would help laity see themselves as being on an equal footing with their pastor by virtue of their baptismal dignity.

Dissent

This growing self-assurance of the laity was exhibited during the same period through rejection of the papal encyclical Humane Vitae, which outlined the

Church’s teaching against any form of artificial birth control. While a pontifical commission had been established and a majority report proposed that artificial birth control was not intrinsically evil Pope Paul VI rejected the recommendations

9 Catholic Church, Roman Missal, par. 299.

47 of the commission and established clear directives against the use of birth control pills and devices, as well as sterilization.10 The day after the encyclical was released

Catholic University of America Professor Charles Curran composed a statement in disagreement with the encyclical which would later be signed by over six hundred theologians and scholars stating, “Spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible and indeed necessary to preserve and foster the value and sacredness of marriage”.11 In light of pastoral concerns Canadian Catholic Bishops issued their own response to the encyclical, assuring laity of the right to follow their own conscience regarding this teaching: “In accord with the accepted principles of moral theology, if these persons have tried sincerely but without success to pursue a line of conduct in keeping with the given directives, they may be safely assured that, whoever honestly chooses that course which seems right to him does so in good conscience.”12

A recent study found that ninety-eight percent of Catholic women in America had used a form of birth control contrary to the Church’s teaching at some point in their life.13 It seems the people of God made their own decisions regarding this

10 Pope Paul VI, Humane Vitae http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p- vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae_en.html (accessed November 15, 2013) par. 14.

11 Charles Curran, Loyal Dissent: Memoirs of a Catholic Theologian, 52.

12 Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Canadian Bishops' Statement on the Encyclical "Humanae Vitae", par. 25.

13 GM Martine, A Chandra, I Febo-Vazquez, and WD Mosher “Use of family planning and related medical services among women aged 15–44” United States: National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. National health statistics reports; no 68.

48 teaching. Whether it be the rebellious spirit of the times, or confidence received through the spirit and teaching of the Council, laity was shedding its unquestioning, docile nature. Aside from judging the moral appropriateness of their own actions, this response of laity does speak of their increased confidence to step forward and let their voices be heard. Lay leaders were in some ways beginning to resemble

Congar’s “healthy child”, who is a little harder to keep in hand.

Charismatic Renewal

At the time the people of God were asserting their own decision making powers, many were also experiencing a new empowerment through the

Charismatic Movement. Over the past forty years, millions of Catholics have had the experience of “baptism in the Holy Spirit”. Ralph Martin describes the experience in this way:

“Baptism in the Spirit” is the main terminology used in North America to describe an experience of the Spirit that is often accompanied by a deeper personal encounter with Christ, characterized by a glimpse of his Lordship, an experience of the Father’s love that is personal and deeply liberating, and a new awareness that we are truly not orphans but that the Holy Spirit is truly present and ready to encourage, convict, guide, and help us understand the things of God. This vital experience of the Trinity brings with it a new or renewed desire for prayer, including in a special way praise, adoration, and thanksgiving; a new or renewed desire to read the Scripture, often described as “the scriptures coming alive”; and a desire to tell others about the goodness of God. It is also frequently accompanied by a desire to be in relationship with other Christians and by the manifestation of one or more of the charisms listed in 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Peter 4, and Romans 12.14

14 Ralph Martin, “A New Pentecost?: Catholic Theology and “Baptism in the Spirit.”” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Volume 14, Number 3, Summer 2011, 17.

49 The Catholic charismatic understanding affirms that grace is received through baptism and confirmation, but the believer, through inviting God to be at work in the heart, comes into a personal, living union with God.

Those experiencing this new grace in their lives would gather together for fellowship, formation, and the use of the gifts and charisms they had been empowered in by the Holy Spirit. In the early 1970s formal structures began to be put in place, and in the United States and Canada the movement was known as the

Catholic Charismatic Renewal. It was championed early on by Cardinal Suenens from Belgium who was crucial in helping the movement receive approbation from

Pope Paul VI in 1975.

This experience of a personal relationship with God, along with empowerment for service in the Church and the world, in ministry and apostolate, has had a significant impact on the life of the Church. The Canadian Conference of

Catholic Bishops, on the occasion of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Charismatic

Renewal in Canada acknowledged that “Today, over one million Catholic Canadians have been touched or in some way influenced by the Charismatic Renewal in

Canada. …What is particularly remarkable about the history and growth of the

Charismatic Renewal is the way it sprang up quite spontaneously and organically from the grassroots level of the faithful.”15

While it is difficult to measure the powerful spiritual efficacy and transformative effect of those involved in the movement, its influence can be seen in

15 CCCB, CCCB Pastoral Letter: The Charismatic Renewal in Canada http://www.cccb.ca/site/Files/charismatic_renewal.html (accessed November 15, 2013).

50 its impact on the founding of the Companions of the Cross, which is discussed below.

As well, in some dioceses, it is estimated that as much as fifty percent of lay leaders have come out of the charismatic prayer group experience.16 In relation to the development of lay leaders, what is significant is that the movement was led and guided almost entirely by the laity. At the local parish level it was rare to see clergy involved. This meant that laity stepped into roles of leadership and pastoral ministry, including discernment, teaching, guiding, and mentoring. Peter Hocken notes,

From the outset of (Charismatic Renewal), lay people were involved in teaching, in pastoral leadership and in prayer ministry. Although this lay ministry did not receive much official attention, but was largely accepted as part of the acceptance of (Charismatic Renewal), it was in fact significantly new development for Catholic lay people, entering into roles traditionally reserved for priests, and in some cases, for priests and religious. The newness in this lay ministry in (the Charismatic Renewal) lies in its pastoral and spiritual character. Lay people have long taught Catholic doctrine in religion classes in Catholic schools. But teaching in the context of (Charismatic Renewal) is more like preaching, and is oriented towards practical Christian living. The prayer ministry, including prayer for healing, enters deeply into people’s personal lives, their suffering and their struggles, in a way that only priests had previously done, whether in the ministry of the confessional or in spiritual direction.17

In this kind of pastoral leadership laity who had already had a personal faith encounter with Christ were given opportunities to lead. That modeling of leadership would have an impact on those around them and help normalize the practice of lay leadership.

16 Richard Cimino, Trusting in the Spirit: Renewal and Reform in American Religion (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002), 20.

17 Peter Hocken, “The impact of the Charismatic Movement on the Roman Catholic Church” Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education Volume 25, Issue 2, 2004, 210.

51 Base Christian Communities

Another positive influence upon the development of lay leadership was that of Base Christian Communities. Inspired by the documents and spirit of Vatican II,

South American Bishops gathering in Medellin in 1968 made the formation of these communities a central pastoral goal. The model consists of small cell-groups of the faithful gathering to study the bible and apply it to the concrete challenges faced in their lives. Especially prevalent in Brazil where there is a shortage of clergy, laity are empowered to use their gifts and charisms and exercise leadership:

The ecclesiology derived from the base communities reaffirms that, rooted in the sacraments of initiation and the various gifts distributed by the Spirit, we all share in the Church’s mission, taking on services and/or activities for the sake of its life and mission, forming a ‘wholly ministerial Church’. Its ministries are not restricted to the body of the ordained; they can be and are being carried out by lay men and women, as happens whenever these, in various ways, take on important functions in relation to the Church’s mission in its prophetic, priestly, and royal office, on an ongoing basis and on their own responsibility, recognized by the Church itself.18

While these “communities within the community” are predominantly found in Central and South America, there are expressions of this new movement in North

America and throughout the world. Many elements of base Christian communities are imported into formal and informal pastoral programs, such as Renew. These groups in North America are often more closely tied to regular parish life and less likely to be connected to liberation theology than their South American

18 Maria Clara Bingermer, “Baptism and the Source of Christian ministry” Concilium 2010/11, 36.

52 counterparts. The idea of the Church gathering in these smaller forms of community, living focused discipleship, has received affirmation by the universal Church, as seen in the papal encyclical Mission of the Redeemer penned by Pope John Paul II,

A rapidly growing phenomenon in the young churches — one sometimes fostered by the bishops and their Conferences as pastoral priority — is that of 'ecclesial basic communities' (also known by other names) which are proving to be good centers for Christian formation and missionary outreach. These are groups of Christians who, at the level of the family or in a similarly restricted setting, come together for prayer, Scripture reading, catechesis, and discussion on human and ecclesial problems with a view to a common commitment…These communities decentralize and organize the parish community, to which they always remain united.19

In these types of cell groups, lay leaders thrive and are empowered to use the gifts and charisms entrusted to them, providing fertile ground for both deeper spiritual encounter and committed discipleship. The pope does raise the concern that they remain tied into traditional parish structures. These patterns of committed community life were also evident in lay covenant communities of the charismatic renewal.

Synods and Parish Councils

Along with a celebration of the laity’s baptismal call and gifting after Vatican

II was an invitation for all the people of God to have a voice in various structures of discernment and decision making in the life of the Church. Through synods of bishops it was hoped that bishops and laity could express their collegiality with the pope. Synods at the diocesan level were to be a place where laity could more clearly

19 Pope John Paul II, The Mission of the Redeemer http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp- ii_enc_07121990_redemptoris-missio_en.html (accessed November 15, 2013), 51.

53 offer their input at the local level. Finally at the parish level, priests were encouraged to create parish councils where they would consult with laity regarding pastoral planning. But many see the current synodal structure as far from the ideal that was envisioned. Paul Lakeland, in Liberation of the Laity gives the following negative assessment,

The synods are understood to be merely consultative bodies to the pope, they issue no formal conclusions of their own, which means (the pope) can ignore whatever they say… the pope himself writes a document subsequent to the synod on the theme of its deliberations. Laypeople are invited in small numbers as auditors (listeners) though they are occasionally allowed to address the assembly. The laypeople are appointed, not elected, and chosen by the pope or someone close to him. Overall the synod is obviously not a genuine exercise of collegiality and is, in reality if not intentionally a frustrating exercise for many of the participants.20

In a report to the Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) Donna Geernart acknowledged the frustration on the part of Canadian delegates at the 1987 synod on the laity. At the same time, those participating in the extensive consultation process in preparation for the Canadian Bishop’s interventions found that part of it fruitful:

20 Paul Lakeland, Liberation of the Laity, 121.

54 The Canadian Synod interventions reflected an intensive eighteen-month period of preparation, which included surveys, consultations, and workshops with the laity. In November 1985, 4,600 questionnaires were distributed across the country. The main themes resulting from this survey were studied by 200 lay representatives of dioceses and 80 bishops during a special two-day study session in October 1986. Regions were asked to hold their own surveys or study days. Individuals, groups, and organizations were encouraged to participate in these or correspond with the CCCB directly. These soundings of Catholic lay opinions resulted in a 105-page survey report and 230 briefs and summary reports (134 English and 96 French). These were studied by the Synod delegates and the other members of the Synod preparation team to choose themes for possible Canadian presentations in Rome. Six themes were presented to the bishops and twenty lay representatives from across Canada at the CCCB Plenary Assembly in October1987. Each theme was studied by bishops and lay representatives in workshop sessions. Notes from these discussions were used in drafting the texts of the interventions.21

In reference to the American experience at the synod Lakeland complains, “

The American Bishops returned to a situation where two hundred thousand laypeople had been involved in the consultative phase before the synod, to tell them what? The consultation was as ineffectual as the bishop’s role at the synod itself.”22

It is worth noting that one of the most widely celebrated synods, in reference to its engagement of participants was the 2001 synod of bishops coordinated by then

Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis. In light of the 2014 synod of bishops there are promises of reform. Bishop Lorenzo Baldisseri speaks of methodological and practical reforms in preparation for the next synod, “The idea is that of transforming the synodal Institution into a real and effective tool for communion, through which

21 Donna Geernaert, “A Response to Mary Hines” CTSA PROCEEDINGS 55 (2000), 51.

22 Lakeland, Liberating the Laity, 124.

55 the collegiality hoped for by the Vatican Council II is expressed and achieved.”23

At the local level, diocesan synods and parish councils have been a place of greater lay participation and leadership. More particular to the understanding of developing lay leaders in the parish context, it is worthwhile to understand the development of the parish council structure as found in most parishes. The impetus for parish councils, and lay participation can be traced to Apostolicam Actuositatem:

“In Dioceses, as far as possible, councils should be set up to assist the church’s apostolic work, whether in the field of evangelization and sanctification or in the fields of charity, social relations and the rest. … Such councils should be established too, if possible, at parochial, inter-parochial, inter-diocesan, and also on the national and international planes."24

The pastoral council gives a structure and framework for the laity to cooperate with clergy in the life of the Church as mandated by the Vatican II:

By reason of the knowledge, competence or pre-eminence, which they have, the laity are empowered, indeed sometimes obliged, to manifest their opinion in those things which pertain to the good of the Church. If the occasion should arise, this should be done through the institutions established by the Church for that purpose and always with truth, courage and prudence and with reverence and charity towards those who by reason of their office, represent the person of Christ.25

23 Vatican Information Service, “PRESENTATION OF THE PREPARATORY DOCUMENT FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD ON PASTORAL CHALLENGES FOR THE FAMILY.” http://visnews-en.blogspot.ca/2013/11/presentation-of-preparatory-document.html (accessed November 16, 2013).

24 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, par. 26.

25 Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, par. 37.

56 The first parish councils implemented often took on the role of coordinating parish activities, social events, maintenance, and fundraising. After the publishing of the new Code of Canon law in 1983, there was a great focus placed on discernment, visioning and planning. Canon 536 outlines the mandate given to bishops in establishing councils at the parish level,

After the diocesan bishop has listened to the presbyteral council and if he judges it opportune, a pastoral council is to be established in each parish; the pastor presides over it, and through it the Christian faithful along with those who share in the pastoral care of the parish in virtue of their office give their help in fostering pastoral activity.26

Instruction about parish councils is quite inconsistent, and directives vary from one diocese to another. Even with guidelines in place, pastors have a great amount of latitude regarding implementation. Council meetings are seen by many clergy as a burden instead of an opportunity to engage with their parishioners and hear their concerns. As the role of the council is consultative, some pastors interpret this to mean the council is nothing more than a planning or information session. From the layperson’s perspective, one can become discouraged when the pastor does not take their insights seriously. Looked at in a positive light, the parish council has the possibility of being a powerful channel of communication between clergy and laity. It can be a place where lay leaders learn to exercise gifts of discernment, leadership, and pastoral planning. There is an opportunity, when structured in a fruitful way, for true communion and dialogue to take place. While it has not always flourished it is another example of pastoral initiatives put in place

26 Catholic Church. The Code of Canon Law, trans. The Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland in association with The Canon Law Society of Australia and New Zealand and the Canadian Canon Law Society (Ottawa: Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops), 97.

57 after Vatican II, which set the stage for a more robust development of lay leaders.

Church Documents

After acknowledging the phenomenon of liturgical engagement, non- conformity regarding moral teachings, the charismatic renewal, base Christian communities and parish councils, it is important to review key Church documents produced on the international and national levels that set the stage for the current ripe opportunity for the development of lay leaders.

Christifidelis Laici is the apostolic exhortation written by Pope John Paul II following the 1987 synod on the laity. As mentioned above, bishops came together to share and reflect on the role and identity of the laity. In the document the pope reinforces key themes from Vatican II, outlining concerns about laypeople taking on certain clerical roles not assigned to them. In his introduction the Pope notes new issues facing the Church, such as ministries and church services entrusted to lay people, new movements, and the role of women in the Church. He reaffirms the lay faithful’s sharing of the priestly, prophetic, and kingly mission, and focuses on the way they live this out with a particularly secular character. Of particular note is the affirmation and celebration of charisms in the life of the Church, recognizing the need for them to be discerned and submitted to the pastors of the Church.27 He outlines co-responsibility in building up parish life, family issues, evangelization, and the secular world. In reference to the formation of the laity, the Pope outlines

27 Pope John Paul II, Christi Fidelis Laici., par. 24.

58 the elements of spiritual formation, doctrinal formation, the church’s social teaching, and the cultivation of human values. Regarding who is to teach the laity, he states that while it begins with the pope and the various offices of the universal church, and the bishop at the local level, the parish “has the essential task of a more personal and immediate formation of the lay faithful” 28 through instruction in God’s

Word, through the liturgy, in fellowship, and through ecclesial communion. While priests and religious can do the work of this formation, laity along with them can also be entrusted with the task of formation.29

In 1990 the International Council on Catechesis, sponsored by the Vatican, produced the text Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community to guide those more specifically devoted to adult formation. It outlines certain important elements necessary in all programs of formation: “When there are a number of different catechetical programs within the same community, all the programs need to contain certain common elements; namely communion centered on the Word, participation in the liturgy, charitable service, and attentiveness to the Church’s life.”30It also acknowledges formation found in basic Christian communities as well as various movements and associations, but it warns about the need to stay in communion with the Church. The document goes on to outline principles of identifying and forming catechists of adults. These criteria are a good outline of what could be used

28 Pope John Paul II, Christi Fidelis Laici., par 61. emphasis added.

29 Ibid., par. 61.

30 International Council for Catechesis, Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community (Washington, DC: USCCB, 1992), 59.

59 in any discernment of lay leaders within the Church. Fundamentally, the catechists of adults must have adult faith, basic leadership skills, be stable in living the

Christian faith, be mature spiritual persons, and be able to witness through their example.31 Other specific qualities include wisdom, the ability to discern “the signs of the times”, and, “the ability to listen, dialogue, encourage and reassure, form relationships, work in teams and build community. There must also be a sense of being sent by the Church and of being accepted by the community”32 In reference to the formation of the lay catechist the document outlines that it will be “ at one and the same time theoretical and practical, intellectual and spiritual”33

A final document worthy of note is the 2005 statement of the United States

Conference of Catholic Bishops, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry. The document clarifies that the title “Lay Ecclesial minister” is not to be seen as a new rank or order within the laity but an adjective describing certain key realities: “The ministry is lay because it is a service done by laypersons. …The ministry is ecclesial because it has a place within the community of the Church…submitted to the discernment, authorization, and supervision of the hierarchy. Finally it is ministry because it is a participation in the three-fold ministry of Christ who is priest, prophet and king.”34 While many who take on this title are laity working in part-time or full-time positions in the parish,

31 International Council for Catechesis, Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community, 59.

32 Ibid., 73.

33 Ibid., 79.

34 USCCB, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (Washington, DC : USCCB, 2005), 11-12.

60 the criteria for discernment and elements of formation give a descriptive outline of what can be expected of any lay leader in the parish. The list of favorable dispositions accompanying a call to lay ecclesial ministry include being in full communion with the Catholic Church, a commitment to personal prayer, zeal for the

Christian life and teachings of the Church, emotional maturity, intellectual strength, and commitment to good communication skills.35 Suitability for this kind of public ministry also demands psychological skills and relational strength including chaste living within the person’s state of life, mature emotional balance, healthy friendships and relationships, ability to study, and the “appreciation of new ideas, critical thinking ability, and ability to manage stress.”36 The document outlines the four areas of formation necessary for developing lay ecclesial ministers: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. In each area specific elements are listed, along with methods of formation. For instance, in the area of pastoral formation fifteen different elements are listed including skills such as the leading of community prayer, effective relational and communication skills, discernment, counseling, leadership, and organizational development.37 Many of these skills will be identified by priests and laity in the next chapters. It is clear that Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, written forty years after the close of Vatican II, reveals the distance laity have travelled in being seen as leaders to be acknowledged, discerned and formed, playing an integral part in parish life.

35 USCCB, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, 30.

36 Ibid., 31.

37 Ibid., 47-49.

61

Companions of the Cross

It was in the midst of working with laity in parish life and religious education that Father Robert Bedard found himself in the years preceding and following

Vatican II. Born in 1929, Bob Bedard was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in

1955. Known by most everyone simply as “Fr. Bob”, he had first-hand experience growing up and serving as a priest in the pre-Vatican II Church and trying to apply its teaching in the years after the Council.

Fr. Bob’s first assignment was as assistant curate in an Ottawa parish from

1955 to 1958.38 For his second assignment, from 1958 until the early 1980’s, he worked in a number of different roles at St. Pius X high school, including guidance counselor, religion teacher, and principal. Through his encounters with students Fr.

Bob experienced directly the growing sense of critical spirit in the mindset of young people and the power they had to demand change.39 A spirit of rebellion, adaptation and questioning all roles of authority became more prevalent in the world and the

Church through the 1960s and 70s.

Regarding challenges the Church faced, Fr. Bob in his memoirs insists “Some people like to blame the Council for whatever problems the Church began to experience. Not so. If it hadn’t been for the Council things would have been a lot

38 Fr. Bob Bedard, Give God Permission: The Memoirs of Fr. Bob Bedard (Ottawa: Companions of the Cross, 2010), 65.

39 Ibid., 98.

62 worse.”40 Regarding the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, Fr. Bob could not have been happier: “I was ecstatic when Vatican II basically canonized the Liturgical

Movement. This will make a difference I thought. People will get involved and will be changed and get active in the Church. … The revised Liturgy in the language people speak will allow them to be active. And that will be it. I took for granted it would happen automatically. I was crushed when it didn’t work that way.”41

How was the Church to come alive? Fr. Bob came to a new depth of spiritual insight as he experienced God in a more tangible and personal way. At first out of curiosity, and then at the prompting of one of his students, Fr. Bob began attending

Catholic Charismatic prayer meetings. During his first experience he was very doubtful of their impact and significance. The music was not very captivating, all were praying out loud saying different things while raising their hands in the air, while he was wondering when he could make a break for it: “As I drove away I began to feel better. ‘It’ll be a frosty Friday before I would set foot in one of those meetings again’ said I. I was quite resolute.”42 After again hearing from students of the effects it was having on their life he attended a Life in the Spirit Seminar. This is a six week program presenting the kerygmatic message of God’s love, how our own sin distances us from God, Jesus’ saving work on the Cross restoring us to God, and the promise that the Holy Spirit is to fill everyone who asks with a fresh outpouring of grace. During one of the final sessions people were prayed with personally, for

40 Bedard, Give God Permission: The Memoirs of Fr. Bob Bedard ,114.

41 Ibid., 137.

42 Ibid., 132.

63 them to receive the gifts of the Spirit in a new and powerful way. As Fr. Bob received prayer he did not have any revelatory experience, yet he did specifically ask for the spiritual gift of prayer. The next day he woke up with a new desire and passion for prayer, and the words of the scriptures were jumping off the page:

The mystery I had been tracking down was now solved. What was changing those people’s lives at those prayer meetings? It wasn’t clapping and whooping it up. It was the grace of God. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. When anyone responds specifically to the call of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit goes to work within him and kicks the transformation project into high gear.43

From that transformative experience Fr. Bob began to work more closely with his students, stepping them through these teachings, and seeing dramatic results.

