Pastoral Life And Administration Focus Area
Competent, educated lay ecclesial ministers are being called by today’s church to facilitate the pastoral and administrative life of parishes and dioceses. The focus area in pastoral life and administration helps prepare pastoral leaders for ministry in the growing number of parishes without a resident pastor or to serve as pastoral associates on parish teams. This circumstance provides the laity, religious, and deacons with increasing opportunities to share their gifts and talents with the parish and diocesan church. LIM seeks to help students discover and claim these gifts and talents and prepares students with skills in pastoral administration.
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Parish Life and Ministry
This course introduces participants to the dimensions of parish life in its many shapes and forms. The liturgical life of the parish, pastoral practices, and canon law are used as reference points for exploring the development of vibrant parish life. Models of pastoral and liturgical planning are also introduced in the course.
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Contemporary Issues in Pastoral Ministry
This course examines a number of
the challenges facing parishes and
pastoral leaders in a variety of ministry
settings. Topics include issues related to
evangelization, collaborative ministry,
parish mergers and transitions, and the
spirituality of lay ecclesial ministers,
among others. Course participants also
examine in more depth the needs and
models of ministry related to particular
population (for example, ministry to
homebound elderly) in their faith
community.