A recent national survey discovered that there are over 30,000 lay ministers in the United States who serve in a wide variety of ministries (DeLambo, 2005). These are the people who proclaim the Gospel and help us to learn our faith Tradition in faith formation, provide us with beautiful worship, pray with us when we are in the hospital or have lost a loved one, help us prepare to celebrate the sacraments, lead us in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and keep our parishes running smoothly. Without lay ministers working alongside their ordained colleagues, much of the day-to-day ministry of the Church would not happen.

Lay ecclesial ministers are also people who love God deeply, have experienced a call from God to serve God’s people in ministry, earn modest salaries for responsible leadership positions and often work irregular schedules with long hours to address multiple needs and demands that continuously shift as the Church tries to be responsive to the demands of the Gospel and the needs of God’s people. Does that sound at least a bit familiar? It should, because it is the legacy that members of religious communities, including the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery, have bequeathed to the Church. It is a legacy of dedicated service in the name of Christ and on behalf of the Church. It is the legacy that is now being carried out by thousands of lay people.

Unlike members of religious communities, however, lay ecclesial ministers often lack formal structures of support or recognition for their call or their service. As a result, lay ministers frequently report a sense of isolation in ministry and of being overwhelmed as they try to be faithful to the Gospel and the Church and responsive to the many and varied needs of the people they serve. Lay ministers also must care for the needs of their families as they serve others in ministry.

So who ministers to the ministers? Who helps them to stay connected to the One they serve in ministry? Who offers perspective so they don’t become overwhelmed by the daily challenges of ministry or discouraged when ministry is difficult? Who reminds them of what is really important when they face so many demands and needs? Who provides experienced ministers with the ongoing formation that is essential for excellent ministry?

In the spring of 2002, the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis addressed these questions with a grant program entitled ‘Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.’ The intent of the program was to fund new In the spring of 2002, the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis addressed these questions with a grant program entitled ‘Sustaining Pastoral Excellence.’ The intent of the program was to fund new initiatives that would foster and sustain excellence among church ministers. St. Paul’s Monastery applied for a grant and was notified that it had been awarded one in the late fall of 2002. In January 2003 iLLUMINARE:

Called for Service, Formed in Christ—THE MINISTRY TO MINISTERS PROJECT OF ST. PAUL’S MONASTERY was born. Since that time, the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery have responded to the ongoing formation needs of lay ministers from throughout the upper Midwest through this unique initiative of ministry-to-ministers.

iLLUMINARE provides experienced lay ministers with spiritual renewal and ongoing formation opportunities that are designed to help sustain their zeal and foster pastoral excellence. The primary facet of iLLUMINARE, a two-year renewal process, brings participants together in a group of twelve members called a ‘cohort.’ Each cohort meets for three days quarterly for two years at The Benedictine Center for prayer, theological reflection, study, conversation and mutual support. In addition, members participate in spiritual direction. During its first five years, twelve cohorts completed the two-year iLLUMINARE renewal process, with ministers from Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Canada. New cohorts begin at a rate of two per year.

The leading word in the title of the Project, illuminare (ĭl-lū-mĭ-nãr-ā), offers insight into the overall vision of this renewal process. The Latin word illuminare means to illuminate, to enlighten, to make conspicuous, to expand on, and to magnify. iLLUMINARE illuminates the meaning of discipleship and the call to holiness in relationship to ministry, enlightens ministers about the spiritual disciplines that will sustain them in the call to ministry, makes the nature of the vocational call of ministry more conspicuous for ministers and those they serve, expands on ministers’ ability to
engage in theological reflection about the nature and practice of ministry, and magnifies the value of intentional, sustained and shared ongoing formation. iLLUMINARE is inspired by the Second Vatican Council’s call to holiness for all the baptized.

It is not incidental that iLLUMINARE’s home is a Benedictine monastery, because the ministerial way of life we are trying to cultivate among participants is very much rooted in Benedictine values. The beginning of the Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict says, "attend with the ear of your heart." In iLLUMINARE we invite ministers to regularly step away from ministry to listen with their hearts to the One who has called them into ministry, to the Kingdom of God they are called to proclaim in ministry and to the dignity of this call which requires a commitment to excellence. Throughout the course of iLLUMINARE we incorporate the core Benedictine values of awareness of God, humility, dignity of the person, dignity of work, centrality of a rhythm of prayer founded in Scripture and liturgy, the importance of reflection, commitment to justice and faithfulness to God’s call.

Through iLLUMINARE the ministry that the Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery have offered the Church for so many years is being extended and finding new expression in this ministry to ministers.

As one participant noted, “iLLUMINARE offers something of inestimable value—time and space to pray, to ponder, to share…to be renewed in my discipleship and in my ministry in the Church.”

The Sisters of St. Paul’s Monastery received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to begin this new initiative. Sustaining this vital ministry depends on people who are grateful for the work lay ministers do in service to the Gospel in parishes, schools and health care institutions and who are committed to fostering and sustaining excellence in ministry. We need your prayer and your financial support in order to continue this good work. If you would like to learn more about iLLUMINARE or want to know how you can support this important ministry, please contact Jacquelyne Witter Ed.D., iLLUMINARE Director, at The Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery, 651-777-6850, jwitter@stpaulsmonastery.org