Compelling them to give God a chance he would invite them to challenge God, ‘If you’re real, Lord, show me!’ He made time for personal testimony of others who had experienced this new grace working in their lives, and presented the five specific scripture verses that would become the hallmark of Companions of the Cross evangelistic outreach in the years to come:

1. “If you seek me with all your heart, I will allow you to find me.” Jer. 29:13

2. “Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act.” Ps.37: 5

3. “To those who accepted him, he gave power to become children of God.” Jn. 1:12

4. “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will but open the door, I will come in, sit

down, and have supper with him.” Rev. 3:20

5. “Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you.” Jm. 4:8

43 Bedard, Give God Permission: The Memoirs of Fr. Bob Bedard , 136.

64 Students formed their own weekly prayer meeting which continued to grow. Even after a horrible incident when a disturbed student came into Fr. Bob’s classroom with a gun and killed one student, injuring many more, they continued to seek this new life of prayer and grace.44

In the 1970s Fr. Bob began to work with lay people around the city of Ottawa and began speaking at Charismatic Conferences across North America. In 1977 he became involved in the New Jerusalem covenant community. Living with nine other lay-men in his household, they met regularly for meals and community sharing with other households. While this experience lasted only three years it would guide and influence Fr. Bob in the future.

After creating and serving at a Renewal Centre, which equipped the of the

Charismatic renewal, Fr. Bob was assigned as a pastor to St. Mary’s Parish in

September, 1984. On a speaking tour the preceding months, Fr. Bob had been giving talks on the topic of what a renewed parish might look like. It would be a place where powerful worship, preaching, and healing took place. All the ministries in the

Church would be manifest, young people would be involved, and the sacraments would come alive.45 Now he was charged with putting this vision into action. When he first arrived, the new parish, St. Mary’s, was sparsely attended. The word he kept sensing the Lord speaking in prayer was, “ I want your permission to do what I want to do in this parish. I don’t want any of your fancy ideas… and I want you to tell the people you’re giving me permission, and ask them for their permission too! And if I

44 Bedard, Give God Permission: The Memoirs of Fr. Bob Bedard, 143-147.

45 Ibid., 204-205.

65 get enough permission I’ll move.”46 Fr. Bob, while apprehensive, shared this with parishioners week after week in his homilies, and within a short time the renewed parish that he had envisioned and spoken about was forming before his very eyes.

Meanwhile, Fr. Bob began meeting with some young men of the seminary who were looking for support and encouragement. Every Friday they would gather, sharing their joys and struggles, and pray with each other. As these weekly meetings continued, something began to stir in the men’s hearts: “As we prayed and listened to the Lord, as we responded to what we thought he might be saying to us by making commitments to him and one another, we believe he gently revealed to us the kind of body we were to be.”47 Though Fr. Bob was on record stating that the last thing the Church needed was a new community of priests, in May of 1985 the brothers began to have a clear sense that they were to live and minister together. Fr.

Bob nervously brought the idea to Ottawa Archbishop Joseph Plourde. He was given the green light to proceed, the Archbishop assuring him, “There is no way I can refuse to support this. This is the work of God. So I want to support it and I will.”48

He went on to explain to Fr. Bob that years earlier he had envisioned something similar, hoping for a way that priests could live and minister together more closely.

Now he had heard his own vision expressed by Fr. Bob.

From that point forward the Companions of the Cross continued to grow, moving through different stages of development until being formally recognized by

46 Bedard, Give God Permission: The Memoirs of Fr. Bob Bedard. 208.

47 Bob Bedard, Reflections of a Veteran Priest (Ottawa: Koinonia, 2001), 104.

48 Bob Bedard, History of the Companions of the Cross, (unpublished formation talk, 1992).

66 the Vatican as a Society of Apostolic Life in 2003. In 2012 there were forty-five members serving in five different cities across North America, with a number of priests participating in mission and evangelization trips around the world.

This thesis examines how lay people are to be developed into leaders in the specific context of CC parishes, emerging from the vision, constitutions and rules by which the Companions of the Cross are called to live. Similar to the panegyric style of the Council documents, the Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross outline the CC identity and vision as well as responsibilities of the members. Their vision for ministry and life together is found in the introductory paragraphs:

The foundation of their ‘vision’ can be delineated as participation in the renewal of the Church through an effective evangelization founded on looking to the Cross—the power and wisdom of God. Concretely this entails: (1) trusting in the Lord and giving him permission to move as he pleases; seeking his wisdom, his ‘now’ word, and waiting upon it, with proper discernment, not making any major moves without it; (2) profound openness to the Holy Spirit, the power of God, and the various ministry gifts through which the Church is empowered; a strong conviction that God desires to touch and inflame the lives of all his people; (3) the renewal of the Church through the renewal of the person. Personal conversion, discipleship, empowerment, and ‘calling forth’ of individuals to ministry comprise the chief strategy for renewal. Social and institutional changes will flow more easily from a renewed people. Personal conversion is the necessary first step.49

This seeking of God’s wisdom can be compared to the reading of the signs of the times, which is encouraged in the Council documents. The language of discipleship, empowerment, and calling forth of gifts can be compared to the invitation in

49 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross (Ottawa: Companions of the Cross, 2003), iii.

67 Apostolicam Actuositatem to form the laity in the apostolate and call forth their gifts.

The introduction goes on to highlight how the Companions of the Cross are to live out their apostolate:

A fully Catholic spirituality imbued with an evangelical heart and Pentecostal fire; surrender to the Lordship of Jesus; adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; ministry gifts of the Holy Spirit; evangelization; consecration to Jesus through Mary; fidelity to the Magisterium; simplicity of lifestyle; some form of community; concern for the poor; ministry and hospitality to priests and seminarians.50

Overarching this call to renewal and community life is the core focus on evangelization. Along with the many good things accomplished through community life and ministry the CC priest must never lose sight of it as the soul of all endeavors:

We must organize for justice…we must labour for peace. We must reach out and serve all those in need- the hungry, the lonely, the alienated, the sick, the imprisoned, the abandoned the despairing the addicted…. But while all these are imperative to our mission from the Lord, one ministry stands first, head and shoulders above the rest: evangelization.51

Constitutions C40 and C41 express the call to evangelize and the necessity that any work must be “coloured with the proclamation of the kerygma.” While this is an expression of the priest’s ministerial role, what is to be the laity’s role can also be seen in this plan. The constitutions do recognize the varied ways in which these apostolates are carried out, in a spirit of cooperation between laity and clergy, as suggested by Actuositatem Apostolicam.

If conversion through evangelistic outreach, discipleship, empowerment and

50 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross , iv.

51 Robert Bedard, Evangelization: A Challenge for the Catholic World (Goleta, CA: Queenship Publishing, 1993), 4.

68 calling forth of individuals to ministry constitute the chief strategies for renewal,

God’s wisdom refers to the Holy Spirit’s work of guiding the priest and lay leader in accomplishing this task. Fr. Bob spent much of his time speaking of a total reliance on God’s wisdom,52 working not simply through personal skills or their own strength (Cf. 1 Cor. 1:27) but also and especially through the act of giving God permission in the priest’s own life and asking parishioners to do the same. This has become the model for all the brothers of the Community.53

After giving God permission and committing to God’s will before one even knows what it is, the next task is to seek God’s wisdom. God’s wisdom could be defined as his “now word” in one’s personal life, brotherhood, and ministry setting.

This is a key element in Companions of the Cross spirituality and practices. It can also be seen as a fruit of the Council’s commendation to read the signs of the times and act upon them in concrete ways. Fr. Bob in his book We Are Called to be

Companions of the Cross outlines a number of steps to seek God’s wisdom summarized below:54

1. The teaching on wisdom must be understood and believed. That is, just as the Father had particular and specific plans for Jesus, and the apostles of the early Church, there is no reason to believe that he does not have specific and direct plans for us, which he is anxious to share. 2. We have to want to do the Lord’s will, whatever it is. The ability to hear from God, and catch his now word is directly linked to our willingness to do whatever God asks. Fr. Bob was fond of reminding anyone who would listen that he had told

52 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross, C21.

53 Ibid., C23.

54 Bob Bedard, We are called to be Companions of the Cross (Goleta, CA: Queenship Publishing, 1994), 48-53.

69 the Lord time and again, “Lord, if you want me to push peanuts down the main street of Ottawa with my nose I’ll do it.” The Lord never put him to the test, yet it was that willingness that frees the individual Christian to do God’s will. 3. If we want to be given God’s wisdom we must ask for it. James tells us “If you want wisdom, ask for it.” (Jms 1:4). We must be like the persistent widow, demanding God’s assistance through constant petition. 4. His wisdom can come to us most easily in the context of committed relationships. Fr. Bob insists, “I cannot assume with confidence that I have heard the Lord correctly until it is discerned for me by those to whom I have committed myself.”55 If we are not in any kind of committed relationships such as marriage, or spiritually accountable friendships we are to pray, and ask God to put those people in our lives. 5. Wait upon the Lord. This is more a skill to be developed than a spiritual gift. While waiting, we still go about the work we already know God has called us to. As we “leave it to the Lord and wait for him” (PS 37:7) he will in time make his plans known. 6. If something seems like a legitimate word from the Lord, and we’ve discerned it in relationship with others we must act on it. Then, “If God blesses it, we will conclude that we have got hold of a genuine direction from him.”56 As we walk through these steps as a normal process for seeking God’s will, we will grow in confidence.

This top-down approach of sensing that one has a direct line from God, is tempered by C25, which clarifies that God’s general wisdom is mediated to us by the entire Church. While it goes on to express the need to be loyal to the Church’s official teachings, the Magisterium, this can also be applied to Church as the people of God, described in Lumen Gentium. Read in this light, the Companions of the Cross in their ministry should be expecting, and even forming structures in their parishes, to encounter God’s wisdom communicated to them through members of the Parish whom they serve. In this case, the sensus fidei must also be appreciated. This appreciation of the laity’s role will of course require members of the parish to be formed in understanding their duties and responsibilities more clearly. They are

55 Bedard, We are called to be Companions of the Cross, 52.

56 Ibid., 53.

70 tasked with discerning God’s wisdom for themselves, their families, and their parish.

Two other key strategies promoted by the Companions of the Cross are discipleship and the discernment of spiritual gifts. As parishioners experience conversion through evangelization and begin to be in touch with God’s wisdom and guidance in their lives, the steps of discipleship continue to help form their lives according to God’s plans, whether mediated through the general wisdom of the

Church, as mentioned above, or the particular call God places on their lives. In the midst of this, it is the CC pastor’s role to “ be faithful to the wisdom of the Church throughout the ages, and, at the same time, to embrace the freedom of the Spirit in living out our mission.”57 Forms of discipleship in the parish setting have often incorporated both teaching and evangelization. Programs such as the Life in the

Spirit Seminar and Alpha do the work of calling to conversion and discipleship. More formal courses on topics such as Church history, the liturgy, prayer, and the spiritual life can help parishioners grow as disciples, but they can also lead to spiritual consumerism. The consumerist parishioner wants more and more courses, which will certainly help her grow in knowledge, but also to be comfortably “entertained”.

More opportunities must be discovered in hands-on discipleship, participatory models of adult learning, and activities outside the Church walls to enable a discipleship that calls laity to action. The CC pastor must be faithful to the Council’s invitation in Apostolicam Actuositatem to “ focus their attention on the formation of the laity for the apostolate in their teaching, their ministry of the word, their

57 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross, C51.

71 direction of souls, and in their other pastoral services.”58

The Companions of the Cross must realize the words of Vatican II regarding the laity: “Their activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness.”59 C34 asserts that it is through the parish that the Companions of the Cross will fulfill their mission, and direct cooperation will be key. Whether it is in the discernment of the signs of the times with the laity’s help, in the Eucharistic experience, or in discovering spiritual gifts within the body, the laity must be fully involved. R51.6 states, “We desire to be united with lay people in fulfilling the mission of the

Church. We wish to affirm the importance of their baptismal call and to promote their gifts for the apostolate.”60

One way that this can be developed more effectively is through the clergy’s continued learning. Vatican II affirmed the use of social sciences and other modern approaches so long as they are viewed in the context of the Church’s teaching. CC pastors should not see this as something periphery to their tasks but a clear sign that they are living out the teaching of the Council and the Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross which state: “C76 At every age and in all conditions of life, members in permanent commitment strive to apply themselves to their ongoing formation. C77 The General Superior, in consultation with his Council and the Director of Formation, is to ensure the ongoing formation of all Society

58 Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, par. 30.

59 Ibid., par. 10.

60 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross, C56.

72 members.”61

If a priest is to help lay leaders identify and develop the gifts of leadership in the sphere of ministry or apostolate, they must be adequately prepared themselves. To discover how this can be done the next chapters will outline the experiences of priests and laity involved in leadership, including the blessings and crosses that accompany them. The final Companions of the

Cross Constitution C152 simply states, “Accipimus Crucem! Deo Gratias!” (Let us accept the Cross! Thanks be to God!). Parish priests will more easily be able to accept the cross of leadership when they discover and develop lay people willing to shoulder it with them.

61 Companions of the Cross, Constitutions and Rules of the Companions of the Cross, C76, C77.

73

Chapter 3 Methodology

The goal of this thesis is to identify the key elements needed to develop lay leaders in the Companions of the Cross parish context. To do this it was necessary to gather data regarding the lived experience of laity in roles of leadership within CC parishes, including their hopes, expectations, and felt needs regarding how they could be developed as leaders. From the perspective of CC clergy it was necessary to understand their experiences and expectations, specifically regarding what lay leadership would mean in the particular context of CC parishes. A phenomenological qualitative approach of gathering data through focus group interviews was used to identify those elements. This chapter will explain how the research was approached, the reasons for using that particular method, and how it was conducted, recorded, and analyzed.

Using a qualitative research approach, data were gathered through laity and clergy focus groups. A qualitative approach was chosen for this research as it was most important to identify not only the outcomes desired by participants in the study but their lived experiences of leadership within the CC parish context. This would be most easily identified through the qualitative approach. Michael Quinn

Patton in Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods notes that qualitative research

74 can consist of in- depth interviews, direct observation, and written documents.1 My research relied on in-depth interviews carried out in the context of focus groups.

One of the benefits of qualitative design is that it is naturalistic, that is, “ the research takes place in real world settings and the researcher does not attempt to manipulate the phenomenon of interest.” 2 In the case of gathering people’s insights and experiences, “ people are interviewed with open-ended questions in places and under conditions that are comfortable for and familiar to them.”3 Miller and Glasner note three benefits of interviews: “ Qualitative interviewing produces accounts that offer researchers a means of examining intertwined sets of findings: evidence of the nature of the phenomenon under investigation, including the contexts and situations in which it emerges, as well as insights into the cultural frames people use to make sense of these experiences.”4 In the case of developing lay leaders, my research produced evidence of the nature of the phenomenon of lay leadership, contexts and situations where it emerged, and insight into how laity and clergy made sense of these experiences from their own unique social worlds.

In these interviews the researcher is not simply a data recorder but through effective listening helps those being interviewed find their voice. Miller and Glasner, acknowledge that this can have an effect on the stories and narratives shared by those being interviewed: “ Yet, rather than argue that this creates “bias” or makes

1 Michael Quinn Paton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 3rd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002), 39.

2 Ibid., 39.

3 Ibid., 39.

4 Jody Miller and Barry Glassner, “The “Inside” and the “Outside”: Finding Realities in Interviews.” in Qualitative Research, 3rd ed. ( Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2011), 145.

75 the data of limited utility we suggest that attention to how our social positioning affects the interview exchange offers an important site for social inquiry.”5 In the case of my research, I had a particularly close and high-trust relationship with all the clergy interviewed and most of the laity, and this created a natural rapport. A second positive aspect of the relationship is that I was aware of many of the contexts that clergy and laity were discussing and could encourage them to describe different aspects in more depth. One negative aspect was the potential that those being interviewed might withhold information because of personal history or embarrassment over a situation I was directly involved in. In the end, the positive aspects of close relationships and accessibility made this approach worthwhile.

While quantitative research tests hypotheses and expresses results in terms of statistical terminologies, qualitative research is more focused on illuminating an already occurring phenomenon. Since the focus of study was to bring to light elements of lay leadership already being experienced in CC parishes, a qualitative method was chosen. In particular, focus groups were identified as the best way to draw out honest accounts of experiences and insights from participants.

In the last thirty years focus groups have expanded beyond simply being a market research tool and are seen as an excellent way to gather field data in the area of social science. Focus groups involve gathering a group of people around a focused set of questions. The researcher moderates the discussion, enables interaction, and keeps the group focused on the area of investigation. Participants are encouraged to build upon each other’s answers, express similar or opposing

5 Miller and Glassner, “The “Inside” and the “Outside”: Finding Realities in Interviews.”, 136.

76 points of view, and even adjust their answers in light of what other participants have shared. Sue Wilkinson notes, “This interaction between research participants – and the potential analytical use of such interaction – has been described as the

‘hallmark’ of focus group research.”6

In comparison to setting up a number of one-to-one interviews, focus groups place the participants in a natural, comfortable setting. Focus groups allow participants to build upon the answers of other group members. They can elaborate on concerns and issues brought forth by members, and as in the case with some of the focus groups in this study, build on the relationships and understanding the participants have of one another. In a number of situations during clergy focus groups the participants would draw one another out, encouraging them to share a story, insight or anecdote. The discussions can jog the other’s memories either directly or indirectly.

Wilkinson notes that the focus group gives the researcher the opportunity to hear the voice of participants as they interact with each other. This vernacular language is used when people feel safe and in their own environment. Clergy for instance may use guarded or politically correct language when speaking to their parishioners or in a situation where they know they will be quoted afterwards. By giving them a safe environment, interacting with their co-workers, a more honest and forthright picture of their daily experiences and concerns can emerge.

6 Sue Wilkinson, “Analyzing Focus Group Data” in Qualitative Research, 3rd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2011), 169.

77 Six focus groups were held in three different cities where the Companions of the Cross serve in parish ministry. These cities: Ottawa, Halifax, and Houston represent a cross-section of the contexts in which parishioners are served. In

Halifax, the Companions of the Cross parishes are in both suburban and rural settings. In Ottawa, priests serve in both an urban and suburban setting. Houston priests serve parishes in urban inner-city setting, serving both the Spanish and

English speaking population. Priests in these three focus groups have also had experience in the other cities that the Companions of the Cross serve which were not involved in focus groups, namely Toronto and Detroit.

The focus groups followed a format of seeking out a phenomenological line of inquiry. That is, to answer the question, “What is the phenomenon of leadership, and how have I experienced it?” Participants were encouraged to share from their own real-life experiences. They were reassured of there being no such thing as a wrong answer, and to not worry if they shared an experience that seemed contrary to another one of the participants. In fact, a benefit of qualitative research of this kind is to identify and confirm a full variety of experiences, as well as the dynamic tension existing between different points of view.

Before recruiting participants in the study, approval was received from the

Acadia University Research Ethics Board. Permission was received to proceed with the study after an outline was developed and later presented to potential participants. Study participants received a copy of the research summary, which explained the purpose, methodology, and expectations, and requirements of the study director and research participants. Those who agreed to the study signed a

78 document of informed consent, with an explanation of their rights and duties as study participants.

Planning and conceptualizing of the focus groups followed the guidelines for focus groups by Richard A. Krueger.7 These steps involve planning, recruiting, moderating, analysis, and addressing financial costs.

Participants were recruited in two groups. Clergy were invited through an email sent to all the priests who had pastored CC parishes, past or present, and currently lived in one of the three cities where the focus groups were being conducted. Between the three clergy focus groups, of the twenty-three priests invited, fifteen priests and one seminarian intern participated.

In the focus groups for laity, specific parishioners were targeted who were active members of CC parishes. Lay people were invited by asking pastors in the three cities to personally invite, or refer names of those they believed could communicate well and had experience in parish life. In the three laity groups approximately thirty people were invited and twenty people participated. About twenty percent of the lay participants had worked as paid staff in CC parishes. As the Companions of the Cross have served in some parishes longer than others there was a full spectrum of laity who had been involved with and interacted with CC clergy for a variety of lengths of time. Some laity had been in a CC parish for only a few months and others for over twenty-five years. The lay people chosen represented a range of socio-economic backgrounds, were made up of

7 Richard Krueger, “Planning Guide for Focus Groups” http://www.tc.umn.edu/~rkrueger/focus_planning.html (accessed January 13, 2012).

79 approximately 65% women participants, and ranged in ages from early twenties to early seventies, with the majority of them being between the ages of forty-five to sixty-five. The age and gender ratio was reflective of those in CC parishes taking on roles of active leadership.

The focus groups were conducted in a private setting, ranging in group size from five to twelve people. As the participants arrived they were invited to review and sign consent forms if they had not already done so. To begin, the theme of the study was introduced, and it was explained that they had been invited because they were either CC clergy, or as lay people had been involved in a CC parish in the past, or currently.

In the introduction and throughout the focus groups participants were reminded that their own concrete experiences of what had happened to them in the past would be more fruitful and helpful than theoretical or hypothetical posturing.

It was also clarified that while some lay leadership experiences might involve paid staff, I would be guiding the discussion towards lay leadership in the context of unpaid volunteers and not laity in paid staff positions.

Questions for the focus groups were arranged to flow as a natural conversation might. Five extended rounds of questions moved from questions about leadership in general to more specific CC clergy and laity related issues.

The first round addressed leadership in general, regarding their definition of a leader, and the qualities they look for or have experienced in leaders they have encountered. The second round addressed experiences of CC clergy in leadership, negative and positive, and their experiences and understanding of shared leadership

80 within the parish. Lay leadership was addressed in the third round of questions, prompting laity to share their own experiences of being in positions of leadership or being led by another lay person and where they saw lay people thrive or fail in those roles and the elements that influenced those situations. Also, they were asked what could be done to help laity to accept the leadership of other lay leaders. The fourth round dealt with the more specific key elements clergy and lay people were looking for in any kind of lay leadership development program. Laity were invited to share their experiences of being developed as a lay leader in the Church and the amount of support they experienced by clergy in those moments. Finally in the fifth round of questions participants were asked, beyond specific teaching elements of a leadership program, what other things should be kept in mind in regard to timing, resources, and structure of any lay leadership program which might be developed.

A wrap-up question at the end asked them, in light of all that they had shared, heard and discussed through the two hour session, what was the most important thing to keep in mind regarding the theme of developing lay leaders in the CC parish context.

In all of the focus groups clergy and laity expressed a genuine willingness and openness to answering the questions. As one person answered questions, others would add to the discussion, providing more examples or insights which highlighted or sometimes contradicted another’s answer. Laity and clergy alike expressed gratitude at the opportunity to share their thoughts, experiences, and insights.

After all the focus groups had been completed, recordings were transcribed and the data was first sorted and analyzed using a computer software program.

Through this process themes in the research emerged and the connection between

81 these different themes were reflected on. Two underlying foundations, which will be discussed in the following chapter, were the centrality of an evangelistic encounter with Christ and the need to develop trusting relationships. Five elements that built upon that foundation were catching, living, sharing, empowering, and guiding the vision which God entrusts to the parish leader. A diagram was developed to describe these elements and their relationship to one another.

In presenting the data in the following chapter, I decided that rather than restrictively aligning them into the themes and elements described above, to keep more in line with the phenomenological approach of letting the experiences speak for themselves, key quotes would be presented in the order that questions were asked of laity and clergy.

