Evangelization Outreach / Ken Ogorek

Every office—and person—is a ministry, serving as an ambassador for Christ

For the past three years, this monthly column has originated from the collection of offices that do ministry in obvious ways. Sparing you a litany (it’s a lot of offices and ministries!), I offer the examples of our evangelization, marriage/family life, worship and retreat/renewal ministry offices.

But what of all the other archdiocesan offices? Are they not ministries in some sense of the word? In a word: Yes!

Being the face of Christ and his Church

The following are a few examples of how archdiocesan staff serve with the love and compassion of Jesus:

Metropolitan Tribunal—While not an educational ministry in the same sense as a Catholic school, parish catechetical program or youth ministry outreach, our tribunal helps people make informed decisions and compassionately assists with healing after the painful experience of civil divorce.

Although the scope of our tribunal’s activities is beyond the scope of a brief column, suffice it to say that the women and men of this office personify the mercy and justice of Christ as they serve the faithful of our archdiocese.

Human Resources—The dignity of work is a key element of Catholic social teaching.

Our human resource professionals help ensure the highest standard of employment practices among the thousands of women and men who do paid work of some sort in our parishes, schools and agencies.

Making the social doctrine of our Church a reality is certainly a ministerial practice.

Finance and Administrative Services—How is the archdiocese a good steward of the resources generously shared by the faithful of central and southern Indiana?

Our finance and administrative services help ensure that the parishes, schools and agencies of our local Church function in fiscally responsible ways—always balancing efficiency with ministerial effectiveness.

These are just a few examples of how every archdiocesan office—including those whose tasks are largely mirrored in the secular realm—approaches its work through the lens of faith, ministry and discipleship.

The role of the laity

The vast majority of Catholics aren’t called by God to do work that’s directly Church-related. But that doesn’t mean all of us can’t be the face of Jesus in our workplaces, neighborhoods and homes.

The call and work of the laypeople (sometimes referred to as the Apostolate of the Laity) isn’t merely about laywomen and laymen filling roles that in the old days Father used to do, for example, serving as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.

It’s even more so about mixing the leaven of Christian faith into the worlds of commerce, medicine, education, political life—every secular or temporal area of our life together as a human society.

We’re all ambassadors for Christ

No matter how you spend your days, you’re a disciple of Jesus, living that personal relationship in full communion with his body, our holy Catholic Church. That means you’ve been commissioned by our Lord himself to make disciples. (Mt 28:18-20)

So whether you work in finance, human resources, law, car care, construction, whether you volunteer in a civic, cultural or social service group, or whether you focus primarily on household and family duties, you can witness to your faith in Christ as you go about the business of living.
 

(Ken Ogorek is executive director within the archdiocesan Secretariat for Evangelizing Catechesis. He can be reached at kogorek@archindy.org.) †