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A pastoral minister is a baptized member of the Catholic community, who, by baptismal commitment and through prayerful discernment, expertise and the acknowledged support of the community, both requests and accepts the call to share in the ministry of the Church.
The pastoral minister is responsible for a specific area of pastoral duties under the direction of the pastor, pastoral associate or other parish team member. The position has limited program responsibility and decision-making authority. The pastoral minister is responsible for specific pastoral duties such as visitation of the sick, parish outreach, or other leadership roles dependent on the needs of the parish, the gifts of the pastoral minister and the gifts of other members of the parish community.
The pastoral associate is a professional minister who shares with the pastor or on-site pastoral team in the overall care of the parish. He/She is a member of the parish staff, usually full-time and is accountable to the pastor. This ministry is comprehensive, relating to all aspects of parish life with designated responsibilities, i.e., liturgy, faith formation and development, administration, pastoral care, and social outreach. The designated responsibilities of the pastoral associate are dependent upon the needs of the parish, the gifts of the pastoral associate and the gifts of the others members of the parish staff.
The pastoral minister most often has responsibility for coordinating and animating ministry, service and programs within a specific area of the church's mission (viz, word, worship, service, stewardship).
The pastoral associate has responsibility for the breath and depth of ministry. Often the pastoral associate helps to coordinate ministry, in many, if not all of the areas of the church's mission. The pastoral associate functions and serves similarly to the way an associate pastor serves without the sacramental responsibilities.
Both the pastoral minister and the pastoral associate are responsible to the faithful/the people of God in a parish setting. They are accountable to the pastor as they share as pastoral staff in the pastoring and spiritual leadership of the parish.
- Receive recognition as a professional pastoral minister in the Church
- Build a professional support system and network
- Qualify a pastoral minister locally and nationally for certain positions within a parish or other settings
- Receive archdiocesan up to date information personally and quickly by way of e-mail
- Receive discounts at pastoral ministry workshops
Study in theology and ministry is necessary. Also, ministerial experience is required. The depth and extent of study and service depends upon the level of certification required. Education ranges from introductory courses to Master's Degrees and above. Equivalencies may also be granted if determined appropriate by the Certification Review Board. Please see the Certification for Pastoral Ministers information to ascertain the education and experience needed for each level of certification.
The candidate requests an application from the Office for Pastoral Ministries and begins to gather materials that establish competence described in the National Association of Lay Ministry standards. A portfolio is assembled: letters of reference, official transcripts, materials from programs that the candidate designed and led, and anything else that helps the candidate to prove competence.
The candidate requests an application, submits the complete application form, application fee, and portfolio to the Office for Pastoral Ministries by February 15 or October 15.
The chair of the Certification Review Board convenes a three-person Interview team to review the application and all materials and conducts an interview with the candidate in a non-formal setting.
The Certification Review Board makes a recommendation to the Office for Pastoral Ministries based on the results of the interview team. The final decision lies with the Office for Pastoral Ministries.
The Archdiocese of Detroit is the certifying agent for the specialized ministers certified through the Office for Faith Formation/Catechetics, the Office for Pastoral Ministries, and the Office for Youth Ministry. Specialized ministers are assessed as competent according to the USCCB/CCA approved certification standards and procedures for their ministry specialization by the archdiocesan directors and associate director of the Archdiocesan offices and Certification Review Boards. The archdiocesan directors and associate director of the archdiocesan offices have the right to veto a recommendation of the Certification Review Boards for cause. Initial certification is granted specialized ministers for a period of five years after which an application shall be made for renewal of certification. Certification by the Archdiocese of Detroit is not automatically portable to another (arch)diocese unless it is recognized by the local ordinary of that (arch)diocese. Once certified ministers move to another (arch)diocese, they may not apply to the Archdiocese of Detroit for renewal of their certification. |
