“The question is no longer how can the laity assist us in our ministries, but rather how can we serve the laity in their ministries.” Negotiating that change will be unsettling, but it will cause us to draw a tighter bead on what it is that we Vincentians have to give our colleagues and how we are to give it.” – From Eastern Province NewsletterFr. Tom McKenna writes to Vincentians of the Eastern Province….
And what have you learned from your job?” A quick question put to me by a senior confrere, it caught me without a fast answer. Later on as responses began to float up, one in particular took shape. It had to do with Vincentian collaboration with laity, particularly in the experiences I’ve had with board members at Niagara and St. John’s. Between all the meetings, committee work and especially the two-day retreat sessions, there’s been ample opportunity to rub elbows with these lay men and women, work with them on common projects and listen to their expertise and insights. In the process, I’ve caught glimpses of an evolving kind of apostolic partnership.
Most likely, I was prepped for this answer by an article in Origins. (October 28, 2004) by Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the Superior General of the Jesuits. In the fall, he gave a talk at Creighton University entitled “Jesuits and Their Lay Partners in Ministry” in which he shared two convictions about collaboration.
Complete article can be found in
Eastern Province Newsletter
