Certification for Lay Ecclesial Ministers

Saint John’s School of Theology (SOT) is committed to promoting certification for lay ecclesial ministers. The pastoral ministry curriculum has been reviewed and revised in response to the new national certification standards and competencies for lay ecclesial ministers.

A degree requirement for the YTM MA in Pastoral Ministry Cohort is to develop a portfolio that meets the national certification standards and competencies for Lay Ecclesial Ministers endorsed by the USCCB-Commission on Certification and Accreditation.

For more than four years the Saint John’s School of Theology has been a partner with the Minnesota Catholic Education Association (MCEA) in developing a common certification process for lay ecclesial ministers in Minnesota. In December of 2003, the six dioceses of Minnesota approved a common certification process for youth ministers and religious education coordinators. Saint John’s School of Theology recently received a grant from the Lilly Endowment to hire a Certification Consultant to help the six dioceses of Minnesota as they initiate this common certification process. Funds were also obtained to sponsor a national symposium on certification of lay ecclesial ministers in 2007.

Dr. Charlotte McCorquodale, President of Ministry Training Sources, has been hired by Saint John’s School of Theology as a Certification Consultant. In this role, Dr. McCorquodale is helping the School of Theology become a national leader in promoting certification for lay ecclesial ministers. To contact Dr. McCorquodale, e-mail her at cmccorquoda@csbsju.edu

Jeffrey Kaster, Director of the Youth in Theology and Ministry Program, has also been deeply committed to promoting certification for lay ecclesial ministers. He has been a member of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry’s Certification Commission for more than six years, helped initiate and has been a member of the Minnesota Catholic Education Association Certification Committee since inception, and was a member of the Common Competency Project writing committee that wrote the new national standards for lay ecclesial ministry certification. America magazine recently published an article Jeff wrote on the certification of Lay Ecclesial Ministers (America, Vol. 189, No. 2, July 21-28, 2003, pp. 17-19).

To purchase a copy of National Certification Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers, contact the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry:

Link to Web Ordering:  WWW.NFCYM.ORG
Telephone: 202-636-3825
Fax: 202-526-7544

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Youth in Theology and Ministry Program
Saint John's School of Theology·Seminary
Box 7288, Collegeville, Minnesota 56321