The Office of Lay Ministry Formation has joined the Dodge City Diocese in conjunction with Newman University in their formation program for Lay Ecclesial Ministry. Drawing on the U.S. Bishops’ document, Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry, the program will focus on four poles of formation.
Human
The Human qualities critical to form wholesome relationships and necessary to be apt instruments of God’s love and compassion.
Spiritual
A spirituality and practice of prayer that root them in God’s Trinitarian life, grounding and animating all they do in ministry.
Intellectual
Adequate knowledge in theological and pastoral studies, along with the intellectual skill to use it among the people they will serve.
Pastoral
The practical pastoral abilities called for in their particular ministry.
All courses are offered via ITV. Brochures are being sent out with the upcoming semester course offerings. See Documents below. Register online at www.dcdiocese.org/pastoral-ministry-formation or contact Coleen Stein, coordinator, at 620-227-1538 or cstein@dcdiocese.org, P.O. Box 137, Dodge City KS 67801. Courses are worth 3 college credits or 36 hours of personal enrichment.
FALL 2022 COURSE OFFERINGS
THEO 4023 Theology and Methods of Ministry (3 hour college course)
This course offers a foundational theology of ministry rooted in baptism. Particular focus will be given to the role of the laity in ministry with various types of ministry being explored. This course provides experience and formation to enable the student to learn a variety of ministerial skills.
Instructor: Fr. Robert Schremmer
Saturday mornings, 8:15 AM to 12 noon.
Class dates: September 10, 17, 24, October 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5
Location: this course will be offered over zoom. To be in a zoom class, one will need a computer with a microphone and camera.
THEO 4881 Loss, Grief, and Belief (1 hour college course)
Grief and loss are a consequence of human mortality. We lose family and friends. We lose our health, our mobility, our freedom. Ultimately, we face our own death. Can we find any meaning in all this? Since Christ redeemed us, what does that mean in the context of all the death around us? How can we live the resurrected life now? Since Jesus said that the Kingdom is now, can we actually experience that, or do we simply have to wait until a future day?
The course will explore the various ways we can experience spiritual, psychological, and ritual healings that offer us redemption: the transformation into divine life that God is always offering the world.
Instructors: Fr. Frank Coady, Sr. Joan Wolf, O.P., Sr. Francine Schwarzenberger, O.P.
Tuesday evenings: 6:00 o’clock to 9:30 PM
Class dates: October 4, 11, 18, 25
Location: this course will be offered over Zoom. To be in a Zoom class, one will need a computer with a microphone and camera.
October 4 – Psychology of death and dying (Sr. Joan)
When someone in our care is dying it can be difficult to know how to help what to say, how to respond to the person wants, fears, or even puzzling gestures or confused talk. The goal of the class is to help us become more comfortable in accompanying another on their final journey and to grow in appreciation of both our own lives and our own inevitable deaths. “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted” (Psalm 34: 19).
October 11 – Making sense out of violence (Fr. Coady)
We use our rational minds to search for meaning in our suffering. But can reason alone reconcile the contradictions that we experienced in life? Perhaps the answer is not found by the mind but by the heart. God, in Christ, does not offer a fix. God offers accompaniment. For those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it Matthew 16: 25.
October 18 – Handling our losses and mourning our griefs (Sr. Francine)
Loss cuts deep into our very selves. Yet grieving our losses offers us the grace to open our souls to see new horizons, to discover new depths of inner courage. “There are trials through which we triumph by the power of God who loves us” (Romans 8: 37).
October 25 – The healing rituals of the church (Fr. Coady)
The church is healing rituals bring peace and closure. Liturgy transcends the rational mind, taking us to a scary but exciting place where love is more powerful than death. This is a piece that the world cannot give. Sadly, not everyone takes advantage of the power of ritual. We were buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).