MINISTRIES

COMMISSION ON MINISTRY

COMMISSION ON MINISTRY

All baptized people are called to a ministry. The Church has a responsibility to assist every member to understand, find, and ultimately exercise the ministry to which they are called.

The Commission on Ministry (COM) overseas discernment and training for ministries and shares with the bishops and Standing Committee in setting the timeline and process for those seeking to be ordained deacons or priests. The COM is made up of 20 people and is composed of laity, deacons, and priests appointed by the bishop and confirmed by the Diocesan Convention. Many of our congregations have laity and clergy who can be helpful in discerning your call to ministry, so a first step in exploring ministry should be made by talking to your clergy or other lay leaders.

DISCERNMENT PROCESS

How can the COM help me discern my ministry?

The Commission on Ministry (COM) has a 13-month formal discernment process starting in January and running through the following January. It is a small group program led by three mentors (a lay person, a deacon, and a priest) meeting monthly (some of these meetings are by Zoom).

The first half of this program concentrates on exploring baptismal ministry. The group looks at ministry in the broad sense and considers ministries of the laity, monastic ministries carried out by monks and nuns, and the ordained ministries of deacons and priests. At the conclusion of this first part, members will self-select (with the guidance of their mentors) the category of ministry to which they feel called. Those selecting lay ministry will be provided with concrete suggestions on course work or learning under a mentor so that they can pursue their call. Anyone feeling called to a monastic vocation will work directly with Bishop Coadjutor Carrie Schofield-Broadbent to plan visits to various monastic or similar communities.

Those discerning a call to an ordained ministry will continue with the second half of the program with a new set of mentors. This second half concentrates on discerning ordained vocation. In it, participants will look at the specific aspects of diaconal and priestly ministry. At the end of the program, participants interested in becoming deacons will be interviewed by the COM and, if approved, will become postulants for Holy Orders and admitted to our Deacon Formation Program. Those discerning a call to the priesthood will also be interviewed by the COM and, if approved, will become postulants for Holy Orders and apply to seminary or other approved priestly formation programs.

Applications for the diocesan discernment process are due during the fall of each calendar year, following the annual Commission on Ministry Information Session.

 

RESOURCES

Date
Info

09/02/22
Commission on Ministry Handbook
Updated 9/2/2022
09/02/22

03/31/22
Manual for Deacons
Updated 3/31/2022
03/31/22

06/08/19
Manual for Priesthood
06/08/19

Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community (Morehouse Publishing, 20th Anniversary Edition) is recommended reading for all those discerning a call from God.

CONTACT

Ms. Eve Wayne
Executive Secretary to the Bishop-elect and Canon to the Ordinary for Congregational Vitality & Leadership
– intake contact for all inquiries, for registering for the discernment process, and for setting up appointments with Bishop-elect Carrie Schofield-Broadbent.
ewayne@episcopalmaryland.org

800-443-1399  x 1377
410-467-1399  x 1377

The Rev. Jon Shematek
Mrs. Judy Wright
Co-chairs of the COM

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