Evolving Ministry

Over the years I have done plenty of research, gathered resources, and have given a plethora of talks at various events, such as retreats, religious ed classes, or praise and worship nights at college. I loved giving these talks and sharing my inspirations and I've been reflecting on that as of late. Not so much my past talks, but ones I have done recently and how I can continue to better my ministry. I can easily say that ministry builds on ministry. I have presented the same Confirmation session (on Scripture and the Holy Spirit) for two consecutive years, but this year's class simply rocked! I took elements from the class I did last year, but I've learned more and I've grown in my own faith, and this was what was presented to the students.

Faith formation needs to hold hands with story telling. Stories are everywhere; from simple nursery rhymes to Dr. Suess to #1 Best Sellers to our own experiences. People are inspired by stories, they thrive on a good story. Stories captivate people and can be used for sheer pleasure or to teach a lesson. I want to get better at story telling, and to do that I need to be more aware of the happenings of my life and of those around me. We often take for granted the simple things of each day, but it is our lived experiences and stories that can lead another soul closer to God.

This Year in Ministry

I have only been back at my parish for just over two months now, but I feel as if I have learned and experienced what true ministry is in these months than I did in all of last year. It is probably due to my lack of ignorance and my increased responsibilities in my ministries.

Like any place of employment, there are issues with the staff. We all have our different personalities and ways of working. Some of them I absolutely love and I have been incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to work with them. I do feel as if I've grown into the "family" of my staff and the parish. Some of us even go out for "Girls Night Out" - aka, Happy Hour. We play well together. :)

This morning I called a friend up, but I had young adult business things to talk to him about. I knew he wasn't going to exactly like what I had to say, but I was not expecting him to get so frustrated. He did not even understand me correctly! I had to explain myself a couple times, but I still did not appreciate hearing his anger and frustrations.

I have also been learning how to work (and deal) with catechists. They're only volunteers and sometimes I think we try to hold them to higher standards. Which...maybe we need to at times, so they take their work seriously. Sometimes it seems like a game, having to word e-mails just right to people do not get offended or misunderstand what you are trying to say. There is also fine line between micro- and macro-managing things. This fall has had it's ups and downs, challenges and joys, but overall I continue to love what I'm doing.