There is a positive review of CALLED & CHOSEN: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders, Edited by Zeni Fox and Regina Bechtile, SC. in the issue 9/26 of AMERICA.
Called and Chosen
Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders
Edited by Zeni Fox and Regina Bechtle, S.C.
Rowman & Littlefield. 196p $21.95
It is no secret that in the last 40 years there has been a steep decline in the number of clergy working in parishes as well as religious congregations staffing schools and other Catholic institutions. In parishes, the women and men filling the roles once performed exclusively by clergy and religious are generally known as lay ecclesial ministers. Much has been written about them and their ministry, including a forthcoming document by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Other institutions once staffed by priests and religious congregations—such as Catholic schools at all levels as well as heath care institutions—don’t seem to have gotten as much attention. Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders remedies that situation admirably.
This is so on several accounts. First, its editors—Zeni Fox, associate professor of pastoral theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Seton Hall University in New Jersey, with extensive experience in the area of lay leadership formation, and Regina Bechtle, S.C.—make clear from the beginning why this book came into being, its intended audience and its core concerns. Second, the authors engage the reader in a stimulating dialogue on the book’s themes. Third, unlike some edited volumes, the material is consistently well written and on point. And the reflection questions are excellent.