82

Chapter 4 Research Findings

To identify clearly the key elements necessary to develop lay leaders within CC parishes, clergy and laity were gathered in focus groups. This phenomenological approach focuses on the lived experience of both priests and laity in Companions of the Cross parishes. Through the six focus groups patterns of thought emerged. This chapter highlights these experiences.

Questions proceeded from general to specific. While five to six general rounds of questions were presented, sometimes with different follow-ups, they have been consolidated into four levels of questions in this chapter. In some groups there were follow up questions asked in different ways, building on the responses of the participants. At times, names have been omitted out of respect for anonymity, or priest’s names sometimes simply listed as “Father” when they may have been named directly by participants. Some grammar and sentence structure was edited after transcription to help with ease of reading. A summary of answers is listed after the questions, followed by representative answers left in block quotation format.

Question 1. In general, could you share your understanding of what leadership means to you?

Laity: Answers by laity describe the leader as someone who has vision and is able to model, communicate, delegate, and inspire the vision in others. Other leadership characteristics affirmed by the laity were general proficiency, commitment, passion,

83 clear communication, patience, fairness, equality, consistency, dependability, and an ability to accept diversity. Laity responses are listed below:

For me, a leader is someone that really has a vision for change, sees a difficulty, or sees in the larger context something that could be done that would further the Kingdom of God, in a way that no one else has thought of. People just come alongside them because they are excited about that prospect.

My thoughts on leadership are that the leader should have a vision. When a leader does have a vision he knows where he is going or where he wants to go. Once you’ve got a vision or a plan, the next step I would see is that you gather people who would help you fulfill that vision by establishing goals and objectives. I would stress that when the selection is made they are from a cross section of people with different skills. A leader shouldn’t be afraid of people who have dissenting voices. Once you flesh out that vision with the help of others you set up your goals and objectives.

In a way, a person that’s not afraid to do it themselves, and to model it, being the vision…so they are a living vision themselves.

What they proclaim as their values and their vision, they stick behind those values no matter what the situation, knowing the right path and taking it.

Their actions match their value system.

A leader has to be someone who is capable of delegating and identifying people who would be appropriate to help, and not just delegating, but there is a charitable way of asking for help and even for the people who didn’t realize they could do it or never thought of stepping up.

Make you want to follow them and inspire you to lead.

To me it’s very important that a leader is also a good listener, that he listens to what each one has to say. Sometimes what a person says is not necessarily what they mean but to be able to see beyond the words in that sense... The other aspect is that he also follows through on whatever has been listened to. That he draws his conclusions based on what everybody says.

Leaders are individuals who can really understand the challenge aspect of growth in someone’s spiritual life and identifying where they are, and not leaving them there so that they become exceptional with what they are gifted.

84 I think that a good leader in a parish setting is a person of prayer and is someone who could draw out the best qualities of someone else, and make that person feel that they are a truly gifted child of God and their qualities and gifts are needed in the parish or the community setting or for someone else.

That they are a good mentor, that they’re pastoral, that they are open and discerning.

To me a leader is a visionary. Someone that can lead us into furthering ourselves and furthering the Kingdom of God in the larger context. In the parish context though I think that a leader is someone who is gifted to undertake a particular ministry so that’s quite different than the broader context. Someone that can see the potential giftedness in others can draw them forward can help form new leaders. In the church context, that leader is prayerful and seeks personal holiness through that prayerful sacrifice.

Clergy: Answers by clergy identified many of the same characteristics highlighted by laity as well as the leader’s ability to recognize needs and challenges, identifying the gifts and talents of those around them, and having self-awareness. As priests, they also noted their own leadership role as being relational and not simply a function.

Their answers are listed below:

The capacity to recognize a need and then put into place some sort of action or movement to answer that. Both the recognition of what has to be done and then to get it done. Preferably as a team, not just individually but to bring other people on to task…keep them focused, keep them motivated and eventually get there.

As a leader, you are the one that’s guiding that discernment process.

For me it would be to articulate the vision or what other people are saying. So it’s drawing or catching what’s going on. Father Bob’s catching the word…what God is doing.

In that sense, a leader not only knows where they are going and how to get there …but also as others gather around motivating them, challenging them, affirming them, critiquing them if need be.

85 One of the responsibilities of a good leader especially as a pastor is to identify gifts in people in drawing them out and encouraging them to use those gifts, calling them forth into ministry.

All parishes are a little different from one another and I think unique, and I think there’s a uniqueness about this particular body of people called together to worship and serve God, so there’s a process with the people of discerning what our particular mission is.

Initiative and the ability to know how, but also to get the job done. A good leader is someone who when you give them something, they get the job done. They’re not just all excited, but can combine vision with practical abilities.

Sometimes I have the vision to start something and then give it to somebody. I think I’m done when I give it to somebody but I have to make sure they have everything they need to be able to finish it too.

I think a leader is someone who knows who they are, has a good self-awareness. A great leader is someone who works within their talents and gifts and doesn’t try to be someone else. They are working within what God has given them.

I think in the Catholic Church the priest, as leader is categorically different than typical leadership. We’re a father before we’re a leader. It’s leading through fatherhood. Fatherhood is more about presence than provision.

Laity Question 2. Describe your experience of Companions of the Cross leadership, positive and negative.

Answers were extremely positive from laity. Characteristics that were shared regarding the style of the Companions of the Cross priests included joy, humility, humour, calmness, gentleness and support. Some were challenged at times by clergy transitions, the slow response to challenges, sometimes feeling that there was not a clear direction in pastoral planning. Laity were also able to identify distinctive aspects of CC spirituality and leadership style, such as the focus on evangelization, the need for prayer and discernment, the importance of building trust in

86 relationships, why it is important to identify the gifts in lay leaders and the need for mentoring and guidance. Laity answers are listed below:

When CC’s came, there was initially nothing here. They started with relationships. Getting to know people, but also with evangelizing from the pulpit. With me, stepping back into church, hearing the priest say something that touched my heart. It was the initial evangelization that inspired me to get involved in the different courses and events they offered.

They were able to help us to develop and grow in our faith, recognizing the gifts and talents within us. They saw characteristics in us that we didn’t even know we had ourselves.

(Regarding being identified as a leader) We ask ourselves, ‘why did he send us’ and now we look back and say to each other, ‘that’s the best thing that happened to us, because now I have a relationship with God, that I didn’t have back then. That day I stepped up and said, ‘God use me.’

Being a young participant and becoming a leader, I believe the CC’s have nurtured me and guided me through words of wisdom in their homilies helping me to grow in my faith, and helping me to grow into the adult I am now.

It was just so amazing. The support and strength that I felt having him there, I knew it was going to be okay. I had no experience in it. On a personal level, I really experienced that leadership without taking over and doing things for us.

(Regarding a leadership transition) It was gentle, and it had strength and it had a direction that we could all, all of a sudden cling to. We thought, we’re okay we’re not drowning here. It wasn’t ‘okay, we’re going to take over now and it’s going to be this way from now on’. It was so gentle and therefore I think the parish has survived because of that quality of leadership.

The Lord has given them a particular gift in their anointing I just kind of admire that they don’t just run willy nilly when you say something or they get your opinion and they don’t have to react. There are various levels of that too. It’s that feeling of going away and feeling that you’ve been heard and they are in discernment.

(Regarding Fr. Bob) My experience or my thoughts up until then had been the priest, what he says he’s just dictating from up there and we just do whatever he tells us to do. I had no real concept in what it means to be in lay ministry. But the Companions taught me that. This is what it means to co-operate, let’s work together. We can’t do it all. We need lay people to help us bring the Kingdom forward. That was a real education for me.

87 When my husband and I were first married in the early years there was a priest at St. Mary’s that was an associate but he recognized gifts in us that we didn’t even recognize in ourselves. He started to tap them and call them forward. He would say ‘work with me and I think that you can come alongside’ like young adult ministry… he even recognized that we had a special call with that age group and he was right. So we were able to start to realize some of the gifts that God had put in us. Had Father not tapped that in us, we might have been very reticent in coming forward and offering our services.

The frustrating part that I find is that they go into this discernment mode, and it seems forever before action is taken and I’m kind of ‘let’s just do it!’ If it goes wrong, we’ll just try something else. I guess it’s teaching me to be more discerning. It’s good, at least in the way that when you do move, it’s in the direction that the Spirit is guiding you and not somebody else’s idea. It takes time to do it, but in the end it probably takes less time because you’re not redoing.

While that really can drive people crazy at some point, I think in the end you are saving time, and anguish, and frustration. It really is hard to develop that virtue of patience on the front end of things…I think there is nothing better than clarity in the church. That is a prime quality that you need to have. Bringing that into focus. Now you’ve put into order why you are doing things. It’s not upside down.

We’ve lived the opposite too at some point in the early days at St. Mary’s when someone would approach the pastor and say, we’re thinking of doing this, and the pastor would say okay go ahead, and another idea, go ahead. We’ve seen disasters happen because of that. So we’ve seen when it was not discerned or thought through. His theory was if it wasn’t from the Lord, it would fall. It was…. and it did…but it was a year, two years, ten years later. When you get into people it’s ugly…messy. I would rather go the route of waiting.

The other part of not so good experiences is this lack of continuity. You have a vision and you have a plan, and then subsequent pastors come in and they don’t understand fully what the thing is that should be followed, and as a layperson it feels very frustrating. You have a plan and you have things going and then it’s derailed…a change of pastors, and then a whole new vision. It’s hard to get re- focused in half a dozen new directions

He made me a better leader and he believed in me more than I believed in myself. He was excited, he knew me personally, and he also called me forth to a greater vision and it wasn’t just about me.

88 I think it also is as a lay person taking on things it’s a trust thing. With Father saying basically this is your baby and I trust that you’re going to do what’s best and if you have any questions come to me, handing over that responsibility to me… I felt through his leadership that he handed that to me with trust and therefore I felt very willing to make decisions on my own which I may have been a little more uncomfortable with if I didn’t feel like he trusted my decisions.

There’s that guidance but there’s always that trust that I can make those decisions and lead the program…I could veer from it slightly to make it bloom into something that might be exciting for me and for the kids. So just knowing that if I made a step forward that I wouldn’t be reprimanded, I had that trust.

Leadership over the years for me and if we put it in the context of the Church is knowing that people have the faith in what you are doing and are not going to micromanage it… We’re all adults, we’ve come from different backgrounds but we have our own experiences. If you bring that to a Church situation the leadership has to go with ‘it’s yours’ in a sense…there’s trust there, an element of trust that works.

That kind of vibrant leadership begetting more leadership is something I’ve seen a lot. In my experience, many people in a parish who end up very active in doing leadership roles did not volunteer for that initially. It was something in them that was seen. A suggestion or offer was made. It’s not that people aren’t capable. Especially in a parish that functions really well. You assume there are people who do things, that it runs, and you don’t want to upset the apple cart. So it’s not until you’re asked to do something…even Christ said to the apostles, come follow me. They could have just watched him walk by and said, ‘There’s a cool dude’. The invitation. Inheriting leadership is being able to invite.

I think there are a lot of people who are just afraid…but when a pastor says ‘why don’t you look into this’ or ‘come forward and help us with this’ there is a feeling of respect and value and being invited. For me it has to be personal. If it’s in the bulletin and says we’re looking for leaders, no.

My biggest thing that I see is that it has to be personalized. A leader will personalize something…. Then you’ve connected with people and there’s a sense of we could do this together.

But it’s also important because they care about you and they want you to do well. When it comes to correction or if you need to be directed in a different way, it can happen in a nonjudgmental way because they have that connection with you…that caring.

As a follow-up question, laity was also invited to share their thoughts about shared leadership between them and CC clergy. They commented on the power of the

89 priest’s presence, the importance of defining roles, and open communication being the key to success:

When I think of situations like Alpha and RCIA, whenever we’ve had clergy come and sit in one of the groups people really feel that the leaders care about the program. It’s a presence. They don’t have to be directly involved in every group. Just the fact that they are partaking gives it value…I hear the parents say, “Father stopped in and said hello”. It could be for only three seconds that he popped into those classes and people feel like, “oh they care”…there is a connectedness. It doesn’t have to be that they’re running it or they have to be there all the time, but they care.

You have involved lay people but you have been hands on. That’s the first time I’ve seen that and it’s my understanding is that’s what goes on with the Companions of the Cross itself.

I think the roles need to be clear in shared leadership. Then it can work very well and when the roles aren’t defined that’s where it gets sticky. In RCIA I know my role is to facilitate the program but if there are any pastoral decisions then I sit down with Father and he tells me what he’s thinking and I tell him what I’m thinking. I know ultimately that his say is the ultimate say and I’m happy for that because it takes off some of the responsibility…I think that’s part of getting it clear up front as a leader is to say this is the role that I either have or I think I have or the role I want you to have.

I think understanding what your gifts are and then recognizing the things you are not so strong in and then recognizing in other people who maybe share that vision, the strength of what they will bring and between the two or three or four of you will make up a compliment of and then being able to step back and letting those people bring in their gifts.

It takes humility too also on our part to do what we’re not so good at and to be willing to see that in someone and bring that in. And the open communication back and forth, and sharing the same vision… So much like parenting, once you make that decision that you’ve got each other’s back no matter what.

Clergy Question 2. Describe your experiences of Leadership in the Companions of the Cross.

In their answers regarding the leadership style of Companions of the Cross, clergy shared about the influence of Fr. Bob Bedard and his modeling of leadership. They also described the importance of building trusting relationships, putting important

90 structures in place, and setting clear expectations. Mentoring was acknowledged as an important element in leadership, but limited time for this always makes it a challenge. Clergy answers are listed below:

(Regarding Fr. Bob) There are two sides of it. One is how he personally exercised his own leadership and then how he taught us spiritually about what leadership needed to be as pastors. So first of all, his own gifts, number one was that he inspired people. He affirmed people, great power of affirmation and that just drew people to him so people were inspired and felt affirmed. And then he had a great gift of delegating and empowering them to do it. His theology or the spirituality that he taught us, the whole thing of leadership that first and foremost Jesus is the pastor so you have to surrender and give the Lord permission to do what he wants to do…don’t presume you know what has to happen. Don’t presume at all. He came into St. Mary’s and it was the right place to be and the Lord said ‘give me permission’. You really don’t presume on what the vision is. Give the Lord permission. And then wait upon the Lord. It’s a skill not a gift…you have to learn to wait and be patient. Don’t be too keen to start a program right away. Seeing what the Father is doing, keep your eyes open and do the normal stuff in terms of visioning while you are waiting. Wait and see something that God is initiating. Then when you see it support it and get behind with the human resources as best you can. That’s the spiritual principle there.

His main gift was inspiring. It was a natural thing. He didn’t have to work at it. He exuded that enthusiasm. People are hungry for renewal work.

Father Bob was just so good at investing in people. He was so aware of the people the Lord had put in his sheepfold. The people the Lord had brought within his view. He would go out of his way to get to know their name and invest in them. It wasn’t just something he was putting on. He truly cared. He wanted to get to know them and you feel loved by him. Again, it just goes back to that personal investment. Meeting people where they’re at, and really being Christ to people, showing you care, showing love. It can free people from some of the brokenness that they’re in and allow them to rise up and be called who they’re called to be.

(Regarding one pastor’s approach) Father says ‘here’s five things that we need to do this year, but this is the most important...this is where we’re going and this is how we’re going to get there.’ And so people follow because it’s clear and concise. He has more of that kind of leadership. I definitely trust where he’s going because he can explain it. A leader inspires quiet confidence. He doesn’t have to be some sort of snake oil salesman, but he’s able to speak in a way that inspires confidence in people and excitement.

91 I was four years under Father at St. Mary’s. I just learned a ton of stuff by osmosis. We would meet once a week together. Some of it was business and some was specific mentoring. He was teaching himself how to do stuff and what I learned from him was invaluable. He took the time.

(Regarding important tactics) The first is friendship…you get to know and like people for themselves. Not for whatever purpose you might have for them or for whatever function they might perform but to get to know people. Then you pray about it and then you tell them the story and then you do the discipling. And in telling the story, I just think of our own staff. Something that we initiated last year was we got to know them. We got to spend time with them. We did personal check- ins with them; we listened to their story. We listened to the story of the parish. They were our ears and eyes. Eventually Father gave them all a book, Father Bob’s book. Let’s just see what happens here. Tell the story. This is the vision. They ate it up. They resonated well with that. Then, it’s like all of the sudden, rather than trying to push a rock up a hill, you’re in a position that these people are looking for more…. On their own initiative they found that study guide, they organized the people and got them together. Now twenty-five people are doing that. This is the fruit now. We see it. I don’t think I would have even thought of that let alone hearing that it’s already going on and successful. These are the things that are very positive.

And I think that’s one of the things, even when I spoke to the lay people in Ottawa that what energizes them is that there’s a trust level with us. There could be thirty CC priests but they know that they’re pretty sure how this guy isn’t going to be, they don’t have to have their guard up.

Level of awareness…I have seen very talented people that have obvious gifts. And in some ways it gets almost overshadowed because they don’t know how or where to apply them. It becomes almost destructive and at times hurtful. They have this incredible talent but they don’t see their situational role in how to use that. When is it time to back off and let somebody else take the forefront or develop other people? Just the awareness of what’s the bigger picture here in the household, what’s the bigger picture in the parish or the church. When you see it, combined with leadership, it’s a real gift because going back to leaders should recognize what needs to be done. We all have blind spots but by and large get awareness. What’s that next good step? Who am I dealing with now? What am I doing?

92 All I ever heard was pastoral councils, none of our guys could get their heads around it, what’s it supposed to be like.… The way it’s developed now, our whole meeting is we praise and worship, listening time, and then we go around the circle and everyone shares their sense right now from their own spirit or what they’ve been hearing in the parish feedback about where we’re at as a parish and what we need to be doing. In other words, a vision and feedback assessment. The whole thing of discernment. It’s done in a very general way. We go around the circle and sharing positively…where do you see the Lord working and what do we need to address. And we just go around the circle that way and everyone shares, including myself as the pastor what I sense the Lord is saying and what I sense the Lord is doing. … So you hear and get feedback from different people, sense what the Lord is saying and we just basically share that in the last section. If we have time, we do some intercession. That’s it.

Last week we went over the Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Did the interview just kind of trying to see what are her spiritual gifts, what kind of excites you, what drives you, what gives you energy. And kind of using that with maybe their natural gifts or natural desire to lead a group within the church.

Start with her as a person and disciple her and let that lead to where she is best suited as opposed to slotting her into my vision. I think it’s more organic. Develop the person. Find out who they’re really about. Now we’ve got her doing what she really likes which is catechesis. She still has amazing administrative skills but now they’re being used.… She just can’t help but organize things and structure them. But she’s doing it in a place where she feels it much more edifying and life giving. Now we’ve got someone who’s wound up, on fire, and quite confident.

For me one of the most positive things or great joys is when I find a good leader, someone I can work with, that’s like gold. They can just run with it, and I can support them. But finding those leaders is hard. When I don’t have somebody in a certain position, sometimes it feels like I’m hooked up to a vacuum cleaner. It is just so time consuming to form or mentor someone. That for me is very draining. For me it’s all about finding the key leaders especially people who aren’t already in leadership positions. I love finding someone who is new and competent.

The first thing that comes to mind is this fine line between empowering someone but also following through and seeing how they’re doing. I find that in my own experience sometimes, in some cases, that people are in it for at times mixed motives and some people actually may use that spin on the negative side. They may want to get a special relationship with the pastor. That I find, as soon as that’s going on, that has to be checked. I find that comes up time and time again…lengthy emails that are sent back to you… quasi- relating about the ministry but at the same time wanting to develop a personal check in with the pastor. I’d say that happens in 15 – 20% of the time.

93 With the sheer amount of volume of responsibility of a pastor, I don’t have the luxury to spend a lot of time mentoring leaders. In other words, my role is more to identify those who have it…those who are competent, who are self-initiating, responsible, and who can get the job done. I don’t have the luxury to develop the leaders. Maybe they can.

I think there’s a balance that needs to be struck. Definitely our main responsibility is to identify the gifts and pick them out. Yes, we’re swamped with so much and we don’t have time to do a whole lot of mentoring, I think it’s a worthwhile investment to spend some time with a smaller group of key leaders where they’re feeling encouraged, affirmed, and supported where you are forming some key leaders so they can go out and inform others. I just remember Isaac did a really great job of that at Queen of Peace, when we were together there, with some of our key leaders on the English side. They all ended up being lay associates. He even directed them because of his spiritual direction course. I look at them today and they are all key leaders in the parish. That journey with them made a big difference.

I know looking at my own leadership in that respect, I find that a lot of times especially when you’re leading volunteers, it’s not just a question of initiating the task and saying could you do this and giving it to them. But then to be monitoring it. I find you have to follow up…and give little promptings to make sure it’s getting done. That’s a tactful thing. The one extreme if you don’t do anything, then it doesn’t get done and drags on and on, and if you’re too demanding they can feel too much pressure. You have to be on top of it as a leader.

I’ve had that experience (of mentoring), and I wasn’t even seeing it. In the small Christian communities in our parish, about ten or so, we have leaders meetings, and I’m part of that. I never even saw my role like that, but I’m doing mentoring indirectly. Through my presence, I give a little word, and they are very much looking to me. My whole role is I want to support them in their leadership. In fact, we just had a retreat there. We had 25 of these leaders or potential leaders and it was a tremendous day and my role in a mentoring sense was presence, because the pastoral presence of the pastor being there already says a lot. I also gave a talk and celebrated Mass and led the praise and worship… I was mentoring them and I continue to work with the core group of the small Christian communities and I meet with them on a monthly basis. I guess what I’m doing is mentoring them or supporting them.

94 (Regarding taking over from a diocesan priest) The culture there was one of defer to father. Everything has to be deferred to Father, or in the case of lay leadership or ministry every particular point has to be checked in with Father, permission is asked for when it’s not needed. This cultural deferring to Father, supporting in some sense that clerical mentality that the priest is running everything. Laity say ‘we’re just simply servants…we’re gophers’. I found that particularly frustrating because what happened is that it would impede the initiative of leaders to take charge in their particular domain. It was difficult and very time consuming to get through and work around that kind of mentality.

One of my rules for leaders is never put someone in a position that is angry or passive aggressive, because then you can destroy everything. If you have an angry person or one who is passive aggressive you can kiss any good work goodbye. If someone has a lot of anger…they can still participate in the group but I would never put them as a leader.

Question 3. Can you describe moments where you have seen laity shine in their role of leadership, or times when they have struggled?

