Bishop establishes day to honor lay ministers

September 23, 2012

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:

In response to our baptism, all of us are to live out our lives each day as disciples of Jesus, promoting the glory of God in our world. At the same time, each of us has a distinct call of Jesus in our own lives. This can be the vocation to the married life, the vocation of the single life, the vocation of the consecrated life and the vocation to the ordained life.

The laity, for their part, live out their vocation in the world. This is the lay apostolate, where lay Catholics apply the faith to the social order, to the marketplace, to the public arena. This is living Gospel values in our society; what we call evangelizing.

But related to that vocation of the laity are the ways that many laity grow the church by their gracious and graceful service. Catechetical, liturgical, pastoral, administrative -- these are the diverse ministries in local parishes and Catholic institutions that so many lay ministers among us provide. The diocesan "Lay Ministries Handbook for Parishes and Institutions" profiles 44 such ministries that are recognized in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Approximately 30,000 men and women take part in one or more of these lay ministries.

Additionally, there are those that we call lay ecclesial ministers. These lay men and women collaborate directly with the ordained in a leadership capacity. Their service requires specialized, formal preparation and appointment.

In announcing the Year of Faith to begin on Oct. 11, Pope Benedict asked us to "open the door of faith." It is fitting, then, that we recognize and celebrate the many lay ministers that open the "door of faith" for others throughout the Church of Pittsburgh in our parishes, schools and Catholic agencies.

Accordingly, I have designated the weekend of Nov. 3 and 4, 2012, as a Day of Recognition and Celebration of Lay Ministers throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

I ask all our parishes that weekend, in their own way and appropriate to their circumstances, to create opportunities to recognize and thank the lay ministers among us. I invite each one of you to recognize personally those within your own local parishes and institutions who use their energies and talents as lay ministers to promote growth in the church, growth in the faith, growth in the love of Jesus Christ. Take a moment to express your gratitude to those persons who bring Christ to you and your family.

This Day of Recognition and Celebration of Lay Ministers is an opportunity to give thanks for the many ways in which Christ in his Spirit builds up The Church Alive! here in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. And the people he uses as his heart and hands in doing so.

Grateful for our belief that "Nothing is Impossible with God," I am

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend David A. Zubik

Bishop of Pittsburgh 

Parish lay ministers to be honored Nov. 3-4 

Bishop Zubik establishes day of recognition 

Chuck Moody

Associate Editor 

Bishop David Zubik has designated the weekend of Nov. 3-4 as a Day of Recognition and Celebration of Lay Ministers throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

"In response to our baptism, all of us are to live out our lives each day as disciples of Jesus, promoting the glory of God in our world," Bishop Zubik wrote in a letter to all parishes (see full text on Page 1). "At the same time, each of us has a distinct call of Jesus in our own lives. This can be the vocation to the married life, the vocation of the single life, the vocation of the consecrated life and the vocation to the ordained life."

In announcing the Year of Faith to begin on Oct. 11, Pope Benedict asked us to "open the door of faith," Bishop Zubik said.

"It is fitting, then, that we recognize and celebrate the many lay ministers that open the 'door of faith' for others throughout the Church of Pittsburgh in our parishes, schools and Catholic agencies," he said. "Accordingly, I have designated the weekend of Nov. 3 and 4 as a Day of Recognition and Celebration of Lay Ministers throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh."

Bishop Zubik has asked all parishes in the diocese that weekend "to create opportunities to recognize and thank the lay ministers among us."

"I invite each one of you to recognize personally those within your own local parishes and institutions who use their energies and talents as lay ministers to promote growth in the church, growth in the faith, growth in the love of Jesus Christ," the bishop said in his letter. "Take a moment to express your gratitude to those persons who bring Christ to you and your family.

Among those positions in the church considered to be lay ministers are catechists, altar servers, readers, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, ushers, cantors, choir members, and members of the pastoral or finance councils.

The diocesan Secretariat for Parish Life and Lay Leadership has provided pastors with a packet of information containing suggestions of how to recognize lay ministers in their parish during Masses on the celebration weekend. The materials also are available on the diocesan website at www.diopitt.org.

John Flaherty, secretary for parish life and lay leadership, said Bishop Zubik's decision, in response to the requests of the priests of the diocese, to designate a weekend to recognize and celebrate lay ministers, allows the Church of Pittsburgh to "praise God for the marvelous gift of sharing in his mission to the world, affirm the common dignity and shared vocation to holiness of all members of the body of Christ, acknowledge how much the laity contribute to the welfare of the entire church, recognize the wonderful diversity of ministries and charisms God has bestowed on the church for manifesting and extending the kingdom of God, and give thanks to those lay ministers who zealously expend so much energy for the growth of the church and its continuous sanctification."