19. Lay Ministers

19. Lineamenta on Lay Ministers

Lay Ministers and Worship at the GKK Chapels

The Church, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, is a community of disciples who are firmly believing, sincerely worshipping, generously serving, prophetically witnessing and joyfully radiating the gospel. As a community, God calls the faithful to participate in His life not merely as individuals but also as people who acknowledge Him in truth and serve Him in holiness. To nurture and promote constant growth of this Community, our Lord instituted a variety of ministries by virtue of our baptism like the ordained ministry of bishops, priests and deacons and the call of the lay faithful to certain ministries according to their proper roles in the Christian community. Through these ministries the parish is made into a “dynamic Eucharistic and evangelizing community of communities” where parish priests have new and effective shepherding and do not monopolize the activities of the parish to allow more lay participation so that every one may have a part in the growth of the Christian community (PCP II, 600). In this way the lay faithful will feel they are part of the development of the Parish family where all their ministries and community life are oriented to the person of Jesus Christ and their love and service are centered on God and not on the “inclination and personal preferences of the incumbent pastors” (PCP II, 601). In many of our GKK or Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Diocese of San Carlos, we have Lay Ministers of the Word and Lay Ministers of the Eucharist. The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines underscores the value of these two ministries: “We look forward with confidence to the time when our Lay Ministers of the Word and of the Eucharist will help lead the thorough-going renewal of Christian life in all our parishes. Such renewal will bring parishioners to renewed and renewing celebrations of God’s Word and God’s Love in a worshipping as well as caring community centered on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh who continues to dwell among us.” (PCP II, 607)
The Lay Ministers of the Word and the Eucharist are co-workers of the Parish and the Christian community in pursuing renewal and renewed evangelization and worship with new ways, new fervor and new expressions but always in line with the program of the parish and in coordination with the parish priest. If formed by a wholesome and comprehensive common Diocesan Curriculum for Lay Ministers’ Education and Training and following a common Diocesan Manual for Lay Ministers, the Lay Ministers of the Word and of the Eucharist have a vital role in nourishing and renewing the GKK or BEC. The Lay Ministers of the Word or Lectors, who are given the great task of expressing the inexpressible mystery of God’s unfathomable love and mercy, can proclaim the word of God to the people who hunger for God’s sanctifying message. The Lay Ministers of the Eucharist, who are given the improbable task to share the Body of Christ to the faithful, can manifest God’s ongoing work of sanctification to all who have been made in the divine image. Men and women who are appointed to these ministries have taken into themselves the responsibility to internalize the Gospel of our Lord Jesus in their own lives to be role models to the people so that evangelizing through their example, God’s Kingdom will reign up to the grass roots level of our communities where faith-life and worship will be more intense and vibrant.

Questions for small group discussions:
What would you want your lay ministers to be? How should their life and services be characterized?
How should our lay ministers be trained and formed to be effective in fulfilling their ministries?
What can you do as an individual and as a community to make our worship at the GKK or BEC level more alive and meaningful?