Clergy: CC clergy recounted a number of stories where they saw lay leaders flourishing. This happened most often with spiritually mature lay leaders who had strong interpersonal skill. Other factors for success included clearly established expectations and knowledge of their own gifts, strengths and weaknesses. It was also necessary that lay leaders were given the appropriate responsibility in relation to the amount of experience they had. When these elements were not present lay leaders often struggled. Clergy answers are listed below:

95 One of the most memorable experiences that I had was at Our Lady of Perpetual Help where a couple came to me and essentially they were told that their prayer group that they started over ten years ago were asked to leave and would I give them another home, so they came with a small group of 10 or 12 people. I could see that they had gifts and experience in renewal. I essentially delegated them to see what they could do to bring this prayer group into the parish seeing it was just a place where novenas were said. It was an affirming experience in the way they took to that and the way that they were able to delegate within the group. Also, without going overboard, they promoted the prayer group within the parish and it grew very quickly. I enjoyed that I was actually exercising my proper role, which was one of affirming, calling forth those gifts and affirming those gifts but not running it. The burden or organization was lifted off me. The things that they were coming to me were things they were feeling in prayer and asking me to pray about that and to see if it was resonating with me. That was a positive experience. The one thing that I took away was that it was hitting the right balance. We had those meetings whereby we could dialogue in terms of the direction and flow of the meeting without sitting in on the executive of the prayer group. I found that was liberating to me in terms of time and the energy.

I’ve noticed (effective leadership) in the New Life Retreat at St. Mary’s twenty years now. It’s interesting that Malcolm and Natasha started that up under Father. It was coming out of the ‘Cinay’ experience. Through their leadership they took that and they eventually crafted it and turned it into this unique hybrid of Cinay and Life in the Spirit. That showed leadership. The other thing that showed leadership was that they were eventually able to identify someone to come on board and take it over partially. That shows leadership.

I think back when we had the New Life retreats going at Queen of Peace and I worked with the Spanish. We had to identify people and we had one overall coordinator or married couple and we divided up the responsibilities and one person was in charge for a particular area and they were given a very specific job description. You’re responsible for this and you get your own team and you find the people you need for what you need to do for this retreat. Whether it is the kitchen team, or a hospitality team or whatever. But, we also found it important to give them the necessary training so at the beginning we sent them to the Charismatic center to train. Then they came back motivated. I didn’t have a whole lot to do with this, just supporting and affirming and encouraging. It worked out very well, but there was also that foundation of prayer as well seeking the Lord’s wisdom. That was able to bear fruit in the actual retreat itself. It was pretty smooth seeing we have about 100 –150 people attend each of these retreats. You have to have a pretty strong team. We would do this once or twice a year but we would meet for months ahead of time. So the preparation time was also key. There has to be renewal. You can’t always have the same person running the show all the time. You have to have some new blood in there…switch up the roles and responsibilities.

96 I think the key is interpersonal skills. Thinking of our bazaar or spring festival coordinators over the years. They’re the ones that were able to really relate well with others. They would encourage others to come out and collaborate with them. There are those who control to such an extreme that they do everything themselves and then they burn out and nobody wants to work with them.

An effective lay leader has to have the full package…. emotionally mature and spiritually mature with wisdom and pastoral experience. They have to have the whole package. If they are missing one of those elements it’s kind of a rough ride. If they have those things, then it’s a tremendous blessing to see them lead in ministry or plan the English language retreat programs. They know how to meet with the small teams and pray. You come in there and help discern the topic or theme but they’ll run it. They have the skills to know what needs to be done and not pestering you every second.

I meet with my key leaders once a month for ½ hour or an hour. I don’t go to their meetings because I tend to take over... All I do is validate and affirm the good things she is doing. She is the whole package. That for me has been so rewarding. It has been a joy. (How did you identify her as the best leader?) I just got a sense in talking to her. She’s a calm. She’s a quiet leader. She listens to other people. She’s not someone who’s in front all the time. She is good at observation. I was very impressed with her presence so I asked them what their take was on the youth group and their take was very good, and I said that’s the one I want. They’ve done a great job. She has an awesome husband who is very supportive.

(Regarding a lay leader) She had gone through the Spiritual Gifts thing and two of her top gifts were evangelism, teaching and I think encouragement might have been the third one. You kind of go ‘wait a minute, that’s a cream pie for a leader for RCIA!’ So she’s taken over and is very dynamic with those three gifts, especially for serving newbies to the faith. It’s not just a matter of plugging them in but a matter of plugging them into where their gifts are, what excites them and what gives them life. Everything then becomes secondary. The leadership becomes secondary if everything is in place. The elements were in place: she was able to thrive in that setting and she had the opportunity to teach. Evangelism is really about people who aren’t really educated in their faith, people who haven’t really encountered Christ in a classical sense, and are a little bit timid or uncertain. Just to be able to really engage. So, her charisms were being engaged.

97 (Regarding taking small steps) You can’t have leaders unless we can somehow provide an opportunity for them to become a leader. It’s kind of simple again but the other thing to is these holy hours. There are two or three witness talks each time we do it. But just to ask a person, “would you be willing to get up and give a testimony?”, so that’s an opportunity. They might say ‘Well, I’ve never done that before.” Okay, but there’s a first time for everything. Then after they’ve done that you see there is an excitement after they’ve done that and it builds their self- confidence.

(When they’re using their gifts) There’s an excitement in them. You can tell that leadership is working if they’re excited about it. Like they can’t wait to come and tell you. Even with Louise or Olga or Yvonne…just like the fruit…I know it’s not quite about the fruit but it shows that the soil is being tilled if there is fruit.

(For lay leaders to flourish) It comes back to a) the relationship and b) the conversion. I’ve been reading Bob’s little book on evangelization and he talks a lot about that. We’re trying to answer questions that people aren’t asking. That’s the frustrating part. He did that for years. It wasn’t until there was conversion and that’s when people’s lives started to change. That’s what you’re capturing. Arliene herself is going through something of a conversion. She always had some faith but now she’s seeing it in new and different ways and now she’s able to apply that. She’s on cloud nine. And then you have this dynamo, charming, competent woman who’s very capable who is your point person…doesn’t matter where this goes, it’s going to be good.

One of the important things is for them to know that they have the ear of the pastor. If you trust them and say I am here for you, it’s an affirming thing and it makes them know that they are important. Let them know that they have backup. I think too that the pastor that is over them can give them a critique. They can bounce ideas off of the pastor freely and have them bounce them back with ideas saying ‘have you thought about this?’ or ‘have you thought about that?’ I also tell them don’t be afraid to fail. I say Go for it. You’ll see the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from it. A leader can learn from their mistakes. I think giving them a sense of freedom to implement some of their own ideas and not confine them to ‘this is the way I want this done and it has to be done this way’. They might from their experience have discovered something that works a little better but they’re afraid to use it because I told them how to do it and not stray away from it. It gives them a vote of confidence…if you know something better or you know some need that you see in the ministry then go with that. Don’t be restricted to what I am telling you.

98 From my own experience, there seems to be in all ministries a particular level of dysfunction at some level either in the leadership or the participants under the leadership that becomes so dysfunctional that I have to go in and fix this thing, that it becomes counterproductive. I can think of one area with a group of men that who weren’t getting along. The leadership that was elected for this particular group, they were just not able to relate to each other on a human level. It was to the point that I proposed that they needed to be mentored themselves. What I suggested is that for a time they dissolve the group and join another very successful group next door and then after a few years of being mentored to see how the group is run as a fraternal group of men and what fraternity means and then come back and try again. Literally the last day or two they decided they were going to re-organize and not go with that group and re-boot with new leadership. The group to this day is still problematic. For me, very unpleasant, frustrating and confrontational. Those in leadership took their leadership so seriously; everything was so serious, that there was no room for any kind of light heartedness or humour.

I often have people coming to me with a bit more of an agenda: ‘If we just got everyone praying the rosary it’s going to solve all our problems’. Or whatever peoples issues are…I can think of some very painful experiences of people when they are so convicted of the rightness of their cause that they run rough-shod over me and others which is just a complete turnoff. ... That’s poor leadership, they came up and decided they had this cause and when they saw I didn’t support it they just kind of turned on me. They tried to brow beat me into doing what they want. It’s pretty tough… they attempted to do this thing, and it didn’t go very well, and now they need my credibility because they’ve blown theirs. They need me to provide them with authority because they think they lack it themselves, but they don’t lack it so much in the truth of what they’re saying, but in how they relate to people.

(Regarding clarifying expectations) I was using a model of basically showing up at some of the meetings and giving a talk. But a lot of the times I wasn’t there. I came to the year-end meeting and the assistant to the grand knight stood up and chastised me up one side and down the other. They had fully expected that I would be there for every single meeting including the executive meetings and that they were working from a model of ‘Father you’re the leader and we need your participation and your presence here.’ Try as I might, they couldn’t see it.

99 One of the experiences that I’ve had with leadership or with equipping lay leaders is that I would delegate sometimes without authority. I would give someone something to do and they would start doing it, coordinating something or ask people to do this and this and this. Then when the people were resisting they would go over that person’s head and come back to me and then I would relate to those people. In one sense, I somehow gave this assistant layperson of mine something to do but not the power so that the buck stops with him. That was a breakdown on my part. It’s frustrating for them because they don’t feel that they have the mandate from the pastor to really carry it through to the end. We need subsidiarity in our ministry groups. Making sure it’s dealt with on the right level. So if I’ve delegated it to him, he can finish the job.

Sometimes we all bring our own idiosyncrasies to certain things and if left unchecked that can become problematic. One couple was running our Baptismal prep team. They had this weird sort of retreat thing with signs on the lawn and they would show the ultra violet light about the seven major sins…it was like the experience of hell fire. Almost like they were enthusiastic but not realizing they were dealing with people who are not in church. They made it more difficult than it needed to be. The people there literally looked stunned. ... If people’s eyes are glazed over you’ve lost them…to me, that’s a leader who doesn’t understand why they are there. They are trying to take something and paint it rather than actually adapt it to the need that is there.

(When someone is not using their gifts) For me one of the hardest and the most disappointing things is working with someone who thinks they’re a leader. This couple, they are servants. They would die for you. They would do anything for us. He was in ten ministries when I started here. He’s a servant… not a leader. Sometimes people can’t accept that they’re not leaders. Maybe that’s because we always talk about leaders and we don’t talk about servants. Or that a person with a charism of service sees there’s a hole in leadership they want to fill it.

Don’t set term limits to pastoral ministry. What is needed is the ability to communicate to your leaders that you are grooming that they are not trapped in this. I think the term is good because a real leader is trying to work themselves out of a job. The first year they’re getting used to what they are doing. The second year you find someone who is going to help you and you train them. The third year you work together but you slowly move away. The problem is they don’t find anybody to replace them. Developing takes time and effort.

(Regarding using imperfect leaders) We’re a busy parish and we need leaders. Sometimes we need to appoint the best at the time. Sometimes it’s not the best in general. If you look at the early church, St. Paul was a tough guy to work for! He literally burnt out a few assistants. If someone comes to me to complain I try to help him or her see that they are not indispensable. If you think the ministry won’t survive with you, then it might be time to step down. No one is that important.

100

(When a lay leader takes on too much) To me for example having ten ministries I would not see it as growing in holiness. Where is your family life? You wonder how much of their presence here is avoiding family life. That whole element of balance in your life. We don’t want them just serving here if they don’t have time for family life. In our ministry retreat we had two little 10-minute videos that spoke of putting family before ministry. There was one very active person, he said that he really felt that was for him, and he dropped one of his ministries because he had a pregnant wife at home and he was spending way too much time in ministry. I was very happy to hear that.

One of the things I noticed regarding the Charismatic Center is that the people are evangelized. The staff is all on the same page. There’s a real distinct difference even among the leaders. The Center is just amazing that a lot of people already get it. Even the way they communicate. The staff at the center---they are on the same page because they’re charismatic.

Father Bob was not afraid of a little bit of messiness. If you’re working with lay people it’s like a family, it’s messy. As a priest, I’m a bit of a control freak at times, but I’ve learned that it is not necessarily from Jesus, but my own doing. Just kind of ride with it. As long as they see you loving them and affirming them and challenging them.

An example of a negative experience, I have heard of lay leaders in ministry choosing someone in ministry for a particular role because God told them they were supposed to do that. I recently heard someone –the leader say to someone ‘you’re going to do a talk’. The guy bombed. He was barely a practicing Catholic. Had serious issues in his life. Here he is standing in front of a group of people not prepared. Just a stupid understanding of how to choose people.

(Regarding Mentoring) When a lay leader is struggling, step in right away. You don’t let something go on. You step in and say, ‘that’s not how I want it done’. If their leadership is failing you need to step in. If you have a ministry with useless leaders nobody wants to join that ministry. It goes into a nosedive.

As you are leading leaders, give them opportunities to experiment in trying different things but if you are mentoring them in a close relationship you are going to be giving them that feedback in situations. It always has to be hands on. After six months you’ll be able to see if they’re capable of learning and growing or if they keep making mistakes. If you meet with them regularly, you can address the issue and then the leader can fix it. If the leader is able to fix the problem, then they can learn from their mistakes too. I always tell my leaders that you can try nine times and fail, before you get the person that you really want. Put it out there and test them, if it doesn’t work then go on to the next one.

101 (Regarding identifying leaders) We would love to be able to mentor, but it goes back to the same formation process of Companions of the Cross. We have made a conscious decision to say we are not a hospital. … If they are too emotionally this or that, you do not have time to try to fix this, which is poisoning. They have to be firing on all cylinders to a certain degree.

Sometimes there are those two distinctions. There is the leader as visionary that you need in certain key areas and then there are the leaders that just need to know their thing. Like leading altar servers and knowing what an altar server does. That doesn’t need visionary leadership. It just takes skills in that area of leadership.

Laity Question 3. Describe your own experience as a lay leader or when you were being led by other lay leaders. What helped the situation flourish if it was a positive one, or what were the challenges if it was a negative one?

Laity described positive experiences of first being evangelized, discipled, mentored and given clear expectations as things that helped them to thrive. A lack of clarity, communication and support led to negative situations. Their answers are listed below:

The experience with in the early years at St. Mary’s when we got involved was with the prayer group and Life in the Spirit Seminar. Some leaders such as Father Bob helped us. They drew us out. They were able to say ‘come and be part of this team’. They thought we had the gifts and that they could help us grow. We started with a small portion, then another portion to present to the parishioners. We did some talks and book reviews at the time. It stretched us. The second point is now when we lead and help others 25 years later we are now leading some of these ministries. We are involved in Theology of the Body. We’ve spoken to small and big groups. The fear of speaking in front of public is long gone. That is because of the formation and being drawn out years earlier. Now we want to find others and are working with young people who are taking on those same responsibilities who are feeling called and drawn to that. We just see the legacy being passed on.

102 There are so many experiences that I can pick from. One that I think was one of the most tremendous in ministry was years ago when we were leading a young adult group at St. Mary’s before CCO was here, or NET and there wasn’t a lot going on in the city youth-wise. We began this young adults group at St. Mary’s. We were getting 35 or 40 kids coming out each week. It wasn’t social, it was teaching. We really viewed it as discipling… some of them say today that they don’t know where they would have been without that group. It really brought us into a tremendous experience of the faith. That’s when we really started working closely with the priest as well. The three of us were the leadership team. Some weeks we would give talks and sometimes him. We would pray together about a theme and a vision for the year and overall theme for what we wanted to do. So we had some clear direction of what we wanted to accomplish. The Lord really helped us accomplish it and it was an amazing fruitful experience. We believe that they wanted to hear the truth that was relevant to their life experience. What they were dealing with in University, in relationships… That was what we tried to give them. The first night we had them fill out a questionnaire and asked them what they were looking for, and we took from that this is what they wanted. They wanted to hear the truth, be taught, and be discipled and I think that was a lot of what the success was.

I got so excited once when I read Father Bob’s book on evangelization and one of the things he spoke about was the importance of small groups for the building up of the Church. At St. Mary’s small Christian communities were introduced through a new process called ‘Cinay’… There was a group formed in order to put it together and ultimately Alexandra and I were asked to be the leaders of this Introducing Small Communities at St. Mary’s. While we were leaders we were still under the parish council. … We had sector leaders, internal coordinators, and a person responsible for evangelization. In the end we had about 13 communities and about 150 people. The plan said that after every two or three months the groups would get together and Father would give a teaching. We would meet in the communion of communities. He would get feedback from all the communities what their problems were through the sector leaders, and feed it back to Father and out of that he would form a teaching. So for me it was a very refreshing act of the Holy Spirit to see people grow in the community. First is the honeymoon stage, everybody puts on a good front, after that there is chaos because everybody becomes real. If you can grow through it the community lasts. The communities were formed in 1992 and there are still communities in St. Mary’s that exist today.

By growing in my faith and Father evangelizing me, I was able to accept that role. He had the confidence and faith in me; identifying the gifts in me I didn’t know I had. That was a blessing. By him affirming me during my spiritual growth it allowed me to take on more challenges.

103 I remember when I was sitting in the pew in church on a daytime Mass and the homily was very much about the harvest is plenty and the workers are few. As the priest said that it just so happened that he was looking straight at me. Later, I called the church, and it was the priest that picked up. It was Father, so I felt now I can’t back out anymore. He directed me and through his support and direction I started to gain more and more confidence. He knew he had to start me in a gentle way. I started helping out with the children who go downstairs during Mass, and teaching them. From there started to bloom a lot of other stuff and meet other people. It was wonderful to be under leadership, and to have the support of the pastor, otherwise I start to flounder. Over the years I became involved in just about every ministry in that Church including the councils but not at the same time. I was able to flow through all of these interesting areas and I grew personally through that. I led sacramental teams, and led public school religion classes. Through leading groups you find gifts of someone else. You find their gifts are so big here sometimes you need to step aside and redirect yourself back to God and ask where do you want me to go. This is really going on its own now and I can step back. That was so interesting. In other areas where I was part of the group I always found it worked best when the pastor was the main support system of that group.

We had an experience just recently where we had a catechist behave in an inappropriate way and we’re struggling with how to deal with that. After much prayer, we were going to ask her to step down, but really felt the desire to value her as a person so instead chose to sort of lead a conversation as to what could have caused the inappropriate behavior. It was a verbal thing, not anything physical. Through the conversation she came to the realization that she was under a lot of pressure in her personal life, and that maybe could have led her to make the choices or saying the things that she did. In the end, when she came to realize that, she decided to leave on her own. It’s just that value and looking at each individual. I worked in business for 10 years before I came here and in business sometimes it’s easier because you’re more detached from people. In ministry work we’re challenged to look at each human being and sometimes even in those difficult situations the Lord does lead us to how to get to the results you’re looking for.

One of the things I found that worked well when we ran some different programs at the Church, at the end of the night, the debriefing sessions where the leaders had a chance to share with the coordinators issues they may have had in their groups and it built such a strong team of leaders that time afterwards. I’m not a big meeting person, and at first thought ‘oh we have to meet after the nights over?’, but it really strengthened the team and it brought that sense that we’re working together. We could bring forward our own struggles or our own joys. It became an essential part.

104 Giving people experiences where they can succeed, a small role, the little part that builds their confidence. I find Father is very good to pinpoint. He’s got his thumb on the pulse. I find personally with Father …he instills a confidence in me that I didn’t think I had. He’s like ‘come on you can do that!’ And how do you say no to him? But at the same time, it builds lay leaders that people can’t say no to. I think people can’t say no to you when you’re asking them the right questions. In the sense that they don’t say yes because they feel obligated. They say yes because you saw something in them that actually they gave evidence of through something they did, and you were able to be observant enough to see that in them. When someone models it to you, then you start to doing that and thinking that too.

As a priest you’re in the Church and there are so many people you can contact in a day. But you cannot have that personal contact with eight hundred to one thousand families. Like Elijah, you would be in Alpha, for instance, and you have all these leaders, and they have their groups. Elijah will say ‘is there anyone in your group that we might want to ask for next year?’. We say, ‘oh, there’s someone in my group that might be a good leader’ and then we bring the names forward to the priest and then he asks. It’s creating a certain kind of culture. The culture of identifying and drawing people out. Not just waiting for the priest. But someone has to ask, ‘Is there someone in your group that has that potential? Then you have those names there. They wouldn’t necessarily come forth themselves.

Sometimes I’ve run into experiences in the church where leaders are afraid to challenge people. And that’s the exact reason you need to be discerning as to what you’re challenging people to. The cream rises to the top. You can meet them where they’re at and then work on raising the bar with them once you get to know them. Having higher expectations and helping them to grow. Raising the bar becomes part of a process… you know what the potential can be or if you have experienced that…that’s where you begin to challenge them to look at a bigger sphere.

I had an example of it last night doing the small group and this person said ‘I want to do nothing but help’. The leader wasn’t there last night. I approached her before the night started and told her that her leader wasn’t there, and she surprised me and she said yes. You have to keep asking. I had mentioned to her about two weeks before because the leader wasn’t going to be there, ‘do you feel up to leading this if Anita doesn’t come?’ She said ‘no I don’t think so.’ She must have thought about that because when Nicholas asked her last night there was no hesitation and she did it.

105 One of the things that can lead to crashing and burning is when the person you invited has this wonderful idea but they don’t communicate it. I’ve been in the position where I’ve been asked to do something, explain it like you’re talking to a four year old. If you don’t have it explained to you properly, you interpret it differently. When you’re a leader you have to have the person repeat it back to you in his or her own words like a child. Part of it is being able to pare it down to clear and simple terms, because you want to make sure when you ask someone to do something that they get the vision. When we talk about vision we often use these nice big words, but we just don’t make it simple.

We’ve been able to take this spiritual gifts seminar to know what spiritual gifts we have and now we feel comfortable in saying yes and no according to what’s being required of you. There are phases in life too where it may not be the time in your life to minister, maybe you need to be ministered to for this next year because of what you’re going through. All of this became possible because we have some very close spiritual friends that we can bounce things off of on a weekly basis. People who can point things out. That really helped having that close community of lay people to bounce things off of in addition to the pastor or assistant pastor of our local parish.

Years ago, in line with that, Joseph and I weren’t involved in the Church at all. Just coming to Mass. We were getting more interested in being there and going to Missions but just on our own. We got a tap on the shoulder Father, who was the priest then, and a call about being sponsors for the RCIA program in the beginning. We said sorry we just can’t do that. It was Sister Patricia that made the call. The following year she called us again when RCIA started and we just thought there’s something in this, we’d better not say no. Our faith was growing that year as well. So we got involved as sponsors and then became part of the team and ultimately were leading it and just stepped down last year. We felt ready to step down and felt we were losing our enthusiasm for it. In any case, we knew when it was time and we saw this budding person who was so enthused. (What do you think helped you to be able to move through those steps?) Feeling more comfortable. Father, when he left, asked if we would lead it. Him having that confidence, we were sure that we were meant for that. He certainly has leadership strength big time. Father having that confidence in us, and us not wanting to disappoint him, and us stretching ourselves. … Just so many blessings and so many wonderful people along the way. Seeing people become faith-filled and taking courses here and there. It just changed our lives spiritually. And, we were just so thrilled to hand it over to Julia who’s so enthusiastic and doing a fantastic job of it and we just knew this is the time.

An honorable handing off of the ministry that you’re willing to leave it off when God’s calling you to do it, in order that other people can rise up in leadership. I think a lot of ministries rise and fall on how gracefully it’s done. People are stuck and they won’t let anyone else step into the role because they won’t do it the way they know is best way of doing it. I think that’s a key role too in lay leadership.

