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2022 Summary of Activities
The subcommittee has spent a good deal of time in 2022 receiving direct feedback on its existing resources and work from bishops, diocesan lay ministry leaders, leaders of national ministry organizations and the contributions submitted about lay ministry in the national synod process. These resources have helped the subcommittee to discern with these constituencies what is most needed in support of lay ministry in this critical time, and how to carry those needs forward into upcoming USCCB strategic planning endeavors.
USCCB Subcommittee Approves Ministry Formation & Certification Competencies for the Archdiocese of Chicago

September 2022 - The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee on Certification for Ecclesial Ministry and Service has had a long-standing fruitful engagement with the Archdiocese of Chicago and its work to prepare lay women and men as ecclesial ministers. In its fall meeting, the Subcommittee approved updated ministry formation and certification standards and competencies for the archdiocese, as administered in collaboration with the Institute for Pastoral Leadership (IPL) at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
The Archdiocese’s program is one that has historically built strongly on the vision and practice outlined in the USCCB’s 2005 statement on resourcing lay ecclesial ministry, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. The Archdiocese and those charged with formation have also worked hard to adapt their program in light of changing realities while maintaining a high-quality set of standards to demonstrate ministry competence.
The subcommittee recognizes that resourcing for lay ministry formation varies widely across dioceses and is challenging in today’s budgetary climate. At the same time, subcommittee members have indicated they see in programs such as that implemented by Chicago a good model for advancing lay ecclesial ministry formation. It is also a process which could be adjusted to meet needs in individual dioceses, or in regional or state Catholic Conference collaborations to help train and prepare professional and volunteer lay ministers. Certainly, the movement to online ministry formation classes and trainings, accelerated by the pandemic’s impacts, highlight ways in which a hybrid ministry formation collaborative across multiple dioceses could be effective.
Read a summary of the Archdiocesan ProgramBishops and ministry leaders seeking more information about these standards, other diocesan and nationally approved standards, consultation on ways to initiate or update existing diocesan lay ministry formation programs, or engagement with trusted national ministry organizations and institutes which can provide logistical and financial support for ministry formation, please contact us.