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The
great commission
With
this issue of Ministry & Liturgy, we begin our 33rd year. In
many ways, we continue the firewatch begun in year 32, for that task is
eternal, but now we stir up the coals. Now we turn toward the future, confident
that despite the turmoil permeating our church, God’s Spirit will prevail.
Encouraged by the sure knowledge that the church is more than hierarchical
pomp and red satin, we labor side-by-side with God’s people, whose desire
is a worship experience giving them the courage and inspiration to go on.
Weary of documents and mandates, we turn to the example of our Lord who
washed feet (yes, even those of women) to show us how we are to serve.
We look to baptism to understand how we are called to follow in the steps
of the Christ. We who have been given the great commission are mandated
by our baptism to service in ministry. It is that call to ministry that
ML will continue to explore and support in 2006, in a time when that call
is being challenged and suppressed by the hierarchical church. The ways
we are called to serve in today’s world are very different than those of
the “church in the modern world” of Vatican II. ML provides the resources,
reflections, and formational material for the real-life challenges of ministry.
As
an organizational tool, the hymn “Lord, You Give the Great Commission”
will provide focal points for each issue this year. The first verse of
this hymn reflects well the overall theme:
Lord,
you give the great commission:
“Heal
the sick and preach the Word.”
Lest
the Church neglect its mission, and the Gospel go unheard,
Help
us witness to Your purpose with renewed integrity,
with
the Spirit’s gifts empower us for the work of ministry.
In
this issue of ML, we focus on the many ways that we are called to heal.
Although there are very specific ways that we are mandated to minister
to the sick, there are also many ways that we are called to heal and to
allow ourselves to be healed in everyday life. If ever there were a time
for healing in the church, that time has come. Reconciliation is not just
a sacramental moment but rather a way of life, and our communities are
sorely in need of a deeper understanding of that primary concept. New Preparation
Guide (formerly Planning Guide) columnist Ada L. Simpson discusses
raising awareness about persons in need of healing, such as those suffering
emotional illness, victims of sexual abuse, priests impacted by the abuse
crisis, parish ministers whose work is devalued or dismissed as unimportant,
and countless others. Even as we reach out to heal our divisions, we continue
the very real work of ministering to those whose bodies have become a burden.
James Donohue enlightens us with an extensive work designed to explore
the depths of the Pastoral Care of the Sick. Roslyn Karaban
shares her wealth of experience in hospice ministry, considering the characteristics
of those who care for those in the final moments of this life. We welcome
Kathleen Hope Brown back to the pages of ML as she offers her perspective
on formation of ministers to the sick.
Always
helpful in forming our communities, Paul Turner provides us with
a handy bulletin insert on visits to the sick. Deanna Light puts
liturgy in context in her exploration of community care for the sick. Offering
a resource specifically designed for faith formation, Eliot Kapitan
describes what the church intends as it soothes the sick. In this issue
we welcome Leisa Anslinger, sharing with us her practical ideas
of how to encourage intergenerational catechesis in a community setting.
Her new column, Keeping the Faith, promises to be an ongoing source of
stimulating ideas. In the spirit of ML’s Guided Study series, Sacred Space
by Helen Keating focuses on formation in worship environment in
another new column. Here the rich nature of art and environment is addressed
so that those tasked with the essential work of preparing the worship space
may be led away from mere “decoration” and into the multidimensional essence
of the work at hand.
In
the Visual Arts Awards Ritual Objects category we find torah mantles and
tabernacles in winning positions. Art forms a bridge between faith traditions
where we find that our sense of the holy is far more similar than it is
different. Perhaps in that we can find yet another opportunity for healing.
ML
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