106 My first time being asked to be in a leadership position, was when I was asked to give my testimony to my peers. It offered me a sense of healing in myself and growth in my faith. None of my friends knew at the time what was going on behind closed doors and that gave them the chance to see the real me, that I was coming to youth group every Friday, boosting me to be in leadership, and now hosting retreats. I see myself in the youth that I work with. Now I can be the person to guide youth, it’s rewarding.

From being a follower, it helped that the leader was evangelized, that person was so willing to serve God. She was an excellent leader because she had that relationship with God. I trust God to lead me, to lead them.

I have been on a number of Cursillos and Cursillo is an incredible spiritual high, people get energized and re-ignited. It’s extraordinary to watch. Then we tell people they need to go away and form these prayer groups and then we throw them out the door. We don’t do anything to help them. These people who have never met one another before, who’ve just had their spirituality renewed and we didn’t have a proper and still don’t have a proper way of helping them form small prayer groups and mentoring that group so it becomes a cohesive whole that can continue on after the Cursillo high has left them a little bit. They have a great time, and a good high. We’re completely wasting 80 –90% of the effort that is going in and what we should be doing, is those people who are stepping up to being leaders should be committing to 90-120 days of leading a small group afterwards with the full knowledge that they are out after the 120 days.. For that time they are helping focus that group, create a cohesive group, mentoring the group to become self-contained.

We had this group of teens to go to Steubenville, and I had somebody come to say they wanted to be a leader at Steubenville and she was very excited to do that. But said she couldn’t lead a small group…she’s nervous. We get on the bus to Steubenville and I came up to her on the bus and said ‘Look, I really think we need to have a separate group for these girls, would you reconsider, I really think you could manage?’ I had asked her several times and she always said ‘no, no, no’. That day on the way to Steubenville she said, ‘okay I’ll lead the group’. I think her and I were both surprised. After the experience she was so thrilled. She didn’t think she could do it, but she did. It’s that successes thing. When she had that success, and this year she was my first person to sign up for Steubenville and she’s taking a group. You’re right, keep asking them. Respect their no.

107 (Regarding taking on too many leadership roles) I had to recognize I was doing too many things, the priest was advising me, ‘take it to prayer, you need to let some of these things go’. I realized that if you wait for someone to be comfortable enough to take over it won’t happen. I felt spiritually drained. I didn’t have that zeal anymore. As I have unloaded ministry after ministry it was then that I was able to grow more spiritually and able to devote more time. You go through dryness because you go through difficulties doing too much. After ten to twelve years with baptismal program we needed to tell Father, “I need to stop doing this, I’m getting burned, I need to walk away.

I’ve taken on other leadership roles, but sometimes I had to step back and reflect ‘Where God is calling me to?’ I feel I’m doing what God is calling me to do, but that God is asking me to take a step back. I have different skills now that I can use in a different ministry. By my mom’s example, it’s trickled down to me. She’s modeled how to move towards not overloading. It was also through the initial prayer life that CC’s taught us, otherwise we wouldn’t know how to discern different positions of leadership, taking decisions to prayer, not just in leadership but in life.

Always have an assistant leader so when the leader goes on vacation there is always a backup person. I think the person in leadership, should always at the back of his mind say who else can step into this place and be trained and walk in their footsteps. That way there is always that continuity. ... There should be a follow up too. Someone is appointed as a leader I would say ‘Okay, we will give you three months and see how you are doing, and then we will see if you still need to be in the position of assistant leader.’ In other words, if you appoint a person and say you are here for three years, you may find out after a couple of months that this is not the right person or that they can’t cope with the responsibilities and function effectively.

The apostles were building the Church and doing everything themselves until they realized they couldn’t and had to delegate people to take care of the widows and take care of other things so they could focus on evangelization and direct support systems. I think that is how our priests in the parish are a direct link to that, in that he is the key between God and the leaders, those that have been delegated in the parish. That became clear in my mind again that it’s God’s work. It’s not this committee or this group. Number one is because of God. Without Him it would just be an empty ministry. As long as you can bring that back to God or back to your pastor and he gives direction on how to work through it there be success in leadership community building. To bring it back to God and have a good system.”

108 Clergy Question 4: What are the most important qualities that you are looking for in a lay leadership development program? What does a lay leadership development program need to be able to accomplish. What should be some of its goals?

A primary concern of CC priests was that leaders be evangelized. A secondary concern was self-knowledge, which can include knowing their spiritual gifts, leadership and inter-personal styles and limitations. Finally, another important aspect mentioned was in developing the spiritual disciplines of prayer and discernment. Clergy answers are listed below:

Father Bob would say a key principle is we have to instill that every ministry’s primary goal is first and foremost evangelization no matter what they’re doing. Don’t presume that. Baptismal ministry, marriage preparation, RCIA…the first thing you need to do is make sure you’re evangelizing in that ministry. Don’t presume that these people who want their child baptized have been evangelized. Don’t presume on Sunday when you’re preaching that these people have been evangelized. Everything means having a key focus on evangelization. All the materials of our Catholic Church presume that. That’s part of the major problem today. We have all this material that presumes our people are already evangelized. Father Bob would say how can you catechize if you haven’t been evangelized.

Training in evangelization has to be a key element of our leadership training, that our leaders have to know how to evangelize. Even if they’ve been evangelized that doesn’t mean they know how to do it.

First thing is giving them the confidence beginning with Baptism in the Holy Spirit. God is giving you this call and now we are giving you the confidence to carry out what God is calling you to do.

A spiritual component, maybe a re-evangelization. People might go ‘Yeah, I know the Lord, I’ve arrived’, but let’s get back to the basics.

I think foundational about spiritual awakening and evangelization. I think unless people are brought into a level where they have that personal dynamic relationship with the Lord, where they know the Lord. I almost see that as 50% of the work, whether that happens before the course or outside the work, or in it.

Father Bob had taught us how to discern, how to pray. We need to really teach them to consult the Lord, to wait upon the Lord, to pray, to really pray.

109 My main one would be listening to God. It’s what God wants for us here now. I would like to go and hear this talk as well. I find it hard to teach and I need to help in a retreat with some young teachers. How to listen to God, which is how we define leadership.

I think personal prayer. I’m not sure how many people know how to pray.

I think that that relational aspect of how we are brothers, it comes out in the way that we preach and the way that we minister and I think that’s the part that’s real for them.

(Regarding training format) There’s no set formula here… taking interest in people’s lives without any real agenda. There’s always an agenda, I want them to have but in a sense I don’t. And then we start answering questions that they actually have, developing their faith life first as far as conversion. That comes first. Then we can get into how can they serve. I don’t know if it always fits into that model. I still think friends, faith and forward. There’s probably some nice three-step image I could use but it still just seems to be those basic, basic things. You just take interest in people lives. It seems straightforward.

I think if we put this in a completely Christian context we look at even scripturally what did Jesus do with the three closest…Peter, James, and John. They were almost like favorites of his. Where he probably spent a bit more time investing in them, connecting with them, and that’s kind of ultimately, whatever kind of framework you’re going to work with. Whether it’s three C’s or three F’s or whatever system you want to put in place. The key is to stay connected, especially with those closest that you want to connect with the most to kind of set your vision off in them. Obviously there’s a wider group, but are there three people you want to really invest in. Maybe above and beyond…there’s different levels of it. That’s kind of what I keep thinking of…what Christ did with his three favorites.

I think within the calling the corporate and personal identification of one’s own gifts and gifting. Spiritual gifts inventory. Otherwise we don’t have all the necessary data. I mean there’s no way in which I can call a person forward and see the person’s gifts without putting them through the Called and Gifted program. It’s self- evident. But that would be important.

(Regarding identifying leaders) I’m just questioning how we identify competency. It’s sometimes something that we find out along the way that we feel that there’s certain components or a skill set. We’re often surprised to see that there’s more than we thought and sometimes less than we thought. I see competency often times in a business model that the discovery of that gropes along and sometimes happens accidentally and it’s about the gift and calling. It’s very interesting with competency. It’s something that can be built but at the same time it’s a particular capacity that I have or don’t have. That’s a key element and I’m not sure if we’ve really gone into that, and how important that is.

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I think that one of the most important things is natural gifts. If I don’t see any natural gifts I’m not even going to ask them. One of them is being teachable and having them discover where do you struggle, where are your weaknesses. Then they can do their own formation. Helping them identify things they are good at and things they are not. Then they can decide what course they want to go to.

You could get the wrong people taking the course. You want the right people to be in this. I was thinking that a lot of times I’ll identify them but I only have a limited viewpoint. So part of identifying competency is to ask the people that you do trust that have been around the parish the longest, ‘Who do you see that has leadership ability?’ Consulting to draw that out.

This is a program where you’re going to pre-identify who’s taking it. You’re going to be choosing people already who you think are fairly competent, responsible, and able.

Giving them the freedom to come up with their own game plan. If they say I need to do this course, do you say yes we’ll pay for this? Yes, any kind of training workshop, they get a little perk by going somewhere. It’s affirming. These are unpaid positions.

Essential qualities of leadership. For example learning to delegate… humility… basic qualities that belong to a leader. I think they need to learn how to plan, organize.

Some kind of a mentoring component but it might even be peer mentoring. It might be that you split up the people themselves, you give them a buddy system so instead of them just coming to a program, they have a buddy or peer mentor where they’re expected to do certain sharing or exercises. That is a component. It’s not just a matter of formation components, it’s experiential components.

(Regarding the understanding of parish life) We presume that people understand the theology of what it means to be a parish. That it’s not just attendance but a membership and we are part of the mystical body of Christ. We’re joined to one another. We belong to one another. It’s not just a vertical relationship only. It’s a horizontal relationship to my brothers and sisters and so that community and connection and no anonymity is the pastoral focus this year is to eliminate anonymity, to build connection and relationships. Therefore, in a lay leadership course, assuming it’s a parish level course, you want to create as a fundamental goal that we’re together in this, that we’re one body. So again you do that through retreats, or prayer experiences, or through lots of personal sharing. In other words, that the lay leadership is not just a course that they’re taking but a whole way of interacting.

Priorities. I think a talk on unity of life. God first, family second, ministry third.

111 Conflict resolution. Be comfortable with the fact that it’s messy.

(Regarding equipping leaders) I think some of it has to do with them being able to operate…pardon the cliché…but taking the ball and running with it. For example what’s coming to mind is Called and Gifted. …We do the spiritual gifts weekend. We have maybe 120 people there, then we have 12 strong potential leaders or interviewers that go through a full day of training with him and then set them loose. ‘Here’s the list, make the calls meet with them individually’. They can actually do that themselves. They don’t need Father for that. Because they were already equipped to do that. I think being equipped is key to that; being able to work independently. They’ve got the support of the group but they can still do something without questioning their ability to do it. Because they’ve been formed exactly the same way as we are. We’re in the same session, the same seminar. This is the first time doing it, all of us together. So A is no more knowledgeable than B. There’s still the different characters out there but we’re all in this together.

It’s kind of interesting the default word that came to my head was programs. But it’s not more programs. It’s something more human than that. They need support, they need affirmation, they need validation and that’s solid relational stuff that they need. And part of it too, just the state that we’re at right now. We’ve been at this foundation for a year and a half. That needs to be a factor when you’re doing your research here. They’ve been at Queen of Peace for longer than that. They’re going to have different answers than we do.

(Regarding being able to relate to the real world) You need to know your stuff. You need to know how the Church works and the mind of the Church but at the same time you need to know the Lord…that combination. And with that comes a certain confidence and generosity in a relaxed kind of way because it is a postmodern world. We’re talking about people who are mostly coming to Church who are coming alive in the faith. That’s a tiny percentage of who is actually catholic or the souls in this area. If you get out of the ghetto a little further out it’s going to be even rockier in the way of people’s lives are just hammered. They’re getting their understanding of their church from the CBC and all kinds of prejudice and all kinds of stuff. How do you react when you run into that? You could say that’s an element in itself. That idea of training people to not simply react in a responsive way or out of being threatened when they are being leaders. An expression we use a lot is don’t react…respond. Try to respond.

Kind of the words that jump out to me are love and integrity. Being true to who you are but doing it with love. Not fashioning it into a club to beat someone with. Being formed but then going out with the truth in love.

In no particular order, communication, communication skills, conflict resolution.

112 (Regarding particular programs) I don’t think I’ll ever be sold on any one thing is going to do it for us. I can see good in Alpha, as I can see good in most of what we do. Charismatic in Life in the Spirit, Catholicism 201…but it’s always going to come back to the relational. How much do they really need to know? How much do we really know? We just have a good vocabulary. How much real theology do we really understand? But when they feel like we show up and spend a little bit of time with them it seems to make all the difference.

I think that the best program we can offer is a social program. Even like something they’ve started every 2nd or 3rd Sunday of the month, is the coffee social and as much as I don’t like going there, that’s one thing that they’re good at. They can do this coffee and cookies and there is that group of people that connect well after Mass; they’re communicating and dialoguing and that’s really what’s fundamentally important: community. If you can build community then you can build leaders.

(Regarding growing leaders through community experience) They had this Mass for the Bishop and it happened to be on the same day as their pancake dinner. So they did the pancake dinner, ran out of pancakes, maxed out, broke it down, did the liturgy, broke that down, and then served tea and coffee and sweets for the 200 people that came to the liturgy. Nobody was grumbling about it and they liked it. It’s impressive that they were able to that without much hassle. I got there late and I missed the pancake thing. When I got there I was expecting them to be scrubbing batter off the floor and syrup off the wall, but it was set up and ready to go.

I look at some of the support you guys give to Sandra, Emily…just getting bibles for the kids, the team prayer group. You sent Colleen to Charlottetown for the RCIA training. I get the sense overall in talking to them that they feel supported. They feel that they can come to you guys and if there’s something that they need, that will benefit them in their leadership capacity, ‘okay we’ll do that for you’. They really feel that support and trust.

I remember at the assembly talking about Father Bob’s Catholic Discipleship series. Our founder is gone now unfortunately so they can’t hear him firsthand like we did. So something like that, to have that kind of group of people experience our founder’s vision, his magnetic personality, his ‘everything else’.

(Regarding priest’s needs to be trained as leaders) We normally do these general things for everybody but there might be three or four guys. I really would be interested in that, maybe a week at the farm not with everybody but maybe with the guys who are really interested in leadership development. You can translate that also into looking into your parish. This leadership program is not a general discipleship course but it’s for these three people.

113 (Regarding scheduling) To me, you have to have something on the calendar every year. It’s when we drop the ball and three years go by. Every year you have to have your leaders retreat or your ministry retreat. Put it on your calendar; get in a speaker, do it. You don’t want to do too much but you don’t want to do too little. Put it on the calendar and do it.”

One of the things I’ve learned is if you’re going to have a formation time, you need to shut everything else down for that night. It’s so frustrating, the very people you want to help form, they have five other ministries that they’re doing, and so you’re ministering to the three people who don’t need it.

I find often times the training that goes on doesn’t happen with set programs but is done on the fly so to speak hands on. It’s done practically but often times without a program, on the job training, ‘here’s how I’ve done this, here let me show you, here’s what we do with this.’

After Mass, I kind of look out, I feel like I’m fishing. When I see people coming out of Mass, as I shake their hand I say ‘When are you going to take me out for lunch?’ That’s usually where my leaders come from. It’s just seeing who is out there regular and then you just ask. When you go out for lunch with people they open up in a way that they might not in your office. They share about their lives…that’s where the pastor, personally being able to call on a leader, is not just giving them an assignment, sometimes just a little affirmation.

I got a DVD called Take Ten and there are eight 10-minute leadership teachings that they pulled out of conferences, these ten-minute clips. Four of them were awesome so we watched them with our staff and I showed them at our leadership retreat and they were very well received. A great resource is The Power of Full Engagement. Great book. It was about unity of life having your whole person.

The Growing Leaders program that we did at St. Timothy’s worked well. We identified about 25-30 people in the parish. People could put a name forth; nominating someone they think would have gifts in leadership. It was going to be out of those 30 people they were invited to come to a session. We had an info- session, and talked about what it was and invited them to make a big commitment. They had a monthly session, a retreat in September, a retreat day in January, and a monthly teaching session. That got down to a group of about 18 or 20 people. Then, at the once a month session, I’d give a teaching but there was a lot of breaking into small groups, doing a lot of adult learning models of breaking it open for themselves. But then, part of the system is they meet a mentor that they meet once a month outside of that but because we didn’t have 25 mentors, we had them break up into groups of four people and they met in their houses. In those house kinds of meetings, they’d have mentoring discussions. They’d have to break it open more and go ‘develop your personal mission plan or statement, your personal vision of how you’re going to grow in holiness’. That seemed to be a good model.

114 Leadership development is one kind of circle. Like you have in your parish setting you have your one circle as evangelization programming…. preaching at Sunday Mass and your New Life Seminars. Then there’s your discipleship circle…that’s like your special call and gifted, your meeting that you have every couple of weeks with your small group or prayer group. Then you have your circle of leadership training. They’ve gone through those circles. You’re not just taking a fresh new parishioner necessarily and thinking that a leadership program has to have everything in it. But as long as those structures are in your parish you put them through those different circles over time.

Laity Question 4: What are the most important qualities that you are looking for in a lay leadership development program? What does a lay leadership development program need to be able to accomplish. What should be some of its goals?

Laity answers were similar to clergy answers and included the need to be evangelized and formed in CC Spirituality, opportunities for specific training in their focus area, and regular gatherings with other leaders. Laity answers are listed below:

First of all there has to be an understanding of our purpose and mission. Secondly, Father Bob’s whole ideology: you haven’t finished evangelizing somebody until they’ve evangelized someone else. Again, the small group is a good way to make that happen. As Catholics, if we took that as part of our mission then who knows what could happen. In our teachings we need to have tools on how to do that.

If you are going to establish CC Leadership characteristics it’s not going to be over a six-hour span. It builds community when people are gathering over a longer period of time. Fellowship is established which is very important. It also shows the responsibility of the person who wants to take the leadership courses, if they are attending every week; you know they’re dedicated.

We need to explore what’s working. There must be parishes out there that have great leadership. I know we have leadership but there’s got to be parishes that are really flourishing. We have to look at those and see what they do.

It’s almost like, once you start doing leadership, the joy that you get from bringing people to Christ, seeing people come to that personal relationship you get so excited for them, that you want to do more. I don’t know how you can tell people how rewarding that is, except maybe through witness, before they’re willing to step into that role. Sometimes people will say ‘you’re so excited about it! What is making you so happy?’

115 For me, it’s going to be that I’m supported, that I can have access to other people’s leadership, one on one meetings with the pastor, that I can have freedom to lead as I see it, that I’m going to have further education to teach me how and these are the resources we’re going to give you. I think that you are going to be supported in any way we can I think speaks volumes.

(Regarding resources available) I think it’s also the knowledge to know it’s there, whatever training might be available you either seek it out, there’s not one spot you can go to. At least make something known to people. Who else knows it? This is what’s out there, but unless you’re a digger or you happen to fall into the right parish, you might not know it exists. It’s to know it’s there. When we first got involved in RCIA the biggest thing was not feeling adequate. That spurred us to want to be adequate. We happened to have somebody in the parish in Koinonia (diocesan training program) that still exists…had somebody not in the parish that was working here, but it was the knowledge to know what existed.

As a leader, you have a responsibility for the people who are under your influence. You don’t necessarily have all your parishioners under your influence. Father has that responsibility in his preaching on Sunday. You have the ones that you are responsible for in your framework of RCIA and that might be in particular your small group of leaders or your team. You are responsible for developing your team into leaders. You don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Just knowing that, I think that’s like raising the bar again. Like the priests saying ‘if you’re in this parish this is what we expect’ and there’s a responsibility and if we all don’t do it, it’s not going to happen. I think you’ll then get people that come forward.

I think teaching comes through homilies to the whole parish, that constant formation.

(Regarding funding programs) That you have people either employed by the parish or the community, or very willing volunteers who are willing to meet one on one with new leaders to be a discipler. The one on one support, the small group support, and then a large group support. Then making available opportunities set up bursary funds to be able to send people to large-scale leadership conferences. When you believe in a program, that would work, if it were a Catholic Leadership Program, if it’s Willow Creek, but you know that if you send this person to the conference, you will get back hundred fold.

I think it’s important, and I would definitely encourage the training part of it. I think people working within the Church need to have that. Whatever that is, there has to be an expectation. I know where I was, If we took something, what did you get out of that, and what is the expectation after you got back and what are you going to do, but I really put that in. If you’re going to go to a leadership conference, as such, say now I’m going to come back and every week I’m going to put in this hour. This is what I can see I can do with it.

116 As parishes we need to set aside funding or money or budget for further training of our leaders. For us, just an example, we do a lot of theology of the body ministry, Father heard about a conference that was coming that he thought we should go to and St. Mary’s provided the registration for that, excellent training for us. It’s that they keep an eye on those things, or that lay leaders know there is some money available for further training.

(Regarding pooling resources) Every parish, doesn’t matter if you’re Companions of the Cross or Diocesan, have key ministries that are in place, and when you first came in you were thrown into the fire and figure it out. We have ministries where you have the material there. Companions have the opportunity because they are across the country can go and see what works and what doesn’t in these key ministries and maybe put together a package…You have tried and true methods already in place. Capitalize on them and impart them on other parishes. “

A great book from two fellows Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger called Simple Church. They wrote about what works in parishes and the process of looking at 250 parishes across North America. Why does it work in some parishes and why not in others? They have come up with the key elements of what makes ministries grow and what makes ministries fall apart or communities fall apart.

As far as your lay leaders, when one leader passes it on to another lay leader that there is a consistency there as well. That is easier to do because usually there is a transition period of years or months.

You have to get leaders by identifying them. Some kind of a structure of identification and invitation. Some people will self-identify by hanging around and offering services, trying to get involved. Other people specifically need to be asked. So a formal structure, how do you identify people. If they’re hanging around tap them on the shoulder.

Some people are fearless or foolish and jump in or get pushed in to the deep end of the pool, but most when they see the deep end of the pool they’ll run away. So the trick is to first of all start small wherever possible, encourage people that they can step up, and help them understand that God is going to catch them and not let them fall.

I think ministry leader’s meetings; we always got a lot out of that. All the leaders get together for a couple of hours. We pray together, we pray over each other, we talk about difficulties we’re having. We get a teaching from the pastor who is fully involved in that and showing some interest. Then it’s always helpful, like we’ve had at St. Mary’s, where there is a key lay person who is getting paid part time. Nella was that was a liaison between the lay heads of ministry and the pastor. She could see things in people. She was talking to people on a regular basis. Find out what was happening and tie that in to the pastor.

117 Even if it’s part of the culture in the parish to have a quarterly leadership breakfast with all the leaders in the parish, where an element of leadership is spoken about. You bring in a guest speaker and give opportunities for the leaders to share amongst themselves to mutually support and encourage each other, or you do an ongoing Faith Study Program about leadership of some sort.

