The items on this page have been noted by the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service as useful for the formation and development of ecclesial ministers in various areas of service.
Featuring Joseph Cardinal Tobin, this web presentation of the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition provides a platform for those in prison ministries to become compassionately aware and gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding addiction...
Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (2005) is a resource for diocesan bishops and for all others who are responsible for guiding the development of lay ecclesial ministry in the United States.
Colaboradores en la Viña del Señor (2005) es un recurso para los obispos y para todos los responsables de guiar el desarrollo del ministerio eclesial laico en los Estados Unidos.
Professional Ministry Glossary
This glossary produced by the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service (2020) contains working definitions used in various USCCB publications. It is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive, but to serve as guidance for those seeking a common way of defining specific terms related to ministry formation and certification. The USCCB subcommittee recommends this glossary as a reference, when needed, to clarify terms used in professional ministry development.
A National Study on Catholic Campus Ministry (2018) was commissioned by the USCCB Secretariat of Catholic Education to advance Catholic identity in higher education and to rejuvenate the vision of Catholic campus ministry nationally. Based on the data gathered, the report offers practical suggestions to develop and enhance Catholic campus ministry, including the need and value of ongoing ministerial formation for campus ministers at all levels of ministry.
You may also read the 2020 more detailed Qualitative Study here.
USCCB Procedures for Resolving Conflict (2002) features historical resources from the bishops' conference related to processes and procedures for addressing conflict in the life of the Church. This 2002 text is based on the 1972 text On Due Process and a 1979 text from the Committee on Conciliation and Arbitration, Procedures Adopted by the General Membership. These procedures can be a helpful resource for dioceses and other church organizations seeking to implement policies and processes to address situations of conflict.
Lay Ecclesial Ministry: The State of the Questions was produced by the Subcommittee on the Laity in 1999. This predecessor document to Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord was a report on the subcommittee's project "Leadership for Lay Ecclesial Ministry," which researched the ways in which lay ministries had developed in the life of the U.S. Church over several decades and what ways the NCCB could resource these efforts going forward.
Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice
A Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United States (2000)
In developing these reflections, the bishops consulted with Catholics who are involved in every aspect of the criminal justice system: prison chaplains, police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation and parole officers, wardens, correctional officers, crime victims, offenders, families of both victims and offenders, and treatment personnel. In our parishes, schools, and Catholic Charities agencies, Catholics see firsthand the crushing poverty and the breakdown of family life that often lead to crime and at the same time care for prisoners, victims, and their families. All of that experience and wisdom has been helpful in forming this document.
An educational video highlights Building Intercultural Competencies for Ministers (BICM) a resource developed in 2017 by the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church to assist ecclesial leaders in cross-cultural ministry capabilities and areas of need related to diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Learn more about this resource
The USCCB Lay Ecclesial Ministry Summit for bishops was held in 2015 to mark the 10th anniversary of the issuing of Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.
View information from the summit
Co-Workers: Bishops and Lay Ecclesial Ministers in Conversation (2020) was a series of video conversations produced by the Secretariat on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth to mark the 15th anniversary of Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord.
Four out of five people who are incarcerated enter confinement under the influence of a substance or with an existing substance use disorder. With this conversation the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition (CPMC) provides a platform for chaplains, ministers, loved ones, community members, and those in recovery to become compassionately aware and gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding addiction and incarceration.
Four voices, Jim Wahlberg (The Big Hustle, What About the Kids?), Evelene Duhart (Ignatian Spirituality Project), Lisa DeLaura (Just of DuPage), and host His Eminence Cardinal Joseph Tobin (Archdiocese of Newark) came together to share their wisdom and stories, their road to recovery, and how they accompany others impacted by this disease.
View the webinar here or the video panel on this page.
