Summer School
Ruddy, Christopher
SUMMER SCHOOL Why it's good for you & for the church Christopher Ruddy ne of my favorite students milks cows for a living. An organic farmer from the heart of Lake Wobegon (Freeport, Minnesota,...
...Where are you going...
...they rejoice] when the church rejoices...
...class after having spent the night helping a cow birth...
...Cloud as a deacon, working in a cluster of three parishes...
...The monks of the Monastery of St...
...Greater attentiveness to the documents of Vatican II is one possible approach...
...many would not be able to attend without such help...
...Many summer programs offer regular, even daily, opportunities for celebrating the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours...
...The students responded wonderfully—often with meditations that could be read out loud in under twenty minutes...
...the deacon candidates and their wives who make marital and career sacrifices to serve the church...
...cradle and convert Catholics alike...
...Summer institutes and schools are an obvious starting point...
...Murnion and DeLambo concluded that these new ecclesial ministers are predominantly lay, women, local, and "ministerial" (their work is based on ability rather than office...
...These programs suffer from the same problems full-time theology and seminary programs experience, but more so...
...His nervousness was evident, but so was his smile...
...plenty of blame to go around for the frightening religious illiteracy of most Catholics, even otherwise highly educated ones...
...Contemporary developments such as small Christian communities and Sant'Egidio could be presented...
...Summer institutes must organize the curriculums they offer on the presumption that even ministers and educators lack a grasp of basic Catholic doctrine...
...It must be concerned with the students' spiritual practices...
...SCOTT ARTHUR MASEARM y summer teaching experiences have been my most satisfying as a teacher...
...Almost without exception, they are generous, eager, passionate about the church and its mission...
...Dioceses should likewise see money as a sign of their commitment to, and partnership with, ministerial education...
...Professors are often leaders in their fields, known for both their teaching and research...
...One such program, in which I have taught, is St...
...Writing suffers...
...Thanks to the generosity of the university and Lilly, students pay only $1,500 of the $5,184 annual tuition cost...
...The ecclesiologist Richard Gaillardetz writes, in By What Authority?, that confusion, contention, defensiveness, and anti-intellectualism result from a fuzzy, faulty grasp of church doctrine...
...But Rick has learned to trust that, in calling him to something new, God will provide, be it Rick's switch to organic farming some years ago or his family's adoption of traumatized children...
...often they are unfamiliar with the close reading of texts and uncomfortable with ambiguity and multiple layers of meaning...
...SUMMER SCHOOL Why it's good for you & for the church Christopher Ruddy ne of my favorite students milks cows for a living...
...Students can get burned out, especially if they are taking an-other course...
...Easterners, Southerners, Midwesterners...
...We were a surprisingly diverse group for a smal central-Minnesota campus: monks, nuns, and laypeople...
...Racial and ethnic minorities compose less than 7 per-cent of LEMs...
...church is to adjust to the emergence of lay leadership— which has only continued to grow since 1997— much will depend on the formation of lay ministers and teachers...
...Summer programs are perhaps some dioceses' only opportunities to do so...
...Failure here can-not be an option...
...Students should be exposed to the great streams of spirituality in the church (for example, Benedictine, Franciscan, Ignatian) and their distinctive practices...
...A greater intentionality is needed to sustain faith...
...Farming is a hard life, and both bad weather and a bad economy can be catastrophic...
...Benedict - Ora et Labora - prayer and work...
...They should read such spiritual masters as Augustine, Catherine of Siena, John Henry Newman, Gustavo Gutierrez, and Jean Vanier...
...Whatever shape such foruuation takes, it should help students see themselves not only as ministers, but, more fundamentally, as disciples...
...This is a troubling situation for present and future LEMs, since it could lead to an anticlericalism and a congregationalism that would be harmful to both them and the communities they are called to serve...
...Sobrino, SI, was no abstraction to him...
...Catechesis and theology, as Cavadini argues, must be seen as intrinsically bound to each other...
...If"H .!,unrlay HrlluHI...
