Every Member Ministry

As I was driving home last night I was thinking about the parable of the talents which we heard at Mass, where Jesus teaches us about using our God-given gifts in service of His Kingdom.

This parable’s message was certainly taken to heart by my former Protestant communities. In fact, I think this is one of the many things which we Catholics can really learn from our separated brethren. In those churches the question isn’t “Will you serve?” but “How will you serve?”.

In those congregations, the various ministries were regularly advertised and they were often mentioned in the pastors’ Sunday sermons. There was a very clear understanding that to be a part of the faith community meant to be joined with others in service. I remember in one parish’s bulletin, in the section listing the Church Staff, under the final entry of “Ministers” it simply read “Everyone!” 

Service is also a really powerful evangelistic witness. Seeing people live out their faith by serving others stirs up far more interest and questions in unbelievers than any car fish sticker ever has. Service is also a great way to grow in your faith, grow in holiness and to encounter Jesus Christ in a really concrete way. As we will hear in next week’s Gospel:

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” – Matthew 25:36

I’ll admit that I do find it frustrating when I encounter a Christian who has belonged to a parish for years but serves in no any capacity whatsoever. I have often pondered the reason for this…

Dog Collars Required

I think that one of the reasons why service is so central to many Protestant communities stems from the Protestant understanding of “The priesthood of all believers“. While I think that their understanding of this doctrine is faulty, I have to admit that, in my experience, it can really help foster a dynamic of service within a congregation.

In recognizing the true importance of Holy Orders, have we Catholics created an environment in which the laity view Christian service as a job only for “the professionals”?

False Humility

Whenever anyone says to me “I don’t really have any talents” I quite simply don’t believe them. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, the servant who is given the least amount is still given the equivalent of $300,000. You don’t think you have any talents? Nonsense! You’ve got at least three hundred thousand dollars’ worth!

Nowhere to serve

Over the last five years I’ve visited a lot of parishes and I’ve been to many where there were no parish ministries advertised at all. This results in a “chicken and egg” situation: the parish doesn’t have ministries so people don’t serve, but because people don’t serve the parish doesn’t have ministries!

Disconnected

In many parishes the ministries just aren’t hands-on. For example, I’ve been to parishes which collected food for the poor, but its distribution was left to the parish staff. Not only does this feed into the “Dog Collars Required” mentality described above, I think that it also creates a disconnect for the parishioners. That disconnect results in a lack of engagement and when we’re not engaged we lose our drive and enthusiasm.

Forms of service

Is it because we only think about service and ministry in very narrow terms?

I would suggest that if you polled Catholics coming out of Mass on Sundays about the ministries in the parish, they’d talk about the Eucharistic Ministers, the Lectors, the Altar Servers and the Choir. All of these are ministries which are directly involved in the liturgy and have something obviously “spiritual” about them. Perhaps we should be thinking a little bit more creatively…

For example, how many parishes have no website, or if they have one, it’s ugly and outdated? I’m certain that every parish has a teenage boy who could do something about this! However, he has never been asked, and never been shown that he can even use his nerdy knowledge of HTML to serve the Kingdom! Maybe we just have to think outside the box a little more and to find better ways of utilizing the talents of our parishioners.

Also, I don’t know how many times I’ve visited a new parish and gone to the refreshments afterwards, stood alone and had nobody welcome me as a newcomer, talk to me or even say “Hello”. I would like to suggest to any priest who has too many Eucharistic Ministers that he transfer some of them to a new ministry. In this new ministry they would still be bringing Jesus to the people, but this time by welcoming newcomers and ensuring that they’re made to feel at home.

Scared

Are people really just scared? Scared of committing? Scared of looking foolish? Scared of failing in some way? I understand how terrifying it can be to “get out of the boat”, to get out of your comfort zone and do something you’d rather not do. Fortunately, I’ve had some wonderful people in my previous parishes who really gave me an example to follow. Quoting Pope John Paul II, who himself was quoting Jesus:

“Have courage! Be not afraid!” – Matthew 14:27

Priests and ministry leaders shouldn’t have to beg people to come and serve; service should be an integral part of our Christian identity. There are 1.2 billion Catholics on the planet. What would this world look like if all 1.2 billion gave themselves wholeheartedly to the service of Christ and His Church?

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love
is made complete in us – 1 John 4:12