I’m delighted to introduce you to Jean…friend, ministerial colleague and fellow traveler on the #synodjourney. Jean’s working on her Th.D. in Applied Theology and we spend some hours noodling together. The combination of her studies, her work in her parish, the current “a-synodal” culture in the US Church, her need for a dissertation topic, and perhaps most importantly, the Holy Spirit’s niggling, provide the genesis of this blog series entitled Synodality and the Spirit of Peaceful Discontent. There’s so much to re-consider as the Spirit takes hold of our Church and Jean’s begun that work in a synodal fashion. Her blog series invites us along this part of her #synodjourney as she looks at her role as a Lay Ecclesial Minister (LEM). Welcome Jean!
Did you ever sit, stare at something, scratch your head and wonder, "What the heck does that even mean?" You attempt to make sense of it or place a definition or parameter around it and you are simply left stumped! I recently had an experience like that. I was sitting at my office desk and glanced over at what I affectionately refer to as "the wall of learning." What displays there are my professional certificates and academic diplomas, one of which names me as a "Lay Ecclesial Minister." Lo and behold, as my eye was drawn to the "wall of learning," I noticed that this one certificate was actually crooked in a most distinct manner. Why was it "off?" What caused it? When did it lose its alignment? All of the others were perfectly straight, yet this one was standing out, giving me great pause. And then, it beckoned me to listen a bit more closely to what the Spirit was beginning to reveal...
I diligently worked four years to achieve that "title." I studied to earn a graduate degree in Theology. I learned about Hebrew Scriptures, Ecclesiology, Christian Spirituality, Christian Ethics, World Religions, Christian Scriptures, Catholic-Jewish Relations, Christology, Sacraments and Liturgy, the History of Christianity, Philosophical Foundations of Theology, and the Theory of Catechesis and Religious Education. I read. I researched. I questioned. I wrote. I questioned some more. I sought further conversation, and I began dipping my proverbial toe in the waters as a new "theologian."
I gratefully and humbly received financial support for this endeavor from my diocese and my parish. I attended a multitude of pastoral, human and spiritually formative workshops with varied, engaging presenters. I underwent psychological testing and reflected on who I was an an individual in the role sof Catholic woman, professional, wife, mother and daughter.
I was encouraged by my pastor, my co-workers, my family and my friends. I met and dialogued with spiritual and formational directors. I developed and wrote a formal document detailing what specifically impacted me over the course of the journey that was then discussed in an interview with my pastor and my diocesan formation director prior to my commissioning. I was featured with my colleagues in our diocesan newspaper. I was "commissioned" by the Bishop at a Mass celebrated in the diocesan cathedral. I fellowshipped with other colleagues and classmates, laity and clergy, family and friends at a lovely reception. And ceremoniously, I received the official wall-hanging certificate.
I have shared all of these details not to boast about myself but rather to humbly reveal the amount of effort required on the journey of becoming a "Lay Ecclesial Minister." This extensive effort was/is much like clergy formation...rigorous, exuberant and fulfilling. So, after all that and now working in this role, quite honestly, the crooked certificate caught me off guard. There's something skewed about my vision of Lay Ecclesial Ministry and what I am experiencing as I serve in this role. This is the working of the Holy Spirit. I am sure of it. The Spirit is using that crooked frame on the wall to prompt me, call me and challenge me to reflect on what is "off" and then to name it.
So, "Now what?" you might be asking. Your guess is as good as mine! But at least I acknowledged the question, right? I have begun to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit: to find out more, to search, to delve deeper and to dream.
Intrigued? I certainly know I am. Kindly journey with me and stay tuned for subsequent blogs where I delve into Pope Francis' call for bold proclamations and my acknowledgment that opposition to what the Spirit reveals to me is inevitable. Why? Well, because opposition is always a given coming from those who prefer the "status quo."
Jean Musto Hawley is the Director of Religious Education at Immaculate Conception Church in Hampton, Virginia. Additionally, she is an Adjunct faculty member in the Religious Studies Department at Saint Leo University and a doctoral student in the Th.D. in Applied Theology program at Saint Leo as well. Her research and passion lie within the realms of: Pneumatology, Synodality, intergenerational connections, and the impact of Lay Leadership upon the Church of the modern world. Jean resides in Chesapeake, Virginia with her husband, Dan, her two teenage daughters, Gabby and Bella, and their shepadoodle pup, Blaze.
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