...theologies of revelation, liturgy, Christ, church, sacraments, ministry, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, social mission, and evangelization can all be treated in this context...
...A more focused and structured sequence of courses needs to present the content of the faith...
...Students want to be there...
...With only a high-school education, and faced with the demands of running a farm and raising three newly adopted children, he found the course work nearly overwhelming, and he almost quit...
...Second, doctrinal literacy...
...If the U.S...
...It seems that many in catechesis and in theology worry about doctrinal litmus tests and hierarchical control...
...The course, it turns out, went well...
...As Murnion and DeLambo note, LEMs report weak prayer structure or training...
...And, it should be woven into the daily routine of summer programs...
...Summer teaching can bring out the best in teachers as well...
...The Lilly Endowment has given tens of millions to fund dozens of vocational and ministerial initiatives in higher education...
...In their 1999 study, Parishes and Parish Ministers: A Study of Parish Lay Ministry, David DeLambo and the late Msgr...
...the twenty-something Nebraskan who hopes to return to campus ministry despite her college loans and low ministerial salary...
...His faith serves as a reminder that God is doing something new in the church and in its ministry, and that our bold response is the only way forward...
...Such formation should be addressed in courses, as well as in corn-ucational programs, must continue to develop better tools and criteria of assessment—be they student portfolios, practicum evaluations, genuinely comprehensive exams, or other means—to ensure that their graduates are competent...
...All you see ahead of you is more of the same...
...I had dreaded teaching that summer...
...Summer institutes and schools are an obvious starting point...
...Preachers, take note...
...As an organic farmer and as a Christian, though, Rick has no choice but to be hopeful...
...He brought our class to silence when recounting stories of his mission work in Guatemala over the past decade and his brush with death there...
...At a time when church teaching finds little comprehension within and little welcome without, it is imperative that the church's ministers be able to understand and articulate core beliefs in a concise, confident, and convincing manner...
...How will you get there...
...y former student Rick Scherping is a happy deacon...
...Without a solid prayer life and in the face of difficulties (78 percent of LEMs report finding their work "stressful"), they will tend to burn out, and the church will suffer...
...Money provides students with financial aid and time, a precious commodity for those—especially women—raising families and caring for elders...
...ecause of these factors, I see four pressing tasks for improving summer programs...
...These qualities, I would add, can lead to tension in a church whose traditional structures have been largely clerical, restricted to men, tied to the universal church, and based on ordination...
...In my case, a more participatory, dialogical style emerged, thanks to the students' interest and enthusiasm...
...All you know is that you aren't satisfied...
...Lay spirituality is necessarily different in its rhythms and its disciplines...
...The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is currently preparing a document on the theological foundations of lay ecclesial ministry...
...Rick had the authority that comes from integrity, intelligence, simplicity, and being close to the land...
...In ways good and bad, money is the lifeblood of education...
...Good at grasping Vatican II's image of the church as the people of God and its recognition of the universal call to holiness, some students seem less able (or willing) to give more than verbal assent to the council's teaching that the church is "one complex reality comprising a human and a divine element," that charism and hierarchy, structure and Spirit are inseparable...
...On our first day of class, Rick said that he didn't like to speak much and so would remain quiet...
...As John Cavadini notes in his April 9 Commonweal article, "Ignorant Catholics," there ismunal and private prayer...
...Schools must also do more to attract individual donors and foundations...
...Or call to find out about our Monastic Internship Program...
...At the program's end, they have been prepared to receive certification as LEMs...
...Some have a hard time grasping the role of ordained authority in Catholicism, or of the diocesan, much less the universal, nature of the church...
...urban, suburban, rural...
...whatever deficiencies seminary or monastic-religious formation may have had, structure and practices were present...
...In the words of Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels: "[they are] sick when the church is sick...
...Full-time ministers and teachers can take classes for which they would otherwise not have the time, and those who live far from universities are afforded a rare opportunity to study...
...Its effect will be minimal, though, if dioceses don't do enough to ensure that their offices and parish-es can attract and retain qualified ministers...
