From the beginning of time communities have had priests, called into service by the needs of the community. Today just how this looks and is lived out might on the surface seem different from congregation to congregation. It is our hope that we can articulate principles for calling forth ministry that apply across all sizes and locations of congregations.
- All Ministry is called forth from the community to serve the needs of that community
Every community has an identity and has its own needs, hopes and dreams. Every community faces the challenges particular to its setting in location and time. Some of these of course will be similar to many other congregations, some might be unique. It is important that a congregation understands itself, its needs, and its abilities when contemplating the calling of ministers for local service. This is true whether we are talking about a large congregation with members in an urban setting or a rural congregation of few members.
- The principle is the same – the needs of the local community call forth the ministry required in the community.
How is this understanding lived out in the Diocese of Spokane?
While there is an aspect of an individual offering themselves for service, it is the community which calls the ministry. So for example, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane, the community will identify the needs and discuss how best to meet those needs for ministry. This discernment might lead to the call of several full time seminary educated priests with multiple years of experience who will be employed by the Cathedral. Alternatively, the congregation in Grangeville might, upon discernment of that community and its needs for ministry, call forth a priest who is formed locally and earns a living in a different job, working with others in the congregation to make sure that the ministry needs are met. The work and tasks of the priest will be shared among multiple people in the Grangeville example while at the Cathedral those same tasks might all be assigned to one individual priest. But, the principle is exactly the same – it is the community which has called forth the ministry needed.
What does this mean for discernment for priesthood?
Since the community calls forth the ministry it needs, the COM looks with skepticism a claim of “I am called to be a priest in this specific community.” This is true for both large and small congregations. On the other hand, those individuals who have been identified and called forth from the congregation after careful and prayerful discernment for recognizable and identified needs will be granted due consideration by COM.