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• In-service on Co-Workers Symposium

In-Service Will Spread “Wow” Spirit of Co-Workers Symposium

The spirit of last summer’s national “Working in the Vineyard of the Lord” symposium will be shared at an in-service to be presented Saturday morning, February 2, at the NFCYM Membership Meeting.

The symposium really was a ‘wow’ moment for our church,” says Pat Rinker, director of youth ministry for the Diocese of Lansing and a participant in the symposium. The event, held July 31 to August 3 at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, brought together more than two hundred lay ministers, priests, religious, and bishops representing 26 national organizations, formation institutes, and Catholic colleges.

Rinker recalls an exercise where participants from different areas of ministry were assigned to roundtables to discuss their pathways into ministry.

“It was such a powerful moment,” Rinker says. “We’re more alike than we realize. You know how racism develops? It starts with stereotypes, and we do that in ministry, too. Think about liturgist jokes. But the power of story breaks this down.”

“We came from all different fields of ministry,” Rinker says, “but we left committed to move forward as lay ecclesial ministers, not simply as youth ministry leaders. We’re all in this work together, as partners.”

Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, published in 2005, has more clearly defined who we are as lay ecclesial ministers and offered guidance for what we do in ministry with other lay ecclesial ministers—those who serve the young Catholic Church.

The goals of this in-service include:

• Engaging NFCYM membership in dialogue about the implications Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord has for diocesan offices, collaborating member organizations, the NFCYM, and the field of youth ministry.
• Identifying current issues and concerns in our ministry relative to the key areas of Co-Workers (pathways, formation, authorization, and workplace issues).
• Encouraging members to make specific commitments regarding the implementation of Co-Workers in their “back home” ministry setting.