Lay and religious: people of God together - Faith & Spirituality

"Perhaps the time has come to establish a proper Canadian network," said guest speaker Alexa Smith addressing an Ontario Regional Meeting of associate/lay members of religious congregations and societies.

The gathering, held at St. Joseph's Parish, Highland Creek, Ont. on Oct. 26, drew 119 men and women representing 25 religious families from many parts of southern Ontario and from Quebec, who had come to share their stories and to seek ways to support one another in this emerging form of vocation.

Lay members outnumbered religious by about 3:1. Smith, speaking with great enthusiasm, told about how the number of lay and associate members has increased from a handful in the 70s to over 11,000 today. She felt the Spirit was stirring up new visions and indicating fresh ministries to the laity.

"There is one chosen people of God"

The associate movement is one result of the efforts of the Second Vatican Council to restore the laity to their proper role within the Christian community. Over centuries, the layperson had come to be treated, more or less, as an eternal minor: almost completely passive, having little input into the development of theology or spirituality and little active part in the missionary role of the church: The Council set out to redress this anomaly. A major document, Lumen Gentium, said: "There is one chosen people of God, one Lord, one faith, one Baptism; there is a common dignity of members deriving from their rebirth in Christ.... In Christ and in the church there is then no inequality arising from race, nationality, social condition or sex ... all are one in Christ."

The Council Fathers went on to produce a document "On The Apostolate of the Laity," a treatise remarkable not only for its content but for the fact that it is the first time in 2,000 years that an ecumenical council devoted a document specifically to the laity.

Two points are of special significance: the encouragement of a spirituality distinct from priests or religious ,and the recommendation to form or join groups dedicated to promoting apostolic action.

Both these ideas find their expression in the Associate Membership Movement, which many religious congregations and societies began to encourage shortly after the council.

As the movement grew in Canada, a number of meetings were sponsored at the national level by the Canadian Networking Committee, the latest in Orleans, Ont. in September 1999.

In March 2001, Sr. O'Reilly, CND ,of the Networking Committee invited Magdalen O'Rourke a CND associate, to explore the possibility of a national meeting in Toronto.

An ad hoc committee made up of Sr. Roberta Freeman CSJ, S,. Johanna D'Agostino, IBVM, Ft. Mike Doyle, CSSP, Marilyn Murphy, IBVM associate, Magdalen O'Rourke, Alma Sternik, CSB associate and Frank O'Neill ,CSSP associate, favoured a regional meeting for Ontario prior to embarking on another national gathering. Hence the conference on October 26.

'Together we can go where alone we would not dare to venture'

The assembly, skillfully and prayerfully guided by lay Spiritans Joy and Gary Warner from Hamilton, heard the stories of four associates from four different religious families: Phyllis Parr, IBVM, Ken Heath, CSB, Carol Ann Trainor, GSIC, and John McGinnis, SFM lay member. All these people felt called to embrace the charism and mission of the group to which he or she is now attached. It was a moving and edifying presentation. Then came "round tabling" in groups of eight or nine, which continued before, during and after lunch. Reports from these discussions enabled Joy and Garry to compile a pen picture of the present situation and aspirations for the future.

Lay members spoke appreciatively about the opportunities that this new movement had opened up for them. They rejoiced in prayer shared with religious, felt support in community life, discovered broader concepts of mission, deepened their awareness of social issues, sensed a return to the spirit of the early church, both challenged and were challenged by religious and were convinced that "together they could go where alone they would not have dared to venture."

Levels of belonging and acceptance varied from one institute to the next. In some, lay members were well integrated into the community, serving on important committees (i.e., justice and peace, formation), working shoulder-to-shoulder with religious on mission assignments, welcome at all community functions and attending chapters. In others, the degree of acceptance and involvement was more limited. At congregations with an international dimension, the lay members had the added experience of meeting and sharing with associates from other countries and cultures.

One thing was clear: there is no single way of being lay/ associate members. This was recognized as a blessing giving a dimension of freedom and choice based on the chrism and vision of particular institutes. No one wanted uniformity.

Some concerns were expressed too, and even criticism. It was clear that not all religious accepted the lay members, much less treated them as equals ("what have they given up?"). The laity, like their religious counterparts, are generally of a mature age ("how can one interest and attract youth?") They are, for the most part, white, middle-class and educated.

There was also some ambiguity regarding the role of the associates if the religious were to disappear. Will the laity continue the charism of the institute? And what of the integration and sharing of the financial responsibility? It was observed too, that while some religious congregations even-handedly promoted vocations to the vowed life and the laity, this was not universal. Sometimes, the associate vocation was something of an afterthought.

What of the future?

And what of the future? The meeting at St. Joseph's generated a lot of enthusiasm, and there seems to be general consensus that the momentum should not be frittered away.

There were calls for regular regional meetings every other year, every year, twice a year, leading to national gatherings and the formation of a Canadian network. There is a need for greater outreach to youth, families, varied cultures and non-Catholic religions. The possibility of retreats should be considered, and to facilitate those coming from a distance, the cost of travelling might be equalized.

But, whatever form it takes, opportunity must be seized to continue the development of this important vocation in the modern church.

And the topics for future conferences?

Lay spirituality loomed large as a topic. While the basics of union with God are similar for all, there are real nuances of difference between religious and laity. There was also a desire for a deeper reflection on the relations between religious and laity aimed at developing greater mutuality. The suggestion was made that the group might consider "how to be church in North America today".

The vocation of the lay associate must be examined in the context of what is happening in the wider world

Fr. Michael Doyle, CSSP, is a member of the Spiritan Community.

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