I think also in a parish there are all sorts of different ministries and we sometimes end up working in silos. I experienced that in another parish years and years ago. The pastor had brought together all the different leaders and the parish council and the financial council and we went away on a retreat for three days. It was awesome. First of all you are affirmed in what you are doing. You get to know each other and learn what everyone else is doing, and a respect them for each other. There were all kinds of fun activities based on prayer, Mass every day, eating supper and breakfast together. It was a unified group when we went back to the parish... It’s that sense of affirmation that builds a family.

Affirmation and the humility of being able to say thank you is really important. We talked in our own parish council of having a volunteer appreciation night and we talk about the fact that if we have it in June the people who helped in VBS the previous summer don’t think about coming and think it applies to them. Being able to say thank you acknowledges humility in the leader and it’s reaffirming. …The person who did something that they felt was insignificant for ministry, for them to be told that it’s been recognized is really good.

One thing for Companions priests to look at is when there are proper lay leaders in place… if you choose good leaders, delegate, and then get their feedback, correct them or guide them. I think the Church would be much more effective. I think in today’s age lay people are very educated. Times have changed. The number of priests is short. If people have to get involved in something they also come to Church and are more involved and feel more part of that community.

I know that the volunteers can sometimes suck the pastor dry. So it’s just nice to know that there’s some type of a family tree going. You have the pastor; you have the leaders, then the sub leaders, then and the quiet workers. The quiet workers are not going to Father.

I have this ruffled moment with one of the volunteers and I don’t know how to deal with this in a charitable manner anymore. Is there a 1 800 help line? Is there someone we can phone to communicate through it? Sometimes you just feel like you are going to blow.

I think of stewardship; we start to feel ‘this is my kingdom, this is my ministry’. We need to remember that we’re just stewards. Anybody can be replaced. We need to have that type of thinking and philosophy. I think that needs to be cultivated.

118 Leaders need to be brought into a weekly meeting to redefine their purpose. Their passion started because they had a conversion experience. We can’t forget that.

I don’t think we’re reminded enough of the mission of the Church. I think there’s always an assumption of what that is. I don’t think it’s really out there. This is our business plan. It’s about saving souls. Our role underneath that, that realignment has to be done in such a way that we cannot run away from it. We are disciples and our stewardship is about bringing what we have to that and that’s all it is.

In conclusion, it is evident that both CC clergy and laity see the need to develop lay leaders and have identified the same key concerns: 1) To be evangelized and have a grounding in a life of prayer and discipleship in the Church. 2) Capacity to discern and ‘catch’ the pastoral vision for the parish and share it with others. 3) Personal and relational maturity and a capacity to handle difficult situations. 4) An awareness of their own spiritual gifts and the capacity to identify the gifts in those around them. 5) Practical management and organizational skills, as well as opportunities to be trained in the particular areas they are focused on. 6) Mentoring and affirmation by their pastor and the skills to mentor others. Based on these conclusions the next chapter will outline some ways that these elements can be developed within the context of Companions of the Cross parish life.

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Chapter 5 Key Elements of Lay Leadership

Through the research recorded in the previous chapter, laity and clergy identified key elements for developing lay leaders in the Companions of the Cross parish context. This chapter will begin with acknowledging some particular CC Parish situations. Next it will outline, in broad strokes, the key elements needed in developing lay leaders along with a framework for understanding the steps in lay leadership development.

Parish Context

Any approach to leadership development needs to be holistic, multifaceted, and flexibly attuned to the particular context of the parishes where it will be implemented. Every parish, because of location, demographics, history, and personalities has its own culture that needs to be identified and acknowledged.

Some of these tensions, which will be discussed briefly, include the liberal- conservative mindset, charismatic ghetto, transitional burnout, clericalism, institutional cynicism, and demographic gaps. To a certain extent, all these issues can be overcome through building trust and understanding. A recent survey taken

120 when the Companions of the Cross initially began ministry identifies the insights of laity regarding a number of these issues below.1

There is tension for clergy when leading and developing leaders in parishes with liberal/conservative conflicts, and where there are diverse expectations regarding the theological vision and approach of those in leadership. When asked in the survey questionnaire about the challenges and concerns parishioners faced, some respondents encouraged parish leadership to ensure that the Church continue to evolve and be progressive:

Some of greatest challenges to me would be reverting back to old school. Church needs to continue to evolve to ensure that we reach out to all without compromising our core values and beliefs. Stop with trying to make us feel guilty and talk about positive things. … Stop with devil and hell talk - my young kids don't need to hear this! Talk more about heaven and good things God has done for us. We want to laugh and we want to know our parish is progressive and modern. We want to feel confident and not feel confined under a serious unemotional veil of piety.

On the other hand, other parishioners shared a concern that the Church continue to return to more traditional practices: “Resisting potential elements of the Parish that may wish to influence its direction towards a more liberal stance rather than traditional…as a traditional Catholic I continue to fear for our Faith in the face of the continuing erosion originally brought on by Vatican II.” Another commented, “ I hope the future of the parish is closer to the more traditional teachings than the more liberal ones engendered by Vatican II.” It is a particular challenge for CC pastors to be building trust and relationships with those entrenched in these strong ideological positions, so as to bring into light the fullness of the Catholic Church’s

1 Randy Hendriks, ed. “Blessed Sacrament Parishioner Feedback Survey”, September, 2011.

121 teaching which holds these progressive and traditional elements in a constant state of tension.

Sometimes it is easier for CC pastors to simply let those at the farther ends of this spectrum, who are not interested in the CC vision and spirituality, drift away from the parish. This can lead to the second challenge, which is the “charismatic ghetto” mentality. CC priests believe that the experience of the Holy Spirit, moving and active, should be normative in the life of the Church. It is more than simply a spirituality which people are free to accept or decline. If this is the case, CC leaders, clergy and lay alike, will need to build trust with those who have a skeptical opinion of them, so that they are exposed to it long enough for it to actually take hold in their lives. In the survey one parishioner expressed her doubts and concerns about the charismatic spirituality she experienced at Mass in this way: “The emphasis on listening to a message from the Holy Spirit DURING MASS has me concerned. I can't quite put my finger on why, yet, other than it is very foreign to me and seems more

Baptist or Shaker than it does Catholic. … It feels kind of silly, and I find it very hard to take seriously.” Through the survey process the parishioner at least had the opportunity to express her concern and stay in relationship. When parish leaders keep lines of communication open to all members of the parish they will help resist the tide towards the CC parish becoming simply the local “Charismatic Parish”, which would marginalize its impact and mission.

Another issue that will need to be addressed in any approach to developing leaders in the parish context is transitional burnout. This refers to the sense of anxiety, helplessness, and disillusionment experienced by a parish when there is a

122 leadership transition. This can occur when the Companions of the Cross begin ministering in a parish or when there is any change in clergy leadership. This change can of course be an opportunity for renewal, but a greater emphasis needs to be placed on acknowledging the stages of grief and acceptance which the parish community experiences. Parishioner’s anxieties can be heard regarding the change of pastors through the following two comments:

Perhaps first is the sense of the loss. We have lost a pastor that was very much loved through rather shocking circumstances… Related to that is the loss of intimacy with our pastor. Many of us had developed a relationship with (the former pastor) over a number of years, and it is hard to start over again with someone new. It would be easier if there was an immediate rapport and intimacy, but obviously, that takes time to develop. I think there is also a fear of change - changing the way we celebrate Mass, how we come together in fellowship, how we relate to one another in the parish. Change is hard. I know that some people will be very resistant to it and others will welcome it. With time, I hope to fall in to the latter category!

The uncertainty that I hear sometimes. I think we need to pray together for renewal of our community. We need to pray for one another. I also hope you will be patient with us as I think we're a bit like lost sheep with the familiar shepherd gone.

It is not that members of any parish are resistant or totally unwilling to accept changes in leadership, but a better job needs to be done by CC pastors and leaders to acknowledge their experience and guide the parish through the change process. A leadership strategy in parishes experiencing change must address this concretely.

Clericalism is another issue faced more precisely in some CC parishes. At the risk of generalizing, it is most evident in parishes where there is a large new immigrant community. Pastors in the focus group discussions acknowledged this.

There are two sides of clericalism that can be detrimental in reference to developing lay leaders. One is that priests are idolized, put on a pedestal, and therefore can

123 seem distant and unavailable. It may be necessary in these situations to spend more time mentoring lay leaders and building trust with them. A second is that the layperson imagines their own status as inferior, not accepting the true nature of their baptismal calling. In this case it will be necessary, through concrete public actions, to remind the parish at large that leadership, including authority and responsibility, has been delegated to these lay leaders. While it is less typical, the opposite of clericalism can also be discovered in some parishes where there is no understanding of the pastor’s headship and leadership role in the parish community. Challenges can then arise when the priest’s legitimate role of being the final arbiter and decision maker is brought into question.

While in some CC parishes there is healthy respect for the institutional elements of the Church - that being the role of the bishop, pope and magisterium - because of the abuses of power and scandals within the Church it is quite normal for

CC clergy to hear the institutional arm of the Church being questioned and challenged. A parishioner can feel comfortable with the priest she encounters on a weekly basis because she has built trust, yet question the institution, as in the case of this survey respondent: “I am very happy with the reaching out and the approach of the Companions of the Cross and with the presentation of an active faith in the homilies. … Real knowledge of our faith and our grateful dependence on God. I am in crisis with the Church - Rome, authority, faith and morals, paternalism, control.”

This becomes a challenge when developing leaders. Some leaders don’t accept the institutional church’s teaching, or at least need more convincing than simply being told to follow a program or vision because “the pope said so”. One solution to this

124 problem is to ground all leadership formation first of all in the lived experience of

Christ and the early Church as well as in the lived experience of the leaders themselves. Once this is established, then a supporting link can be made to the teachings of the institutional Church, such as Vatican II and papal encyclicals.

A final challenge faced in some CC parishes is demographic gaps. What does it mean when ninety-five percent of ministry leaders are over the age of sixty? What does it mean when a parish council has no representation by a particular ethnic group that represents a large percentage of parishioners? There are two challenges here. One is when the particular group simply does not exist in the parish. The second is when they do exist but are not represented. It is incumbent upon all CC pastors to see that leaders are identified who do reflect the ethnic, gender, and age ranges in the parish, even if this means a type of “affirmative action” in recruiting under-represented groups.

While each parish may not face all of these particular leadership development challenges they are worth noting. CC clergy will no doubt identify other elements that are particular to their parish context. Any leadership development program must be flexible enough to be able to make room for addressing the particular culture and influences on the parish.

Interpretive Framework

Though each parish has its own challenges, a number of key issues continued to rise to the surface in the focus group discussions. This section will examine them

125 and propose some strategies and programming suggestions for how leadership development can be implemented in CC parishes.

The six issues identified at the end of the last chapter were as follows: 1) To be evangelized and have a grounding in a life of prayer and discipleship in the

Church. 2) To discern and ‘catch’ the pastoral vision for the parish and share it with others. 3) Personal and relational maturity and a capacity to handle difficult situations. 4) Awareness of their own spiritual gifts and the capacity to identify the gifts in those around them. 5) Practical management and organizational skills, as well as opportunities to be trained in the particular areas they are focused on. 6)

Mentoring and affirmation by their pastor and the skills to mentor others.

Underlying all these concerns is the utter and total necessity of trust. Trust is the currency of leadership. A layperson will not be led by a priest he or she does not trust. Trust can be based on many things, but in the context of parish leadership it is primarily built through relationship. In the spiritual realm another word for trust is faith. As noted in chapter two, the central premise of the Companions of the Cross’s understanding of how humanity is to flourish is by trusting that God is personal, that

God is relational, and that if I entrust my life and will to him he will act and move in my life, guiding me as his follower. That faith and trust, built on a spiritual encounter with the person of Christ, is the foundation for all spiritual and human development. The following diagram outlines how these things are related to one another:

126

The diagram outlines five vision elements: catch, live, share, empower, guide. These elements are all energized and given life by the two inter-related sources of trust and encounter: trusting relationships and spiritual encounter with the person of

Christ. The middle of the diagram outlines the centrality of spiritual encounter.

When people are evangelized, receive the kerygmatic message and respond in their hearts, they make an act of trust, opening the door to a profound encounter with the

Living God. This encounter is made possible through trusting relationships, and in turn it empowers them to develop new trusting relationships. Radiating out from the central spiritual encounter and relational trust are five words representing the

127 different vision elements at work in the life of a leader. Within these five elements spiritual, relational (trust), and practical aspects are at work. The layperson’s baptismal calling in Christ as Priest, Prophet, and King is represented, showing the connections these three callings make to the five vision elements. To form lay leaders it is necessary to address these elements, to look at the spiritual, relational, and practical aspects of each. The rest of this chapter will review and address how it can be done.

Encounter

The central building block and source of the five elements is encounter. The need for lay leaders to be evangelized and have a conscious living faith was mentioned countless times during focus group discussions with CC priests and laity.

Encounter refers to a personal relationship with the living God which transforms and gives new orientation to a person’s life. CC priests have a clear understanding of their role in evangelization: proclaiming the kerygmatic message of Christ in a way that elicits a response from the hearer. What is sometimes missing in this approach is the awareness of the stages of acceptance that the hearer of that message must move through to first be able to hear it and secondly to act on what they have heard.

In reference to developing leaders it is necessary to look at what conditions are required for evangelization to take hold in the heart of a lay leader.

In her book, Forming Intentional Disciples author Sherry Weddell outlines a number of key factors that lead to conversion. Since the steps of moving into this

128 encounter with Christ are so critical, Weddell’s work is reviewed below in depth.

Weddell’s “intentional disciple” equates well with the leader who has moved into an encounter with Christ. If we are not aiming for an encounter with the person of

Christ and cognizant of the steps that lead to it, years of pastoral work can be in vain. Therefore, Weddell’s vision for intentional discipleship, which outlines the steps that lead to encounter, are essential.

Weddell discovered the writing of Don Everts and Doug Schaupp in which they outline the stages young people move through from pre-evangelization toward an experience of personal conversion and encounter. In their book, I once was lost:

What postmodern Skeptics taught us about their path to Jesus, they describe five thresholds people pass through on the path of conversion: initial trust, spiritual curiosity, spiritual openness, spiritual seeking, and intentional discipleship.

Weddell adjusted the language to fit the Catholic experience more closely and describes the first of these thresholds: “Initial trust: A person is able to trust or has a positive association with Jesus Christ, the Church, a Christian believer or something identifiably Christian. Trust is not the same as active personal faith. Without some kind of bridge of trust in place, people will not move closer to God.”2

While it is presumed that lay leaders do have a positive association with

Jesus Christ and the Church, Weddell contends that there are many cultural

Catholics who do not have a lived relationship with God. Through the hundreds of interviews she conducted as part of the Catherine of Sienna Institute’s Called and

Gifted Program which helps laypeople discern their spiritual gifts she realized that

2 Sherry Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus (Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2012), 129.

129 “ there is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between the Church’s sophisticated theology of the lay apostolate and the lived spiritual experience of the majority of our people.”3 The result of this is that laity “will never be apostles until they begin to follow Jesus Christ in the midst of his Church.”4 Weddell’s rallying cry is for a committed system of discipleship that can move people through the thresholds of conversion into living active faith life in the midst of the Church.

Any leadership development program initiated in the parish should contain the elements of discipleship formation to help the laity pass through the other thresholds of conversion. Much of the work of the first three thresholds can be fostered through the weekly Sunday worship experience. In one parish it became the thematic goal for the year to “enhance every aspect of the Sunday worship experience, enabling full, active, conscious participation in the Mass.”5 In doing so, an implicit goal was to help lay people pass through the second threshold of spiritual curiosity: becoming intrigued, desiring to know more about Jesus and his life and teaching. This focus on creating a curiosity to know more about the person of Jesus fits hand in glove with the CC vision of evangelization. To encounter God is to know the person of Jesus Christ. Weddell enumerates three basic stages of curiosity: awareness, that there is more to life than they had previously thought, engagement, as they take steps on their own to pursue their curiosity; and exchange,

3 Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, 11.

4 Ibid., 11.

5 St. Timothy Parish Council Minutes, Toronto, May 2008.

130 as they begin asking questions and exchanging ideas.6 At this stage it is important to not overwhelm the curious potential lay leader with information but to follow the example of Jesus who more often than not answered questions with questions, thus discovering what the underlying concerns are in the questions they ask. Another powerful way of arousing curiosity and engagement is through sharing stories.

Catholic Christian Outreach, a lay movement dedicated to evangelizing students on university campuses across Canada uses the element of personal testimonies in every event they host. Seeing people of their own age and social sphere sharing an account of how God has touched and transformed their life is a powerful moment in engaging curiosity.

According to Weddell, “All the statistical indicators suggest that the majority of active parishioners are in the early and essentially passive stages of spiritual development, such as trust and curiosity.”7 While in any CC parish lay leaders can be found somewhere along the spectrum of the five thresholds, laity and CC pastors themselves have acknowledged the need for evangelization to take place. Different strategies, experiences, events, and programs have been experimented with in all CC parishes. Most of these experiences focus on moving lay people through the third threshold of spiritual openness. According to Weddell, this threshold has been reached when “A person acknowledges to himself or herself and to God that he or she is open to the possibility of personal and spiritual change.”8 Life in the Spirit

6 Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, 145.

7 Ibid., 151.

8 Ibid., 130.

131 Seminars, Phillip retreats, Cursillo, and Alpha programs all help to create an environment of trust, to pique spiritual curiosity and to lead people to declare themselves open to the possibility of change in their lives. For others, that openness can be triggered through a major life event: the death of someone close to them, moving to a new city, a new job, a transition in life stages. The more relationships are built and fostered in the parish, the more pastors and lay leaders alike will be able to identify those most likely to be approaching the openness threshold, and to benefit most from the different retreats and experiences put on by the parish.

Openness can also be fostered in relationships by asking thought-provoking questions such as ‘Where is God in all this for you?’ or helping them connect the dots, using their own words to speak into their lives and show where God has been at work. Fr. Bob always encouraged people to ask God, ‘If you’re real Lord, show me!’

In most CC retreat experiences there is a significant amount of time set aside for people to receive prayer. Sometimes this is the prayer for the Baptism in the Holy

Spirit, but it can also be as simple as helping the person to open their heart and express to God that ‘Yes, I am open to the possibility of you being at work in my life.’

One CC priest noted that, when praying for Baptism in the Holy Spirit, it would often take two or three “tries” at this type of prayer for the person to “catch” the Spirit.

From the perspective of the five thresholds this seems normative and in keeping with the CC understanding that over time a person becomes more receptive to God’s grace in his heart as greater openness is fostered.

132 Weddell notes that it is often the case that fears need to be overcome, as

Pope Benedict said in his inaugural homily, “If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom?”9 Such is the fear that needs to be overcome at this threshold. The pope’s answer to the question speaks of the liberation that comes from spiritual openness:

If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.10

While the Companions of the Cross have had some sustained success in helping members of the parish have these experiences, leading to passing through the threshold of openness, sometimes people are simply left there. In the focus groups, a lay leader discussed the beautiful experience of the Cursillo weekend, which in the end lacked the follow-up necessary to move laity through the final two thresholds.

CC pastors and lay leaders may feel that the person who has made a public act of expressing their openness and has received prayer in one form or another has been

9 Pope Benedict XVI, “Mass for the Inauguration of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. Homily of His Holiness, Benedict XVI” http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/documents/hf_ben- xvi_hom_20050424_inizio-pontificato_en.html (accessed October 15, 2013)

10 Ibid.

133 evangelized and has completed the conversion experience. Fr. Bob’s insight was that a person is not fully evangelized until they begin to evangelize others. While many experience a spiritual high after retreats or prayer experiences they still need to come to the point of counting the cost of discipleship and expressing a commitment to follow Christ. These are the final two thresholds of conversion.

In the fourth threshold, seekers begin to count the cost of being a disciple.

They begin to review their life and discover what needs to change in order to bring it in line with the invitation of Christ to lay down their nets and follow him. Weddell suggests that we can help those in this stage by giving them opportunities to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The catechism describes these works:

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.11

This is also a time when different experiences of prayer can be introduced.

Any program to develop leaders should contain opportunities for them to pray together and discuss their experiences of being engaged in different works of mercy.

Through an active exploration of prayer and Christian service the seeker can “try on” discipleship.

11 Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2001), par. 2447.

134 Finally, in passing through the fifth threshold, people make an active commitment to be disciples within the Church and reorder their lives accordingly.

They make the choice as Peter did in the Gospel of Luke to let down their nets for a catch (Luke 5:4). Peter had known Jesus, had followed him for a time, but acknowledging his own sinfulness and limitations, he abandons himself to God’s will. The key in this moment is the decision to commit to intentional discipleship, which necessitates a deliberate act of the will. One must make a choice. Followers have to understand what is being asked of them, realizing that to say yes to this path means saying no to other things, and be willing to express that choice in concrete actions. While evangelization, discipleship, and leadership development can be distinct initiatives, it is imperative that CC parishes have structures in place to enable laity to move through these five thresholds in their strategy for evangelization. Leaders will emerge in the midst of evangelization and intentional discipleship.

A leadership development strategy must assess where leaders are on the threshold continuum and offer next steps to move them toward intentional discipleship. Two mistakes are made by CC pastoral staff in identifying and developing leaders. The first is to simply review the pool of intentional disciples who have had an encounter experience and appoint parish leaders from that group only. The problem is that intentional disciples are not necessarily leaders. This is where personal discernment and a spiritual gifts inventory are necessary. The second mistake is to identify leaders in the parish who are not intentional disciples

135 and put them into roles of parish leadership without addressing their need to move along the threshold continuum and truly experience encounter with Christ.

It is standard Companions of the Cross policy to make every experience in parish life an evangelizing moment. Just as catechists, social outreach volunteers, or liturgical minsters receive formation, are evangelized, and helped to move through the thresholds, this process should also occur in the midst of forming and developing leaders. What is necessary is for potential leaders to be trusting, curious and spiritually open. Potential or current pastoral leaders who are closed-minded, belligerent, or have major trust issues, need to be avoided, re-assigned, or else helped through those first two thresholds before being considered for roles of leadership. If a major goal and focus of a CC parish is to evangelize and guide people toward intentional discipleship, it is necessary for the people assigned to high-leverage positions—those able to influence others and help them progress through the thresholds—to be quite far along the threshold continuum.

Relational Trust

Trusting relationships animate the five elements and are essential to developing leaders. Even more importantly, trusting relationships will help lead others into encounter with Christ. The focus group discussions revealed that CC pastors found the most success developing leaders when they invested time in relationships: building trust, listening to their leaders, affirming them, and giving them room to work and grow. In his book The Advantage, business leadership

136 consultant Patrick Lencioni identifies the lack of trust as one of the greatest stumbling blocks in organizational health and team building:

The kind of trust that is necessary to build a great team is what I call vulnerability-based trust. This is what happens when members get to a point where they are completely comfortable being transparent, honest and naked with one another, where they say and generally mean things like “I screwed up”, “I need help”, “Your ideas are better than mine”, “I wish I could learn to do that as well as you do”, and even “I’m sorry”.12

The pastor must be the first example and inspirer of those around him to lead in this kind of vulnerability-based trust. This can happen in a number of settings. The most high-leverage of these situations is the homily. When a priest, while using tact and a proper sense of discretion, is able to be vulnerable before his congregation, he creates an instant bond of trust and understanding. In my own pastoral experience, authenticity, vulnerability, and personal experience always have greater impact than expressing the intellectual and even theological correctness of an argument. A pastor can create a personal connection and develop trust with one thousand members of his congregation through a single homily when they connect in this way. Of course that connection and trust will be lost if his words are not confirmed by how he models them in his life.

