EVANGELIZATION, THE HOURS & DEACONS
(THIS POST IS DEDICATED TO JIM IN HIS RETIREMENT:
"At the same time - I am keeping an open mind about what God may wish me to do. I have gifts of my own that aren't necessarily the same as the other deacon's. One of those is music." At some point Jim has mentioned that he likes to chant the Hours,but can't find anyone who is interested.
MY VOCATION IN LIFE IS TO GIVE VISIONS. As planner in the mental health system, visions helped over a ten-year period to reshape our local mental health system into one that is more consumer friendly, using and celebrating their talents. At the mental health board's annual dinner, a consumer achievement award recognizes their accomplishments. It was inaugurated by the board at my retirement as a way to honor my style of empowering consumers and to affirm their commitment to make that charism permanent in the system.
When I came to our county mental health system, I was impressed by all the talented consumers that were involved as volunteers in the system. When Ohio offered grants for innovative programs, I asked them what they wanted to do. They had so many fine suggestions, that I proposed a Leadership Development program to enable them to do all of them and more. I was confident they had the talents, that only needed to learn to work together. The program was funded. I hired a PhD in political science who taught leadership courses. I knew I had the right person when he told me that the athletic department sent him jocks. By working in groups that put together little projects like services for the home bound, where they learned they had the talents to be more than jocks.
Since I retired, consumers have asked me what I am doing. I tell them that I am trying to empower Catholic laity just that like tried to empower consumers. I was confident in giving consumers power because in the 1980's I had participated in a Catholic Parish that had empowered its lay volunteers to be pastoral staff members.
I had hoped that would be the future of Catholic Parishes. I was disappointed. Catholic parishes are now run largely with paid lay staff. Many of these lay staff are former "church ladies" who are only too happy to do all the things in the parish that need to be done without the pastor's direct involvement. My pastor in Toledo realized the limitations of existing volunteers and deliberately recruited half his volunteer staff with talented independent people to reshape parish life.
In my years since retirement, I have been far more successful in providing leadership to Catholic organizations like Voice of the Faithful and Commonweal Local Communities which function on the margins of parish life, e.g. using parish facilities for meetings by Catholics from many parishes. Both groups were wise enough to use multiple parishes, other Catholic organizations, and secular venues as places for meetings to avoid coming under the thumbs of pastors, pastoral staff and church ladies.
While deacons are often assigned to parishes, they can become chaplains to associations. In fact, the deacon's primary superior is the bishop, and ordination (incardination to use the canon law term) is to the diocese not the parish. In the write up below, I am envisioning associations that include people from multiple parishes doing the Hours in a variety of locations (parish and non- parish) for a variety of liturgies (Mass, Funerals, Weddings, Baptisms, ministry gatherings)
VISION: EVANGELIZING THROUGH THE HOURS
The challenges of evangelization for American Catholicism are clear. Fewer children are being baptized, fewer people are being married in the Church, fewer people are having Catholic funerals, and fewer people are attending Mass.
The communities that assemble for baptism, marriage and funerals are increasing composed of many people, perhaps even a majority, who are either not Catholic, former Catholics or Catholics who do not come to Mass regularly.
With the decline in numbers of priests, deacons often perform baptisms, marriages, and funerals. The lack of priests at these services may not be as much of a disadvantage as one might initially think. Priests (and deacons) often have little time to get to know the faithful Catholics involved let alone their families and friends who are not involved in the parish. On the other hand, a deacon who is married, employed in a secular job, and volunteers much of his time to the parish may be just the person who can bear witness to a Catholicism which appeals to many.
This will be particularly true if the deacon are seen as collaborating with talented Catholic volunteers who bear similar witness. Volunteerism, people working together to help one another is a major characteristic of the American way of life. It is in a sense our national piety and is the basis for operating our churches along with other civic organizations.