Newly commissioned lay ministers pose with Bishop Lucia following the ceremony (SCROLL DOWN FOR FULL LISTING)
By Dc. Tom Cuskey, Editor
“The Gospel is not a text; the Gospel is a person.”
Those words from Bishop Douglas J. Lucia, paraphrasing Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, were part of a challenge offered to 18 individuals who were commissioned as Lay Ecclesial Ministers during a ceremony on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Each person, having recently completed the two-year Formation for Ministry (FFM) course of study, was commissioned to serve the local community in areas including parish service, liturgical and RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation) ministries and catechetical ministries. Students in the FFM program are sponsored by their parishes and agree to give three years of service to the parish after commissioning.
“They are all open to what God calls them to and where their pastor might need them,” said Eileen Ziobrowski, director of the Office of Adult and Ministerial Formation. “As we move toward linked parishes and PCAs (pastoral care areas) the laity are poised to play an increasing role in pastoral activities in their parishes,” she adds. Both Ziobrowski and Bishop Lucia pointed out in remarks that this is part of the vocational call each receives at Baptism. Ziobrowski stresses that “we need to step up and hear that baptismal call and to respond to it.”
In his homily, Bishop Lucia stressed that through Baptism, each of us is called to apostleship. Quoting from St. Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and the Corinthians, the Bishop explained to the commissioned ministers that this day is “about being equipped for this ministry for building up the body of Christ. … It is a gift of the Holy Spirit, a charism of the Holy Spirit.” He added that through maturity in faith and in the love of Christ “we are called to equip others to be followers of Jesus Christ in the world today.”
Brian Caswell, sponsored by the linked parishes of Christ the King and Pope John XXIII in Liverpool, says the experience “enriched my understanding of the Church and what it means to be Catholic.”
Lisa Johnson agreed, saying that the program “has increased my desire to learn even more about my Catholic faith.” A parish catechetical leader at St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus in New Berlin, Johnson added that “I would definitely recommend this hidden pearl of the diocese to anyone interested in learning more about their faith.”
Gene Burney of St. Patrick & St. Anthony parish in Chadwicks agreed, saying he now has a “deeper understanding of Catholicism” and hopes to be able to “to lead my fellow parishioners to a fuller understanding of the Church and the Lord’s plans.”
As they were sent forth, each of the 18 was challenged by Bishop Lucia: “How will the person of Jesus Christ be seen through you? So that others can also find him, so that others can also follow him.”
Those commissioned on Sunday were:
PARISH SERVICE MINISTRY
Gene Burney, St. Patrick/St. Anthony, Chadwicks
Kathy Poupart, Sponsor and Supervisor
Brian Caswell, Christ the King, Liverpool
Rev. Zachary Miller, Sponsor
Dc. Michael Ruf, Supervisor
Darlene Cristantielli, Sacred Heart, Cicero
Rev. John Donovan, Sponsor
Dc. Ken Money, Supervisor
Rev. Richard Prior, Previous Pastor
Robert D. George, Sacred Heart, Cicero
Rev. John Donovan, Sponsor
Dc. Ken Money, Supervisor
Rev. Richard Prior, Previous Pastor
Peter Harding, All Saints, Syracuse
Rev. Frederick Daley, Sponsor
Meg Ksander, Supervisor
Christopher Macri, St. Peter, Rome
Rev. Sean O’Brien, Sponsor
Rev. Bernard Menard, Supervisor
Sandra Macri, St. Peter, Rome
Rev. Sean O’Brien, Sponsor
Rev. Bernard Menard, Supervisor
Amy Sansone, Holy Cross, DeWitt
Rev. John Kurgan, Sponsor and Supervisor
Paul Sansone, Holy Cross, DeWitt
Rev. John Kurgan, Sponsor and Supervisor
Matthew Scheuer, Our Lady of Hope, Syracuse
Rev. Michael Galuppi, Sponsor and Supervisor
Rev. Thomas Ward, Previous Pastor
Rebecca Stedman, St. Mary, Cortland
Rev. Joseph Zareski, Sponsor and Supervisor
Andrew Voce, St. Anthony/St. Agnes, Utica
Rev. Mark Kaminski, Sponsor and Supervisor
Matthew Clarke Williams, St. Augustine, Baldwinsville
Rev. Cliff Auth, Sponsor
Margaret Babcock, Supervisor
LITURGICAL/RCIA MINISTRIES
Katherine Connor, St. Mary/St. Peter, Rome
Rev. Sean O’Brien, Sponsor
Connie Cushman, Supervisor
Amy McCune, Blessed Sacrament, Syracuse
Rev. Severine Yagaza, Sponsor
Dc. Michael Colabufo, Supervisor
CATECHETICAL MINISTRIES
Philip Fiorentino, St. Mary of the Assumption, Baldwinsville
Rev. Cliff Auth, Sponsor
Sr. Marcia Barry, Supervisor
Lisa W. Johnson, St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, New Berlin
Rev. Daniel Caughey, Sponsor
Patricia Houghton, Supervisor
Andrea Slaven, Mentor
Scott Tanner, Historic Old St. John, Utica
Rev. Thomas Servatius, Sponsor
Annette Gape, Supervisor