A wonderful, fresh example of this is Pope Francis. In the short time since his election as pope he has become, for millions of people inside and outside the

Church, a person who engenders trust and respect. He creates the opportunity for the first threshold of trust to be passed by creating a positive association with the papacy, and by extension with Christ and the Church. As reported by a number of

12 Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012), 27.

137 news sources, the Pope once telephoned an Italian teenager to confess the letter the teen wrote to him made him cry. Francis went on to tell the young man to address him with the more familiar ‘tu’ instead of the formal ‘lei’. The incident didn’t go un- noticed.13 It serves to remind other leaders that this way of being open, vulnerable, and relatable isn’t simply a “feel good” approach without theological grounding; it also builds up the individual. The Holy Father also makes the case that trust begins through relating with and meeting people where they are. In an address delivered to

Brazilian bishops after visiting the slums he says,

We need a Church unafraid of going forth into their night. We need a Church capable of meeting them on their way. We need a Church capable of entering into their conversation. We need a Church able to dialogue with those disciples who, having left Jerusalem behind, are wandering aimlessly, alone, with their own disappointment, disillusioned by a Christianity now considered barren, fruitless soil, incapable of generating meaning.14

On any given Sunday, within and beyond the church walls, there are so many people who could fit the description of disciples who are wandering aimlessly, alone, with their own disappointment, needing leaders to enter into their conversation, helping to rebuild trust and hope. In an interview with America Magazine Pope Francis states that “the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity.”15 Here is an

13 John L. Allen Jr., “Telephone etiquette for the ‘the cold-call pope” ncronline.org. http://ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/telephone-etiquette-cold-call-pope (accessed October 15, 2013).

14 Pope Francis, “WYD 2013: Full text of papal address to Brazilian Bishops” catholicherald.co.uk. http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/07/27/wyd-2013-full-text-of- papal-address-to-brazilian-bishops (accessed October 15, 2013); emphasis added.

15 Antonio Spadaro, “A Big heart open to God.” America: The National Catholic Weekly, September 30, 2013.

138 example of a pastor who identifies a need and lives it. CC pastors and lay leaders must discover new ways to reach people both in and outside of the parish walls with this kind of relational nearness, proximity, and vulnerability.

If one element of trust in the strategy of developing leaders is the ability to be vulnerable and open, another is the sharing of power and discretion. This begins with the pastor modeling the way and can be taken up by lay leaders as well. In the book The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner describe the effect of delegation and power sharing:

Strengthening others is essentially the process of turning constituents into leaders… making people capable of acting on their own initiative. Leaders strengthen others when they give their power away to them, when they make it possible for constituents to exercise choice and discretion, when they develop in others the competence and confidence to act and excel, and when they foster the accountability and responsibility that compels action.16

Lay leaders feel energized when their pastor delegates and shares power with them. Kouzes and Posner still hold the leader responsible to develop competence and confidence in those they lead as well as to foster accountability and responsibility. Even in the secular arena it is not enough to simply identify natural leaders. In the parish context this is not accomplished by the pastor simply saying to the lay leader ‘take this and run’, but through a relationship of trust and forming them in these areas. Trust is developed when laity see their pastors investing time and resources in them. Laity will grow in confidence and ability when they are

16 James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, the Leadership Challenge, 3rd Edition (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003), 301.

139 respected, honored, and equipped as team members with the capacity to cooperate in discerning overall vision for the parish, ministries, and apostolates.

With the foundation of spiritual encounter and relational trust in place, leaders are then able to move forward in the elemental work of catching, living, sharing, empowering, and guiding the vision that God places on their heart.

Catch the Vision

The first of five elements needed to form lay leaders is catching the vision.

This involves giving them opportunities to participate in and experiment with personal and communal discernment. In the language of the Companions of the

Cross, discernment refers to being “committed to seeking the Lord’s wisdom, his directive “now” word, in all things, and to making no important moves without it.

This will often involve us therefore in an extensive waiting upon the Lord.”17 Much of the teaching for lay leaders on the elements of “waiting on the Lord” and seeking

God’s wisdom, such as the seven principles of seeking God’s wisdom, highlighted in chapter 2, may be taken from CC seminary and lay associate formation material.

One priest in the focus groups outlined a process of pastoral discernment for this, whereby in place of the pastoral council being only an administrative and somewhat bureaucratic meeting, he instead incorporated elements used in CC discernment. Parish leaders would begin with a time of singing and worship, take a time of silence, and then take turns sharing what they were hearing in the midst of

17 Bedard, We are Called to be Companions of the Cross, 119.

140 personal prayer and around the parish. The pastor would also share his experiences.

He found that this helped him catch the Lord’s wisdom and make informed decisions. What was lacking was participation by lay leaders in the actual decision making process. Regarding pastoral councils, Canon law 536.1 states, “The pastor presides over it, and through it the Christian faithful along with those who share in the pastoral care of the parish in virtue of their office give their help in fostering pastoral activity.” 18 A 1997 instruction from the Vatican clarified that parish pastoral councils “enjoy a consultative vote only and cannot in any way become deliberative structures.”19 The code lists minimum expectations, but this does not indicate that the priest cannot choose to develop consensus-building strategies in communal discernment. In fact they are free to create decision-making structures based on the biblical models outlined in the Vatican II documents.

It is important when discerning vision to clarify expectations regarding how laity can contribute right from the beginning of the process. Lay leaders need formation in the elements of discernment, seeking wisdom, and also leading others through these steps in context of the particular ministries or apostolates they are involved in. The more experience lay leaders can have participating in healthy leadership and decision-making structures in the parish, the better equipped they will be to lead these experiences themselves.

18 Catholic Church. The Code of Canon Law, 97.

19 Catholic Church. “Instruction: on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priests.” vatican.va. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/laity/documents/rc_con_interdic_doc_1508 1997_en.html. (accessed October 15, 2013).

141 What can also be lacking in group discernment models currently used in CC parishes is the limited way data is gathered for discernment. It would be beneficial for those leaders discerning vision to have accurate data for that discernment. While there are many pastoral assessment tools available, it would be helpful if one were designed in keeping with the Companions of the Cross vision and mission. There are examinations for CC priests to determine how well they have integrated the mission and vision into their ministry. It would be a small step to extrapolate this into an overall pastoral examination.

Three existing pastoral examination tools could be consulted. The first is the

Natural Church Development Survey. Christian A. Schwarz, the author of Natural

Church Development has identified eight essential qualities of healthy Churches. In doing so, he believes that there are certain pass-fail levels in these eight areas. It does not matter how well one area is thriving if others have not reached a particular minimum factor. To identify levels and gather data the pastoral leadership team and thirty active lay people are surveyed. A Natural Church Development consultant is available to process the data, give analysis, and report to the parish.

Leading Congregational Change developed a second analytic tool. In it, the authors promote a congregational transformational model involving a change process and learning disciplines that are driven by the spiritual and relational vitality of the Church. A survey is completed by pastoral staff and engaged parishioners to assess the existing situation.

While the first two examples come from a Protestant context, a third tool for assessing the vitality of parish life comes from the Catholic context. Authors Mary

142 Ann Gubish, Susan Jenny, S.C., and Arlene McGannon created the workbook

Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council. Drawn from the outline of parish life listed in the Code of Canon law, 528-530, they list seven elements which form the essence of parish life: evangelization, worship, word, community, service, stewardship and leadership20. The workbook includes a number of exercises the pastoral council can follow to assess parish life and set goals and objectives accordingly. This was the tool used in my experience of pastoral planning at two CC parishes. It helped the pastoral council leaders to clearly identify strengths and weaknesses in the parish and establish goals and objectives to address them.

Discerning vision happens as the true nature of parish life is clearly brought into focus. Addressing this kind of pastoral planning, one pastor in the focus group discussions described the work of evangelization, discipleship, and leadership development as three overlapping circles sharing some common elements but with distinct constituencies. It is useful to make pastoral plans with this in mind.

In his book The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren gives the image of five concentric circles to explain the different stakeholders in a parish.21 The outer circle is community, and in smaller circles moving toward the centre are crowd, congregation, committed, and core. The community are those the parish has only limited contact with, the crowd are those who may have attended Mass on occasion or have been served by the parish in some way; the congregation are those who attend Mass regularly and support the parish financially; the committed are those

20 Ann Gubish, Susan Jenny, S.C., and Arlene McGannon, Revisioning the Parish Pastoral Council (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2001), 63.

21 Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 131-133.

143 who are volunteering and involved in the activities of the parish; and the core could be described as threshold level five—committed disciples who have caught the vision and are fully invested. Discernment and pastoral planning must address what structures are in place to move people through these circles, helping them pass through the five spiritual thresholds, as well as knowing what to do with the excited core—intentional disciples.

Like an army being mustered for war, if there are no battles to fight the warriors can quickly lose attention and find work elsewhere. A pastoral master- plan will help discern and identify where strategic focus must be directed at any given time. This kind of pastoral planning, and the exercises which go along with them, can provide a great training ground for lay leaders to begin practicing the skill of “catching the Lord’s word” which can best be discerned within groups of committed intentional disciples. Practical training for discernment and pastoral planning will need to include further instruction in leading groups, building consensus, appreciative inquiry, smart goals, elements of Ignatian discernment, and personal prayer.

Live the Vision

The second element of developing leaders is to help them to live the vision.

Clergy and laity focus groups identified leaders as people who not only could catch the vision but also could live it out, modeling the spiritual disciplines and leadership behaviors that they were challenging others to embrace themselves. When Fr. Bob

144 taught about taking the steps to seek God’s wisdom his brother priests could clearly see how he was living this out:

We would recognize prophetic words from our household prayer coming up in his talks and see him striving to put them into practice. We would see him praying before every meeting of any substance—giving the Lord permission to do as he willed, asking for his direction, and promising to carry it out, no matter what it cost him. If someone was needed for a particular ministry in the parish he would not just press the first available person but would pray, wait upon the Lord, and act only when he had evidence of God’s choice. In community matter he would urge us all to pray until we reached consensus and resonated with the decision. He sought the Lord constantly in every circumstance and would often challenge us to do the same.22

The example given above of Pope Francis and his modeling of leadership highlights the effectiveness of this aspect of building trust. Just as leadership development deals with discovering God’s particular plans for parish life, it also must address the issues of character and behavior. This kind of personal growth and understanding is the foundation from which all other aspects of leadership can spring. One priest in the focus groups referred to this as the ‘self-aware’ leader.

Other traits which need to be developed in lay leaders are integrity, confidence, humility, and relational openness. Some priests wondered if these kinds of leadership traits were innate and found only in so-called “natural leaders”. In place of arguing whether leaders are born or made, a more fruitful exercise is to help potential lay leaders discern their spiritual gifts, and identify the areas in their character that God is calling them to develop.

To live out of one’s true self it is necessary to grow in self-knowledge, one area of which relates to spiritual gifts. CC priests are all familiar with the Catherine

22 Companions of the Cross, “Formation Notes”, Chapter 5, page 7.

145 of Sienna Institute Called and Gifted inventory, which helps the laity identify their spiritual gifts. Clergy have received formation in this program and are able to either direct the program themselves or have contact with laypeople that can lead the program at the parish level. Referring to the three circles of development described above, it most naturally fits in the area of discipleship training. If lay leaders have not yet been through the program it would be most appropriate for them to complete it to enhance their development as a leader. In summary, the Called and

Gifted inventory, retreat, and interview process helps people identify potential charisms in themselves as well as enlightening them as to how to identify and develop them in others.

The first step in this process is to complete a survey questionnaire. The survey gives examples of different charisms such as teaching, administration, service, or leadership and helps the person identify in which areas they feel most energized and fruitful, while also having received positive feedback. After tabulating results a person can see what potential charisms to take to further discernment. The workshop element of the program explains the Church’s understanding and teaching on spiritual gifts, differentiates the charisms, and explains ways that they can be put to use in ministries and apostolates. Another element is an in-depth interview led by a trained interviewer who helps the person clarify their potential charisms and guides them in next steps of experimenting with the charisms. These elements of discernment, formation and mentoring are important components of a lay leader’s growth in personal identity.

146 To live out of one’s true self, lay leaders need to be equipped with a variety of tools for self-discovery. Within this sphere of personal reflection and investigation other areas for personal examination include identifying personality type, character strengths and weakness, and leadership style. Through the Arrow Leadership program, leaders are given about seven different tests, quizzes, and surveys. Co- workers are asked to fill out surveys in relation to the leader to help them match their own perceived identity with how other people see them. These resources and their results, along with the spiritual gifts inventory, make it possible for lay leaders to have a clearer understanding of their identity and to develop a plan for personal growth in the spiritual, relational, and leadership aspects of their lives.

In the Kouzes and Posner book, The Leadership Challenge, the authors note the importance of being in touch with and living according to one’s values. Values influence our moral judgments, set the parameters for the decisions we make, serve as guides to action, as well as being empowering and motivating. 23 By first identifying their values and then by living according to those values leaders can model the way of integrity to others. A parish lay leadership program would include exercises where leaders could both express and identify their values and reflect on how they align with parish vision and values that are being discerned and reflected upon at the same time.

23 Kouzes and Posner, The leadership Challenge, 48-49.

147 Share the Vision

As the lay leader moves along the path of intentional discipleship, having learned the principles of personal and communal discernment and having begun to identify and address their own character strengths and weaknesses, they can step with humility into the realm of sharing the vision with others. This element of leadership development looks at the practical skills of speaking and communicating with clarity and purpose, but it also focuses on how the lay leader begins to accept the call to evangelize, catching the CC vision and acting on it. In fact, if they are living the vision then they are already communicating it, for as the phrase attributed to St.

Francis tells us: “preach the gospel, if necessary use words”.

Once again, relationship building and trust is the first step in earning the right to be heard, and sharing the vision. CC priests in the focus groups shared their experiences of building trust and relationships as the first step to communicating vision. With trust established, there was an openness and receptivity that was palpable. Sharing begins with listening. Regarding sharing the gospel message Pope

Francis says, “Our goal is not to proselytize but to listen to needs, desires, disappointments, despair, hope.”24 From listening, the opportunity to share and speak into the lives of others is possible. The Pope looks at the example of Paul who knew that to evangelize is to help people encounter the person of Jesus Christ, and that requires listening and dialogue:

24 Eugenio Scalafari, “The Pope: How Will the Church Change” repubblica.it. http://www.repubblica.it/cultura/2013/10/01/news/pope_s_conversation_with_scalfari_english- 67643118 (accessed October 15, 2013).

148

Paul does not say to the Athenians: ‘this is the encyclopedia of truth. Study this and you have the truth, the truth.’ No! The truth does not enter into an encyclopedia. The truth is an encounter—it is a meeting with Supreme Truth: Jesus, the great truth. No one owns the truth…. The Christian who would bring the Gospel must go down this road: [must] listen to everyone…the LORD made bridges. First, Paul has this attitude, because it was the attitude of Jesus. Second, Paul is aware that he must evangelize, not proselytize.25

When training leaders in evangelization, clergy and lay leaders alike must develop the attitude of building bridges, but also identify where those they lead are situated in their spiritual journey in reference to the five thresholds mentioned earlier. With this awareness they will know how best to engage, encourage, comfort or challenge others towards intentional discipleship. Training in empathetic listening is a way for lay leaders to begin understanding communication. CC clergy have received training in this, notably through talks by Brett Powell from Catholic

Christian Outreach.

Lay leaders will also benefit from understanding the dynamics of leading change. Leadership often involves communicating new initiatives. In the book

Managing Transitions Making the Most of Change, William Bridges acknowledges that, as leaders, when we move others through change we need to expect the signs of grieving such as anger, bargaining, anxiety, sadness, disorientation, and depression: “These emotional states can be mistaken for bad morale, but they aren’t. They are the signs of grieving, the natural sequence of emotions people go

25Pope Francis, “Pope Francis at Wednesday mass: build bridges not walls” en.radiovaticana.va. http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/05/08/pope_francis_at_wednesday_mass:_build_bridges,_no t_walls/en1-690203 (accessed October 15, 2013).

149 through when they lose something that matters to them.”26 When leaders are aware of this, it helps them let go of the defensive, confrontational posture which is a natural response when the vision they try to communicate is not accepted.

To share the vision leaders must also be formed in the best methods of consensus building, appreciative inquiry, and other elements of group dynamics that can open up the space for meaningful dialogue. In his book The Five

Dysfunctions of A Team, Patrick Lencioni notes that once trust is established, the next important step of healthy conflict can be taken. This is conflict that is based on ideological and not personal difference. This healthy exchange of ideas engenders greater buy-in and commitment from those who are part of a team or discussion.

With this deeper commitment comes deeper accountability in relationships and the ability in the end to focus on results.27 Imagine the effectiveness of a lay leader who oversees a ministry. As the leader builds relationships and trust within their ministry, volunteers will more openly share their ideas. With everyone on board and sharing the same vision, they are accountable to each other and can later reflect on whether they have attained the outcomes they were hoping for. The result will be a flourishing ministry. Lay leaders would be well served to study the complete catalogue of Lencioni’s books: they are written in a simple to read parable form and address organizational health.

Conflict resolution is another area that should be addressed when developing the lay leader’s capacity to share the vision. While mining for healthy conflict is a

26 William Bridges, Managing Transitions Making the Most of Change (Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1991), 24.

27 Patrick Lencioni, The Five dysfunctions of a Team (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002).

150 good thing when brainstorming and gathering ideas, conflict expressed through personal resentments, passive-aggressive behavior, or bullying tactics are not. Some study of systems thinking would be a good start for leaders. Herrington, Bonem, and

Furr in Leading Congregational Change, spend one chapter reflecting on the dynamics involved in the parish system and the conditions required to sustain health. For a leader to be able to diagnose problems in their ministry or apostolate they will need an understanding of the dynamics of how all the parts of the parish system work together. The authors give the example of the “five why’s” approach.28

This involves identifying a problem and asking, ‘Why is this happening?’ After a list of reasons is identified they repeat the process looking for deeper explanations until the underlying sources of the problem are identified. When the sources are dealt with, leaders can create change and healing at the systemic level of the parish. From the perspective of CC pastors, it is important to give lay leaders opportunities to look at the parish from this more systemic, bird’s-eye view. In focus group interviews clergy complained that some lay leaders could simply not see beyond their own activities. Well-formed leaders must be given the opportunity to develop this skill, as it will help them to see and then communicate the vision more clearly, helping people move from formal compliance towards energized and engaged commitment.

Finally, through adult learning models, lay leaders can be given opportunities to grow as public speakers. In any parish-based programs lay leaders, even as they receive formation, can be given assignments and tasks that will help them to present

28 Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem and James H. Furr, Leading Congregational Change (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002), 151.

151 ideas and create presentations. Building on small successes, they will grow in confidence. Creating a safe atmosphere for those who are most nervous about this is also important. Those with obvious public speaking strengths can be tasked with mentoring and working with those who need to develop them. In a simple resource booklet, Am I making Myself Clear? Terry Felber outlines strategies regarding appearance, listening, conversation, authenticity, and problem solving that are accessible and insightful. The goals of this section could be summed up in the preface of his book when he speaks of his and his wife’s desire not to pass through this life simply existing: “It became clear to us that if we were to make a difference, it would be through relationships with others. We came to learn that much of our fulfillment in life is based on our ability to connect with others in a real way. We have come to understand that communication skills are the key to our success in this area”.29 While it may take formation and development over time, when we have encountered the person of Christ and his truth in a genuine way, we are inspired as leaders to share that vision genuinely and effectively with others.

Empower the Vision

Empowering the vision is about equipping the laity to help move from planning into action. If the vision is first clearly discerned in the context of the parish community with clear goals and objectives, lived out by its leaders

29 Terry Felber, Am I Making Myself Clear? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2002), xi.

152 authentically, and communicated by them in an open and forthright manner, it has the best chance of becoming a concrete reality.

A Companions of the Cross mantra is that if it is God’s vision and plan then he will raise up the members of the parish who are most able to carry out the vision.

This identification of leaders, ministries, and apostolates must be done in the context of discernment and prayer. The first step of empowerment is to discern whom you are empowering. This was discussed as it relates to discerning overall vision for the parish and to the experience of the lay leader discerning his or her own role, but how does any leader aid another to help them be assured they are in the right place to begin with?

Identifying the right leaders or even volunteers for a particular ministry begins with establishing a clear understanding of what a particular role entails.

Many parishes have detailed role descriptions as part of the screening programs mandated by the diocese. Imagine that instead of a bureaucratic process of filling out forms, and receiving the appropriate police clearances, there was an opportunity for real dialogue. Empowerment is about helping people reflect on their own capacities, what they hope to accomplish, understand the expectations involved and make a prayerful decision about whether or not to take on a new role.

This process would require great restraint from pastors and ministry leaders who often find it much easier to simply recruit those who are available, experienced, and can get the job done.

Many non-profit organizations have made great strides in this area of volunteer recruitment and development. While using their talents in the service of

153 the body of Christ is a calling, a duty, and a responsibility, it is still volunteering in as much as they are offering themselves of their own volition to serve. CC parishes would be well served to pattern some of their ministry planning upon volunteer recruitment and development strategies. The five steps of the volunteer development cycle are planning, recruitment, orientation & training, supervision & evaluation, and recognition. Empowerment deals particularly with the first three steps in this cycle.

In the focus groups, laity shared success stories of ministries that were well planned out. With good planning, apostolate or ministry leaders will know the type of person they are looking for and the number of volunteers they will require. With planning comes the time to discern and recruit the right people. Having found the right kind of people for the role and knowing something about their capacity, lay leaders will be better able to train and equip them, thus giving them the greatest chance to succeed. To be leaders that empower they will need to be trained in these practical skills of planning, recruiting and teaching.

These skills may be developed on the parish-wide level through training days or workshops for ministry and apostolate leaders. While there will always be resistance to change, my experience in providing training to ministry leaders has been that they feel acknowledged, they grow in a shared sense of vision, and they feel good about walking away with practical tools which will benefit them in their ministries. A simple outline for a gathering would include refreshments and an ice- breaker where leaders can share a positive story or experience in ministry or leadership. The pastor, along with pastoral council members would then take a few

154 minutes to reiterate the vision of the parish and identify current goals and objectives for the year. This would be followed by table discussions as to how the vision, goals and objectives might be embodied in particular ministries in a town- hall reporting structure. Near the end of the meeting some planning tools would be given to leaders and explained, further equipping them to plan and discern activities for the next year. As a follow-up each ministry leader would be asked to submit a planning report to the parish so that the pastoral staff could do their own logistical planning successfully.

