Pastoral Letter: Sharing Leadership at St. Ignatius

Dear Sisters and Brothers –

Nearly 60 years ago, Vatican II spoke about Catholics in the pews in language that was groundbreaking and exciting. The image of “the People of God,” for example, sought to replace our self-understanding as a passive, receptive people with one that gives agency and responsibility to the everyday Catholic. Lumen Gentium, one of the four primary documents, speaks of the “common priesthood of the faithful,” conferred on all of the baptized. In following years, the Society of Jesus developed these themes in its own documents, recognizing the gifts given by the Spirit to the Church through our lay partners in mission and their essential role in the effectiveness in our ministries.

In this spirit, eight years ago, St. Ignatius Parish implemented a model of parishioner leadership that has served our Parish well. It seeks to recognize and respect the call to ministry given to parishioners, and it helps foster and deepen the responsibility for the life of our parish shared among parishioners, staff and clergy. It also facilitates communication and collaboration among the various activities throughout the parish.

Our leadership model centers on five Commissions, under which every ministry, committee and event in the Parish falls. The five Commissions (and some of those ministries) are: Faith Formation (children’s faith formation, retreats, adult formation series, RCIA); Worship (liturgical ministers, Liturgical Environment Planning committee); Mercy & Justice (Brown Bag Sunday, Advocacy committee, Laudato Si’); Community (the Parish Picnic, Christmas Emporium, post-Mass hospitality); and Administration (Finance committee, Building Maintenance committee). The primary responsibility of the Commissions is to make sure that each of the ministries that fall under its purview has the resources and help it needs to accomplish its goals. To achieve this, each Commission member serves as the liaison between the Commission and one or more ministries, checking in with the ministry lead each month. (It is important to note here that the Commissioners are not “on the ground” and responsible for the various ministries. Rather, they operate at a higher level, visioning and supporting.) The Commissions meet the second Tuesday of the month (except August and December) for 90 minutes, sometimes convening between meetings when deemed necessary by Commission members. Each Commission has between six and 10 members who serve three-year terms; terms are staggered in order to maintain consistency. Terms begin and end with the June meeting, giving the new members some time over the summer to ramp up before the new year starts.

Each March, we begin the process of selecting new Commission members. In the coming weeks, you will be hearing from current Commissioners about their experiences serving our Parish in this capacity. Our hope is that you will think about nominating yourself or someone you believe has experience in any of our ministries and leadership skills. Elsewhere in the bulletin is a nominations form for you to fill out, as well as a link to make a nomination on line.

We are blessed with a vibrant and dynamic Parish, and that is the result of the generosity and hard work of so many. It is also a function of understanding that we all bear some responsibility for creating that parish. Please keep this process in your prayers. And, as always,

oremus pro invicem.

Fr. Greg