(New Orleans)—The Loyola University New Orleans Institute for Ministry (LIM) will present a symposium called, “Co-Workers in the Gulf South: The Vocation and Challenge of Lay Ecclesial Ministry,” Friday, February 15, through Saturday, February 16, at Loyola University. The event is free, but participants are asked to register in advance. Lunch will be provided. CEU or graduate credit is available.

The symposium is based on the 2005 Unite States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) statement, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. According to the USCCB web page, “The [U.S.] bishops have offered Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord as a ‘pastoral and theological reflection on the reality of lay ecclesial ministry, as an affirmation of those who serve in this way, and as a synthesis of best thinking and practice.’”
National experts presenting at the symposium are Edward Hahnenberg, Ph.D., author of Ministries: A Relational Approach and theological consultant to the USCCB Subcommittee on Lay Ecclesial Ministry, and Christopher Anderson, Executive Director of the National Association for Lay Ministry.
The symposium will consist of several lectures and discussions. Throughout the symposium, there will be roundtable discussions with regional leaders including Alice Hughes, Diocese of Jackson; Sr. Marie Leonard, OSB, Diocese of Birmingham; and the Rev. Thomas C. Ranzino and Denise Louviere, Diocese of Baton Rouge. There will be a Eucharistic Liturgy on Saturday, an optional Friday afternoon tour of Catholic Responses to Katrina, and a Saturday “Evening Out.”
For those who would like to earn one graduate or CEU credit, both Friday and Saturday participation is required; assigned outside work, readings, and written assignment will be added. For graduate credit only, the tuition is $252.00; for CEU credit, the tuition is $110.
LIM Director Tom Ryan, Ph.D., will be the instructor for the symposium. Cecelia M. Bennett, associate director for LIM, has been the main organizer of the event and will be the master of ceremonies for the symposium. The symposium is hosted by the Loyola Institute for Ministry, Loyola University New Orleans, and funded in part by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. For more information, see www.lim.loyno.edu, e-mail lim@loyno.edu, or contact Cecelia Bennett at (800) 777-5469 x 3398 or (504) 865-3398.

The Symposium schedule will be as follows.

Friday February 15, 2008

1:30 p.m.
An optional tour of Catholic Responses to Katrina
Led by LIM Graduate Kevin Fitzpatrick, of Operation Helping Hands
Tour fee
Open to symposium participants only
Deadline to sign up for tour, January 15

Free Public Lecture
7:00 p.m.
Registration Nunemaker Auditorium
Loyola University New Orleans

“The United States Catholic Bishops on the Vocation to Lay Ministry”
Edward P. Hahnenberg, Ph.D.

Saturday, February 16

9:30 a.m.
Coffee and registration in Nunemaker Auditorium
Loyola University New Orleans

10 a.m.
Welcome and Prayer
“Celebrating the Pathways to Lay Ecclesial Ministry”
Loyola University Ministry
Monroe Hall, Nunemaker Auditorium

10:15 to 11:30 a.m.
“Theological Foundations for Clergy-Lay Collaboration in Light of Co-Workers”
Edward P. Hahnenberg, Ph.D.
Followed by discussion
Also teleconferenced to Loyola Institute for Ministry Extension Program Sites
Nunemaker Auditorium

11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
The Audubon Room
Danna Student Center, Loyola University New Orleans

12:45 to 1 p.m.
Local Response “Opportunities for Clergy-Lay Collaboration”
The Rev. Thomas C. Ranzino, Chancellor and Pastor, Diocese of Baton Rouge
Denise Louviere, Lay Ecclesial Minister, Diocese of Baton Rouge
The Audubon Room

1 to 1:45 p.m.
Roundtable discussion
Facilitated by Sr. Marie Leonard, OSB, Director of Lay Ministry, Diocese of Birmingham
The Audubon Room

2 to 2:30 p.m.
“The Workers are Worth Their Wage: Creating a Lay Friendly Ministerial Workplace in Light of Co-Workers”
Christopher Anderson, Executive Director of the National Association of Lay Ministry
The Audubon Room

2:30 p.m.
Local Response “The Ministerial Workplace”
Alice Hughes, Director of Faith Formation, Diocese of Jackson
The Audubon Room

2:45 to 3:30 p.m.
Roundtable Discussion
Facilitated by Christopher Anderson
The Audubon Room

3:30 to 4 p.m.
Roundtable discussion “Where does this group go from here?”
Facilitated by Sr. Marie Leonard, OSB Director of Lay Ministry, Diocese of Birmingham
The Audubon Room

4:30 p.m.
Eucharistic Liturgy for the Second Sunday of Lent
Gospel Reading: Matthew 17: 1-9 “The Transfiguration”—Let us rise and go unafraid.
Presider: the Rev. Gerald M. Fagin, S.J.
Music: Loyola University Ministry
Ignatius Chapel, Bobet Hall, Loyola University New Orleans