...Once on campus, some find that the compressed time frame and residential setting of many programs allow for deeper immersion in study and in prayer than is possible during week-end or night classes...
...Commonweal 14 May 21, 2004...
...Gregory the Great at Portsmouth Abbey have found an answer in the Rule of St...
...As theology and ministry become increasingly lay enterprises, all sectors of the church need to contribute in order to en-sure that laity called to ministry and education can afford to pursue their calling...
...The hurried pace likewise precludes the slow, sometimes meandering work of reflection that a traditional semester allows...
...Still, he wonders about younger generations...
...I joked that my wife was caring for two babies...
...30,955...
...YTM provides theological, spiritual, and ministerial formation both to high-school students and to their teachers and ministers...
...Steinfels also notes the destructive effects of many ministers' lack of accountability and feedback...
...Several hoped to pursue doctorates in theology, and one was to be ordained a priest, but most were lay ministers and teachers, or those preparing for such work...
...Paul, Minnesota...
...LEMs report substantial deficiencies in their knowledge of Scripture, moral theology, justice issues, and family life...
...young and older, single, celibate, and married...
...Catholic higher education must continue to make summer schools and institutes a priority both in mission and in budget...
...The programs, which can be scheduled to suit your availability, are "open-ended", meaning you may spend a few days or the entire week at the abbey...
...John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota...
...Fourth, there is much to be said for simple professional competency...
...You know you need something more, something meaningful, something fulfilling...
...Money funds lasting programs...
...church is to adjust to the emergence of lay leadership—which has only continued to grow since 1997—much will depend on the formation of lay ministers and teachers...
...You are invited to experience a week of prayer, work, rest, and recreation with our monastic community as we conduct week-long Monastic Life Experience Programs for men 18-50 who wish to spend some time discerning a call to monastic life...
...Rick enrolled in the class as part of his diaconate formation...
...He enjoys his ministry, especially with the elderly for whom rural life can be isolating, and finds preaching both humbling and life-giving...
...traditional creedal Christological and Trinitarian doctrines rely on familiarity with Greek metaphysics...
...Sunday Mass attendance is slipping...
...Philip Murnion set forth the outlines of a rapid and dramatic shift that is taking place in Catholic ministry in this country: the emergence of what has been inelegantly termed Lay Ecclesial Ministers (LEMs)—those laity (in canon law, nonordained religious are considered lay) who work at least twenty hours a week in salaried parish pastoral roles like catechesis and liturgy (but excluding parochial schools...
...Money attracts faculty...
...Some students are simply not prepared for (or even capable of) graduate study...
...Over 70 percent of LEMs are members of the laity (in the ordinary sense of the word, that is, they are not members of religious congregations...
...Summer programs themselves are both rewarding and much needed...
...To top it all off, two weeks before class I cut my wrist severely and was unable to drive, tie my shoes, change my son's diapers, or even hold him...
...Tired from my first full year of teaching theology and my first months of fatherhood, I would have preferred to stay home in St...
...it is nearly impossible to pre-pare a decent term paper in a three-week course...
...More problematic, summer students usually lack the philoCommonweal 12 May 21, 2004 Where are you now...
...During your stay, you will be able to experience the life of the monks, including daily common prayer, spiritual reading, manual labor, a daily conference on some topic of monastic history or spirituality, as well as time for rest and exercise...
...He seemed at once uneasy in the classroom and comfortable in his own skin...
...Boston College, for one, offers scholarships for employees of New England dioceses...
...26 percent of lay LEMs lack them...
...He, just over fifty, and his wife, June, have seven children, three of whom were adopted from Guatemala...
...Statistics about these ministers are bracing: SCHWADRON Commonweal I I May 21, 2004 • In 1997, LEMs, for the first time, outnumbered parish priests (29,146 vs...
...They proved to be like the students I would meet in subsequent summers...
...Others frequently enroll in whatever classes are available or seem appealing, and finish without a comprehensive or systematic formation...
