In 2005, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released a document in response to the growing number of lay ministers working in professional capacities across parishes, dioceses, and other apostolates. That document, Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, described the vital role laypeople play in the functioning of the modern 21st-century Church in the U.S.
In the introduction, the Bishops explained that the hierarchy “entrust to laity responsibilities for leadership in particular areas of ministry and thereby draw certain lay persons into a close mutual collaboration with the pastoral ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons” (5).
In many ways, this document echoes the work of the Second Vatican Council—specifically Lumen Gentium (1964) and Apostolicam Actuositatem (1965)—reminding us that all the lay faithful, by virtue of their Baptism, are entrusted with the work of the Church.
The term “co-responsibility” between the ordained and non-ordained is a common refrain in Co-Workers. The document cites four specific areas of formation required for Lay Ecclesial Ministers (LEMs):
- Human formation
- Spiritual formation
- Intellectual formation
- Pastoral formation
The text gives specific recommendations for what this formation should look like and entrusts local dioceses with the task of forming and certifying these LEMs.
Shortly after its release, many dioceses and national organizations took up the mantle, creating resources and training so that potential LEMs could be recognized for their vital roles in collaboration with the ordained. I, myself, was recognized as an LEM around 2010 while working in the Diocese of San Jose under Bishop Patrick J. McGrath.
Since then, Co-Workers is not a document I see many Bishops or pastoral leaders discussing. It seemed to have its heyday in the late 2000s and early 2010s before falling under the radar.
So I have to ask: What happened to Lay Ecclesial Ministers?
To this day, laypeople continue to play an essential role alongside the ordained. However, I no longer see much emphasis on the specific “LEM” designation. While laypeople are still trained in formal ways—from diocesan conferences to certificate programs and graduate degrees—their formation doesn’t necessarily follow the specific format described in Co-Workers.
Yet, today, we see more research and writing about the negative effects of clericalism, which is, in many ways, the antithesis of the support for LEMs. We also see a renewed focus on synodality and the important role laypeople—both men and women—play in our local contexts and through the listening sessions that preceded the Synod, as well as at the Synod sessions itself, with the unprecedented role of being able to voice their thoughts, facilitate small groups, and vote.
I argue that even though the specific term “LEM” may not be en vogue at the moment, the Church, in its wisdom, continues to emphasize the role of all the faithful (lay and ordained) as the foundational call to ministry by virtue of our Baptism.
Maybe we need to take a second look at Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. Whether the formal title of “LEM” makes a comeback or not, we know that Vatican II set this movement in motion, and it was further solidified by documents like Co-Workers.
I invite you to revisit—or visit for the first time—Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord. This document remains foundational to our understanding of what it means to be a Synodal Church. In fact, it’s foundational to what it means to be the Church, period.
