Word and Image Exhibit

Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: Words and Images of Lay Ecclesial Ministers

The Exhibit:

For more than 10 years Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary has worked with local and national partners to advance the national conversation on the authorization of lay ecclesial ministry through national symposiums, local conversations, and publications. The fruit of our work can be found HERE. Recently we were awarded a collaborative grant by the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence Network to continue leveraging our efforts.  Presently we are seeking key collaborators.

This past year we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the USCCB publication, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord through several events. Our new grant provides some resources to share the fruit of our work with a larger audience. In particular we are looking for partners across the United States to host a traveling exhibit called Word and Image that resulted from this past year's work with lay ecclesial ministers. In August 2015, Victor Klimoski and Barbara Sutton gathered 13 ecclesial ministers: 12 lay and 1 ordained to reflect on their lived experience of ministry using a visio divina process. Through a process of collage and poetry writing, participants narrated their experience of ministry

Word and Image is ready to be displayed at retreat centers, diocesan conferences and national events. We are seeking collaborators to (1) host the exhibit (up to a month), (2) arrange for an opening reception, and (3) convene a day of reflection in cooperation with a facilitator from the School of Theology. This would involve providing housing and meals for the person directing the day of reflection, providing space and preparation for the exhibit and reflection, and sharing some of the marketing responsibilities.

Together we can draw people into the lives and ministry of lay ecclesial ministers and help more people think collectively about the greater good of the Church and her mission. Word and Image is an innovative and sensory-rich way to advance this conversation.

The Word and Image exhibit includes 15 framed collages for display, along with a booklet of accompanying poems. Partners may host the exhibit for a weekend or up to a month. We will provide 1) on-line marketing materials for you to invite your local contingency, 2) up to $250 for an opening reception arranged by the hosting organization, and 3) a facilitated day of reflection (9 am to 3 pm) designed to help those in ministry discuss the project and explore their experience of ecclesial ministry. It is our hope that this process will bring the voices and experiences of lay ecclesial ministers into the dialogue about how the universal church will face and meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Attend "Words and Images" Exhibit: Where We Will Be:

March 1-27, 2016: Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN
Located in the Abbey Chapter House Pavilion (East side of the Abbey Church, down the
                    staircase by the Chapter House entrance)
Exhibition Opening: March 3, 2016

March 31 - June 2, 2016: St. Paul's Monastery, St. Paul, MN
Exhibition Opening: March 31, 2016
Day of Reflection: April 8, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm at the Benedictine Center of St. Paul
Monastery (cost: $25) Register Here

September 1-30, 2016: St. Norbert's Center for Spirituality, De Pere, WI                     
Day of Reflection: September 8, 2016

March 23 - April 8, 2017: St. Meinrad, St. Meinrad, IN
Day of Reflection: March 24, 2017

Read more.