...An organic farmer from the heart of Lake Wobegon (Freeport, Minnesota, is the home of Charlie's Cafe, the inspiration for Garrison Keillor's fictional Chatterbox Cafe), Rick Scherping works the same land his father did...
...The Monastic Life Experience Program is a unique opportunity for you to familiarize yourself with monastic life and consider the possibility you may be called to such a life...
...They represent the changing face of ministry, and their preparation in summer courses and workshops is one of the most promising and daunting challenges facing the American Catholic Church...
...Thomas in St...
...The pastoral consequences of theological illiteracy are immediate...
...Successful organizations invest in their people...
...it is difficult to find time for silence and retreats, for tradition-al practices like lectio divina or Eucharistic adoration...
...He was moved by words on evangelization from Vatican II and Pope Paul VI...
...The shortened schedule can overwhelm, preventing nuanced engagement with complex or controversial topics (as the class found when I asked them to discuss Vatican II's theology of the papacy and the episcopate in ninety minutes...
...She didn't find it funny...
...Summer institutes, like all edIf the U.S...
...Not many students come into a 9:45 a.m...
...Over 90 percent of LEMs find their work "satisfying," "respected," "spiritually rewarding," "appreciated," and "life-giving...
...As the weeks progressed, Rick blossomed...
...One percent of religious lack college degrees...
...Contact: Dom Ambrose Wolverton, O.S.B., Prior Portsmouth Abbey 285 Cory's Lane Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871 email: fatherambrose@portsmouthabbey.org sophical training necessary for doing basic theological work...
...These very strengths, though, can also be challenges...
...Furthermore, ministerial formation must be holistic and not simply academic...
...He persisted only because of prayer and the support of his family and church...
...Paul avoiding the long commute to Collegeville...
...I first met Rick when I taught ecclesiology two summers ago at St...
...Even in Freeport's traditional, homogeneous rural culture, where most residents are German Catholics whose families go back well over a century, he sees a noticeable decline in Catholic be-lief and practice...
...Schools themselves should examine how they can foster community life...
...The liberation ecclesiology of Jon Christopher Ruddy is an assistant professor of theology at the University of St...
...Third, spiritual formation, especially for laypeople...
...Peter Steinfels, in A People Adrift (Simon & Schuster), recalls Cardinal Danneels saying that part of the liturgical renewal's failure may be due to a lack of craftsmanship: bad preaching and presiding, banal music, poor sound systems, little congregational participation...
...First, money...
...I quickly came to admire their varied experience, which allowed for flexibility in assigning readings and projects based on their creativity...
...Over a period of four years, adults B Commonweal 13 May 21, 2004 from Minnesota and the Dakotas take four courses a year—two in the summer, two on weekends during the academic year—toward a master of arts in pastoral ministry...
...John's University's Youth in Theology and Ministry (YTM...
...so, too, must the church...
...Eighty percent of religious report a prayer routine, compared to 39 percent of lay LEMs...
...Could it be the answer for you...
...But ministers and teachers will not be able to give what they do not have...
...Students trained in business or education may have little background in the humanities...
...Virtually all of them have sacrificed greatly for their education: the mother of four, for instance, who teaches high school religion in North Dakota and who was in the third trimester of another pregnancy...
...27,154), a striking change from five years before (21,569 vs...
...The students formed a cohesive group, were respectful of one another, and de-spite having a wide range of abilities, did excellent work in discussions and in their final papers...
...82 percent are women...
...The type of osmosis through which he was formed as a Catholic is a thing of the past...
...I was most impressed by their final papers, in which they drew upon the documents of Vatican II to write a homily for their imagined installation as diocesan bishop or as pope...
...There were twelve of us, and four times a week for six weeks we worked through Scripture, tradition, the documents of Vatican II, and contemporary theologians...
...We studied the texts of similar homilies by Popes John Paul I and II and by English Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor...
...For nearly a year, Rick has served the diocese of St...
...Religious LEMs average thirteen-plus years of Catholic education, while lay LEMs average eight years...
Vol. 131 • May 2004 • No. 10