Edited by Edward P. Hahnenberg, Marti R. Jewell, Theodore James Whapham (Paulist Press, 2021)
Transforming Ministry Formation is a theological and practical exploration of ministry formation in the church today. Drawing on the wisdom of thirty years of experience from the Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry (AGPIM), these essays survey the changing ministerial landscape of the Catholic Church in the United States, identifying some of the most important challenges and best opportunities facing those involved in ministry.
The volume makes a distinctive contribution to the field of practical theology by taking up ministerial formation as the subject for theological reflection. Highlighting the particular challenges involved in training lay ministers, it explores the range of ministries—from liturgy to youth to health care—that these ministers are already leading.
As people of faith we are called to center the margins, reaching out to and accompanying those who have been neglected or forgotten. Collaborating with the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition, the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service supported to production of testimonials on the value of Catholic prison ministries from the perspectives of a bishop, several lay prison ministries leaders, and formerly incarcerated persons who benefited spiritually from the presence of Catholic prison ministries.
View the playlist of testimonial videos
Note: CPMC, together with the National Association of Catholic Chaplains, develop formational resources with prison ministries competencies approved by the USCCB Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service.
This report from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate provides information on all lay ecclesial ministry programs including degrees and certificates offered, distribution of academic vs diocesan-based programs, distance and online coursework and characteristics of program candidates.
provided by Dr. Ann Garrido, author of Redeeming Conflict: 12 Habits for Christian Leaders and reprinted with her permission (2020)
Tension is part of every healthy community—including Christian community. People only argue about things that they care about and where conflict is reported absent from a community’s life, it is often an indication that the community doesn’t have capacity to talk about their disagreements, or worse, the community has become apathetic about their mission and life together and simply no longer care.
Persons serving in church leadership roles should not expect that because the community they are serving is Christian they will not have to deal with conflict, or that something is wrong with the community because there is conflict. Rather, they should anticipate that conflict will be a part of every community’s life and equip themselves to be able to manage and transform that conflict in healthy directions that deepen the community’s commitment to mission and a common life. The vision and skills required to “do conflict well” are suggested throughout the four-fold structure of Co-Workers in the Vineyard and the PPF, and at the same time could possibly be drawn out a bit more explicitly.
In this document, Dr. Garrido has identified areas where some degree of conflict “literacy” (i.e. an understanding of the dynamics of conflict and skills for healthy conflict management) could be considered to help draw out ministry competencies in the arena of conflict management more explicitly.
See also the webinar presentation spotlighted on this page and the 2002 text from the USCCB Procedures for Resolving Conflict
Our office compiled a list of trusted resources from national ministry organizations, and other vetted materials for lay and ordained ministers, to help in strategizing ministerial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The list was last updated in December 2020
You may find additional USCCB resources related to the pandemic here.
Bishop Gerald Kicanas, chairman of the subcommittee, and leaders from national Catholic ministry organizations and the Diocese of San Bernardino, California, discuss the work of the subcommittee, the bishops' expansive vision of lay ecclesial ministry, standards for formation and certification of lay ministers and leaders, and more, in this wide-ranging conversation from 2019.
Representatives from the 15 countries, including Dr. Marc DelMonico, USCCB Director of Certification for Ecclesial Ministry, participating in the ‘Promotion and Formation of the Lay Faithful: Best Practices” International Meeting, with Pope Francis, following the September 26 General Audience. (Image credit: Servizio Fotografico Vaticano. Used with permission.)
Our office presented our work with diocesan ministry formation programs and national ministry organizations at a 2018 first-of-its-kind gathering in Rome of lay leaders and clergy colleagues, discussing best practices in formation of the laity.
In 2018 the Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service co-sponsored and provided support for several introductory webinars aimed at identifying key ministerial needs in contemporary Catholic prison ministries.
In 2020, Dr. Marc DelMonico, Director of Certification for Ecclesial Ministry presented on conflict management skills for ministers developed by theologian Dr. Ann Garrido of Aquinas Institute in a webinar for the Catholic Apostolate Center.