Parish titles clarified

If the term "parish life director" caught your eye in the article on page one about pastoral planning, you noticed an example of something new in the Albany Diocese: A list of terms and definitions for the various ministries in parishes today.

In 1994, with the number of professional pastoral ministries rapidly increasing, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard established a Ministries Committee to develop guidelines, position descriptions, and requirements for paid parish and cluster ministerial positions.

The reason, said Sister Kathleen Turley, RSM, diocesan chancellor for planning and pastoral services, was that staff in various parishes were doing similar jobs with a variety of titles. That could become a problem, she said, when staff members changed jobs.

"In parish A, I'm a pastoral associate, and I do outreach work to the sick and homebound," she said, giving an example. "But in parish B, that's a parish visitor."

Pastors would be unsure of the requirements and qualifications when hiring lay ministers, as well; and a pastor new to a parish would have to learn a new set of titles for similar ministries.

Sister Kay Ryan, CSJ, director of the diocesan Family Life Office and a member of the Ministries Committee, told The Evangelist that "as the Church begins to recognize the need to call lay ministers, there's a need to recognize who these ministers are."

In order to create the list of ministries, the committee surveyed three parish clusters: one rural, one suburban and one "city" cluster. They also examined Bishop Hubbard's pastoral letter, "We are God's Priestly People," as well as the criteria for vital and viable parishes. They also looked at how other dioceses similar to the Albany Diocese, including Chicago and Rochester, defined their ministries.

When the definitions began to take shape, the committee sent them to the surveyed parishes and to diocesan staff for feedback. They had completed a list of explanations for lay ministries; but in order to be all-inclusive, they were told, they needed to add explanations for ministries that required ordination.

Thus, the final list of defined parish ministries was as follows: Pastor, associate pastor, sacramental minister, deacon, parish life director, pastoral associate for administration, pastoral associate for faith formation, pastoral associate for liturgy, pastoral associate for pastoral care/social outreach and pastoral associate for youth ministry (see sidebar for definitions).

Many of the titles include the term "pastoral associate." Betsy Rowe, director of the diocesan Formation for Ministry office and a committee member, explained that this term implies that parish ministry is not just a job.

"All the titles have an underpinning of theological and baptismal commitment," she stated. Parish ministers may not necessarily be Catholic, but they must have an understanding of how the Church works.

The completed booklet is being distributed at a series of regional meetings for parishes just completed in the Diocese (see related story). The committee's hope is that the new titles will be in use in parishes by next year, providing a uniform set of requirements for parish ministries.

Use of the titles will make it easier, they said, for those trying to contact a certain ministry in a parish to find the right person.

"It affirms what people are doing," Ms. Rowe added. "People say, `I just visit the sick.' Well, that's not true " you've been educated for that; you're a professional."

(10-10-96) [[In-content Ad]]