In this example the pastoral council sets the vision, yet ministry leaders are empowered to discern, reflect, and decide how that vision will be lived out in their ministry. At the same time there is a feedback loop for ministry leaders to share their concerns, ideas, and data for discernment with the pastoral leadership team.

When intentional disciples, who have caught the vision, progressively fill these ministry leadership roles, parish life flourishes. When the pastor and then lay leaders model this kind of delegation, collaboration, and devolving of power it can slowly become infused into the culture of the parish.

In order to do this work of empowerment and training, it is necessary that at least some CC priests and lay associates have the opportunity to be further trained and formed themselves. Arrow Leadership and Good Leaders, Good Shepherds programs are two such opportunities that CC priests have participated in. Another that has been used for this kind of leadership development is the bi-annual pastor’s days. Although parishioners might take issue with their priests being away from the

155 parish, it is another way of modeling to them, through the priest’s example, that leaders are always in need of training, equipping, and empowering themselves.

Lay leaders will also need formation in the understanding of what it means to have, give, or share power in the context of their ministry situation. Some clergy in the focus groups explained that they do not use the word leader because of the heavy set of expectations that the word carries. In their situation it can also be due to the cultural context, in which lay people believe only the priest is the leader. The word leader does not need to be shied away from, but in fact it should be held up and defined in light of the way that Christ taught his disciples to lead. This kind of servant-leadership training and teaching could be offered in the context of the Mass, through a homily or series of homilies that outline the characteristics of a servant- leader. Homily aids could be made available to pastors to help them in this. A time of year could be chosen in keeping with the liturgical season, such as the feast of

Christ the King, or in the Easter season, which recounts the stories of leaders in the early Church. Lay leaders, as they better understand their own leadership style and personality type, could be encouraged to investigate the lives of the saints and biblical characters within the framework of a leadership training program. This would help them to see that leadership is not reserved for the charismatic, refined, and well-polished orator with a type-A personality but that God choses all kinds of people.

As for empowering others, those with particular leadership styles that are more collaborative may find it very easy to entrust power and responsibility to others. On the other hand, those with a more autocratic or independent style, who

156 work wonderfully well in high pressure and intense situations may struggle. The more self-awareness leaders have, the better they can adapt and make adjustments not only to themselves but also in the structures around them to continue the work of empowerment.

While structures and systems are important to put in place, it must be reiterated that the Companions of the Cross vision of empowerment in and through the Holy Spirit must always be held up and honoured. Every gathering of leaders, every meeting, every liturgical event, every priestly blessing is an opportunity to remind laity to avail themselves of the power of the Holy Spirit. This may be through intercessory prayer, the laying on of hands, or encouraging laity to pray out loud themselves, or in tongues. It is expectant faith that releases power in the lives of God’s people.

Guide the Vision

The final element of the leadership development plan is to guide the vision.

While some of the priests in the focus groups were comfortable with their lay leaders working independently so long as they were doing a good job, laity expressed the desire for ongoing guidance and mentoring. Guidance and mentoring can be seen as two specific and distinct tasks. Guidance in this context refers to directing, reviewing, and evaluating whether leaders are carrying out the responsibilities and tasks assigned to them. Mentoring refers to the ongoing development of the lay leader.

157 Guidance of lay leaders by pastors, or by other lay leaders for that matter, will be most effective when clear expectations of a leader’s role and tasks assigned to that role have been defined. When ministry leaders are in charge of an event or program, it is of vital importance for them to know as much information as possible before it is initiated: budget, scope, goals, people involved, authority, and other resources. CC parishes would benefit from using a planning template. This may take a greater amount of time in the planning stages but will save time and resources as projects and ministries are initiated. The priest or lay leader in charge can simply ask for status updates from the project leader who will be able to report on these key metrics. They can then address issues and challenges that arise. Clergy in the focus groups identified that some lay leaders try to use meetings for quasi- spiritual direction or simply to develop a personal connection with the pastor. As trust- building is an important element of working with lay leaders in the parish, it can be difficult to create strict boundaries. What is important is that expectations are clarified from the outset as to the frequency, duration and purpose of meetings established to guide and oversee lay leaders.

One of the most important elements of guidance is honest feedback. If lay leaders are not completing tasks, or have interpersonal issues or character flaws that need to be addressed, it is the responsibility of the one guiding them to speak the truth in love to them. While CC pastors shared stories of lay leaders who did not thrive in ministry and leadership situations, and could pinpoint the reasons, it is not clear whether these reasons were always communicated clearly to the struggling leaders. Sometimes, since the lay leaders seem to be doing the best they can the

158 pastor does not wish to embarrass, belittle, or undermine their confidence. The reality is that when they don’t tell them the hard truth they are not pastoring them, nor helping them to grow. Other pastors can move in the opposite direction, having unrealistic standards. This is why concrete expectations, in writing, at the beginning of any project can help make the guidance and evaluation process more effective.

A second more focused element of guidance is direct mentoring. Because this work can be very time intensive, it is all the more important to identify the right people to invest in and to look at concrete guidelines for mentoring. While all CC priests receive spiritual direction, and most give spiritual direction and pastoral counseling formally or informally, many have not been directly mentored, nor have they been trained as mentors themselves. The two priests in the focus groups that mentioned their experience of being mentored received it by a brother priest who had been through a leadership training program and was formed in both the importance of mentoring and in the concrete tools of how it can be done. As lay leaders are identified and developed in the parish, they in turn will face these same challenges: ‘Who will mentor me?’ ‘How will I be trained?’, ‘Who will I identify as people I want to mentor?’

A great training resource is the book Mentoring Leaders by Carson Pue. As the director of the Arrow Leadership program, Pue developed countless leaders in a transformational manner. In the introductory chapter he describes five phases of the mentoring matrix.30 The first phase is awareness. This includes knowing your talents, and strengths, weaknesses, as well as having an awareness of your identity

30 Carson Pue, Mentoring Leaders (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 20-23.

159 in Christ. The second phase is freeing up: “It is during this phase that we explore together any areas of life, experience, and history you need to be freed from in order to continue to develop… (This stage) is really all about satisfying needs. It is searching for and understanding your core needs as an individual and as a leader.”31

Pue calls the third stage visioneering: the process of discovering purpose and reflecting on where to direct energy and time. Many people try to begin the mentoring process at this stage, but Pue strongly warns against this: “If you jump to visioneering without having a clear understanding of self, or things holding you back, you may be wasting your time, or even damaging your training if the vision is implemented without a solid foundation.”32 In the fourth phase, implementing, the mentor walks alongside leaders assisting them in looking at organizational design, team building strategies, and the incremental steps necessary to successfully implement the vision. The fifth phase, sustaining, focuses on assisting the leader in continuing to move the vision forward. Pue notes that when restlessness sets in it is often necessary to return to the first phase of mentoring and begin the process over again. Another mentoring option would be to help leaders examine their life in light of encountering Christ, building trusting relationships and living out the five elements of catching, living, sharing, empowering and guiding the vision in their own lives.

Just as CC priests have some texts for examining their life and ministry in light of their vocation, lay leaders can be provided tools for examining their lives in

31 Pue, Mentoring Leaders, 21.

32 Ibid., 22.

160 light of the particular “vision” God has called them to. In the Arrow Leadership program leaders were given the assignment of creating a leadership development plan for themselves. This plan was based on the personal vision statement of the leader from which transformational goals and objectives could be established. One leader’s personal vision statement was, “I am a holy leader and a healthy learner.”

The four words, holy-leader-healthy-learner could then be further described with goals set accordingly for the current year. In ongoing sessions with Arrow mentors, the leaders would then report and discuss the goals with their mentor and peer group, who would help them with accountability, encouragement, and advice. The

Companions of the Cross already have a model for share-groups that could be adapted to help laity receive peer mentoring. Those with a strong capacity for mentoring could be identified and encouraged to receive additional training, so as to be of service to other lay leaders.

With so many aspects and elements involved in developing leaders a pastor’s first response may be to say, ‘As important as this sounds, I just can’t afford the time, energy, and relational resources to put towards the task of developing leaders.’

While there is certainly an investment of time, energy, and resources involved, CC priests would be better off to count the costs of not investing in their leadership development. Even when ministries are flourishing under the power, energy and dynamism of engaged, committed, and holy priests, if pastors have not empowered laity to take their proper place in the life of the Church, they have failed in their mission. Worse, the reality is that many aspects of parish life are suffering or limping along because lay leaders have not caught, lived, shared, and been

161 empowered and guided in the vision that the Companions of the Cross have been charged to witness to prophetically in the life of the Church. In light of these challenges, and in response to the issues and concerns brought forward by CC pastors and laity, a number of recommendations will be summarized in the conclusion.

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Conclusion and Recommendations

There are many initiatives already in place in Companions of the Cross parishes which address the issues raised throughout this thesis and described in the last chapter. While the preceding chapter outlined a model for developing lay leaders within the Companions of the Cross parish context, some further recommendations are in order:

Clergy and Seminarian Formation

Priests will be most effective in developing leaders when those leadership capacities and tools have first been developed in them. The CC seminarian formation program has evolved over the years and has strived toward finding a balance between the aspects of spiritual, theological, and human formation. While theological and spiritual formation will always have its traditional place, the community has realized that men must also be formed in the very concrete human elements related to self-knowledge, personal hygiene, etiquette, sexuality, and fraternity. What must be strengthened in CC formation are organizational and leadership elements such as trust building, visioning, strategic planning, systems thinking, group dynamics, and mentoring. In addition, the more administrative elements of managing staff, human resources, diocesan expectations, financial oversight, and risk management should be given more attention. While new priests

163 come with a full toolbox of theological and spiritual insights, the efficacy of these tools can be undermined if the men are unable to understand underlying relational dynamics or to plan strategically.

Seminarian formation and development in these areas could take place through workshops, assigned reading, summer formation courses, talks by priests accustomed to pastoral practice, or by working through the Growing Leaders formation program. Mentoring could take place through a more robust internship program. The quality of the current pastoral internship experience is largely dependent on the initiative taken by the priest. If a pastor were provided with mentoring resources, such as those outlined in Mentoring Leaders, both pastor and intern would be guaranteed a more rewarding experience.

Over the years many initiatives have been offered to provide CC priests with ongoing formation to address ministry challenges and leadership skills. Naturally some priests are more drawn to this kind of training than others. While these gatherings for ongoing formation must continue they are not enough on their own.

Periodic guided discussions at the household level, similar to those that preceded the last general assembly, would be useful. As is already the custom in setting strategic community-wide goals, each year a particular theme could be established, with different elements being addressed at quarterly gatherings. Another very important aspect of leadership formation for priests would be a systematic gathering of resources, articles, best practices, books and training tools. This could be complemented by a manual of templates for things such as visioning, ministry planning, and leadership workshops.

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Priest assignments

One of the greatest frustrations laity discussed in the focus groups came from the anxiety, pain, and sadness experienced when there is a leadership change. While they cannot be aware of the painstaking lengths that the General Superior and his council go through to try to sustain consistent leadership in parishes, the issue none the less needs to be acknowledged and addressed. One way to do this would be for the executive council to initiate a deeper examination of the discernment and planning methods that lead to priest transfers. Asking for the deeper reasons why pastors are not always flourishing in their roles in the first place will also be necessary.

Even with underlying issues resolved, there will always be transitions in leadership. While every parish has its distinct characteristics, some guidelines and structures could easily be put in place to help parishes accept and even thrive when change happens. Bridge’s book Managing Transitions – Making the most of change mentioned earlier highlights a number of concrete steps that could be implemented as normal pastoral practices in CC parishes when there is a change in pastors.

Laity training

Apart from the particular discipling of lay associates already taking place in many CC parishes, there are three distinct areas to be considered when training lay

165 leaders within the parish. They include parish systems, general development, and specific training. A review and reform of certain parish systems will make it possible for lay leaders to be identified, equipped and trained in the parish. Included would be the creation and implementation of a holistic and integrated three-fold evangelization-discipleship-leadership development plan. It could be initiated through a workshop or a series of meetings in which the pastoral council or leadership team identifies challenges and opportunities, setting concrete objectives to develop intentional disciples who live out their baptismal calling, thus enabling the parish to flourish. Guidelines and resources for parish vision setting and organizational review should be developed which are in line with the CC understanding of discernment and catching the “now word”. At the same time they should also respect, affirm and give pride of place to laity’s role in that process.

General development can take place on the parish-wide level in a number of ways. The most obvious is when pastors and lay leaders in positions of authority model the way. This will be more easily accomplished as intentional disciples are placed in leadership roles. Parish-wide leadership formation also takes place through symbolic gestures such as honoring the pastoral council and other pastoral leaders during liturgical or other public events, in this way helping laity see that the pastor has delegated them for specific tasks of leadership. It can also be expressed in homilies and other teaching moments where large numbers of the parish are present, and so connect leadership principles found in the person of Christ to a lived experience of leadership as aspired to in the parish.

166 Laity will also have leadership development experiences indirectly through programs in the parish categorized as evangelization or discipleship. When people participate in a Life in the Spirit Seminar or Alpha program they are being equipped and taught about Christian leadership. When they participate in a discipleship series they may be learning about discernment and prayer, which will be forming them as leaders. If they attend a Called and Gifted workshop they are being equipped and empowered to lead others using the charisms and strengths they have begun to discern. Finally, through the bulletin, social media, parish library, and ministry programs the leadership principles that are being followed in the parish can be explained and celebrated.

Ministry-leader gatherings provide another important opportunity for leadership formation. While the stated reason for gathering leaders can be to plan and gather feedback, the formation goal looks also to the task of moving leaders along the path of intentional discipleship. Workshops and training days can be designed for ministry leaders with the three-fold task of evangelization, creating a shared sense of vision, and providing leadership formation. To aid people in the leadership of their ministries, tools and templates can be developed which take advantage of the five-fold volunteer recruitment and development strategies.

A third distinct element of training for laity must involve identifying and developing current and potential lay leaders. While systems need to be in place to help form ministry leaders, there must also be programs in place for more comprehensive and in-depth leadership formation. A successful program to develop lay leaders was implemented at St. Timothy Parish in Toronto called Growing

167 Leaders. The program addresses all five leadership elements identified in the lay leadership development diagram shown in the previous chapter. The program outlines the preliminary steps of identifying leaders suitable for the program. A lay person does not volunteer but is invited to take part. The program consists of an eight month process that includes two one-day retreats, eight two-hour evening sessions, and a commitment from participants to gather six to eight times in their homes for small-group sessions. The only additions or changes necessary would be to integrate Catholic content into some of the teachings and reading assignments.

The format of the retreat and teaching sessions incorporate adult learning models, with many opportunities for small group discussions and hands-on activities. There are many elements of the program where facilitation can be shared between clergy and lay leaders. While it does require a significant time commitment by the pastor, even if he is not leading all the sessions, this high-leverage investment can pay great dividends as he builds trust in these new leaders and begins to help them discern their role in parish life.

Concluding Thoughts

Through theological study on the nature of the laity and qualitative research into the phenomenon of lay leadership, this thesis establishes that the Companions of the Cross will flourish in parishes only as the people of God, laity and clergy alike, encounter God in the midst of trusting relationships. As laity are equipped to live out their baptismal calling in Christ as Priest, Prophet and King, leaders will be

168 identified and equipped to catch, live, share, empower and guide the vision entrusted to their care.

Although these investigations improve our understanding of the development of lay leaders there are a number of areas in which further study could continue. These areas include: 1) A deeper investigation and understanding into systems-thinking at the parish level. 2) Preparing and studying a holistic framework of the three elements of evangelization, discipleship and leadership development as a cohesive framework for parish growth. 3) Identifying the impact and influence of hiring lay staff and placing them in roles of parish leadership. 4) How other, non CC parishes, may also develop lay leaders following the framework presented in this thesis. 5) The impact of using a trinitarian model for leadership collaboration between clergy and laity.

The findings of this thesis suggest that the way in which lay leaders will be developed from one parish to another will be different. Pastors will need to have the flexibility to adapt to the circumstances they encounter. At the same time, the

Companions of the Cross have the opportunity to provide a number of resources to pastors and lay leaders, giving them the best opportunity to succeed. Finally, this study and research have revealed the central importance of building trust and cultivating relationships as a key to bringing laity into a place of encounter with

Christ, and finding their proper leadership roles in the Church. CC Clergy, through deeper reflection on the documents of Vatican II and teaching documents supplied by all levels of the Church hierarchy, must also take to heart the invitation to make a deeper act of faith in entrusting to lay leaders the work that is particularly their

169 own. Laity, on their part must not shirk the responsibilities entrusted to them but instead be leaders willing to accept and carry this cross.

170

Appendices

171

Research Ethics Board Summary

Purpose:

The purpose of the study is to identify key elements which lay parish leaders and Companions of the Cross Pastors believe to be fundamental in the development of a leadership-training program for laypeople serving in Companions of the Cross parishes throughout North America. This study is needed to help establish the most important elements that will be necessary in the program.

Methodology:

The data will be gathered through focus group discussions, and follow up interviews. As the Companions of the Cross serve in Churches in a number of cities, focus groups will be carried out ‘on location’ in Ottawa, Toronto, and Houston. There will be two sets of focus groups for every geographical region. One will be for Companions of the Cross Pastors and another for Lay Leaders. Companions of the Cross Priests who have served as pastors for a minimum of three years will be invited via email to take part in the program and will be gathered in focus groups of 3-5 people at a time. The focus studies for Priests will happen in one of our residences. These same pastors will be invited to supply me with the names, and email addresses of lay leaders who currently, or in the past, have been in the role of pastoral council or finance council member in their parish, or have been the leader of a ministry. I will invite them, via email to take part in the study. If more than fifteen respondents come forward in any given city, they will selected with the goal of finding as broad a cross section of lay leaders possible, in a variety of roles and ministries. The location of the focus groups and follow up interviews will be at a parish office in each geographic region. Follow up interviews for both groups may be done in person, or via telephone or Skype videoconference with a small number of subjects. All contact with study subjects, leading of focus groups and follow up interviews will be undertaken by me. Pastors will be asked questions related to their work with lay leaders, best practices in identifying and developing leaders, and suggestions regarding the implementation of the lay leadership program. Lay leaders will be asked questions regarding their impressions of how they have received leadership training within the parish, in their work place and other contexts, and what they would like to see as part of a lay leadership development program. Focus groups and Interviews will be recorded with a digital audio recorder.

172 Consent:

Informed consent will be obtained through a letter sent to all those taking part in the study, which they will be asked to sign and bring with them to the focus group meetings.

Debriefing: Subjects will be given the opportunity to share any follow-up comments after the focus groups and interviews via email or telephone to me.

Risks/ Benefits: There are no expected risks or safety issues. The subjects will benefit by sharing their experiences and insights regarding lay leadership development in the parish setting.

Deception: No deception will be involved.

Compensation: No compensation will be given beyond a meal or snacks offered to the subjects during the focus group sessions and interviews.

Confidentiality: Briefing notes and recordings will be kept on a digital recorder and laptop computer which is password protected. These will be secured in a locked office when not in use for focus group and interview process.

173 Focus Group Outline and Questions

Focus Group: Date: ______Attendees: ______Preparations: - Room/ set up with Coffee/ Juice/ Snacks. - Make sure recorder is set up, handouts ready, questions at hand. - As they arrive, ask them to review and sign consent forms.

Introduction of Topic - Introduce Yourself- Parish, and favorite ministry/ parish event. - Topic is ‘developing lay leaders in CC Parish Context’ - That is, ‘Identify Key elements CC Pastors/ Lay People believe to be essential in the development of a leadership training program for Lay People serving in CC parishes’ - I will be doing focus groups with Pastors/ Lay people and conducting some follow up interviews, and analyzing the results as part of my doctoral thesis. - You were invited because you are currently, or in the past part of CC parishes (laity) or CC pastors (clergy).

Guidelines - No right or wrong answers, just differing points of view, which in this study are very important to collect, and I’m interested in the ‘negative’ as much as the ‘positive’ - We’re recording, so only one person speak at a time. - No names given in any writing… respect confidentiality, and ask you to do the same. - Don’t need to agree but listen respectfully. - Please turn off cell phones if you are able. - I will guide discussion, might ask you to follow up on a thought, or go deeper. - Most fruitful and helpful are your own concrete experiences, versus the theoretical or hypothetical. - To clarify, when I speak of ‘lay people’ in leadership, for the sake of this discussion, I am thinking mainly about volunteers and not lay people in paid parish staff positions.

174 Round 1- Leadership in General Q. In general, could you share your understanding of what ‘leadership’ means to you? Follow up: Q. What are the particular qualities you’ve admired in the leaders you’ve worked with in the past? Q. What makes someone a leader? Q. What are the qualities you are looking for in a leader? Q. In what way are you a leader?

Round 2- CC Clergy Leadership Q. What are your experiences of CC Clergy Leadership? Follow up: Q. What are your own experiences, positive and negative of being led by CC Clergy? Q. What is your understanding of the co-operation and shared leadership between laity and clergy in the Parish?

Round 3- The Lay Leadership Experience Q. Think back to an experience of lay people- yourself or others taking on a role of leadership in parish life. Describe the experience from the point of view as a leader, or being led by other lay people. Follow up: Q. Put another way, in what leadership situations have you seen yourself or lay people thrive, or fail? Q. If thrive: what were the elements in place that helped you to thrive in leadership? Q. If fail: what was missing, that you were not able to lead well? Q. How do people feel about being led by other lay people versus a priest? Q. What can be done to help them ‘accept’ lay leaders?

Round 4- Leadership outside the Parish setting Q. Tell me about your personal experience of being a leader inside versus outside the parish setting… is there a difference? Follow up: Q. In what way is leadership seen differently? Q. What can we learn from leadership/ development outside the parish?

Round 5- Key Elements to develop

Q. One training framework in Christian leadership development looks at three core elements, ‘Calling, Character, and Competencies’. Another business leadership training program looks at: “modeling the way, inspiring with vision, challenging the process, enabling others, and encouraging the heart.”

175 What are the most important qualities you are looking in a lay leadership development program? Follow up: Q. Tell me about your training as a leader in ministry? How much did you receive? Q. Did it help you to feel like you were a ‘leader’? Q. What kind of ongoing formation/ affirmation was there from Clergy? Q. In what ways can we (or have you in your parish) integrated CC VISION into parish leadership (i.e. p+w, communal discernment, waiting on the word, etc.)

Round 6: Programming Structures- Time, resources, structure. Q. Beyond teaching elements in the program, logistically speaking, what are things to keep in mind regarding timing, resources and structure of any lay leadership program? Follow up: Q. Where have you found the greatest success in identifying (and developing) lay leaders? What do you think might work? Q. In general, what kind of formation programs have been most helpful to you in the past? Q. Would it be meaningful to receive some kind of “recognition” or certification at the end of the training? Q. What kind of resources in time, finances, vision, would you be willing to dedicate to your own training as a lay leader? Q. Experiences of bringing in outside trainers/ speakers?

Wrap up: Q. All things considered, of everything we discussed today, what to you is the most important thing to keep in mind, on this theme of ‘developing lay leaders in the CC Parish Context’?

176

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