June 27, 2014 | catholicnewsherald.com
LAY PROGRAM: FROM PAGE 9A
(who later became his wife), and they began attending with her family. The denomination was Evangelical United Brethren, which eventually joined with the Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church. He was confirmed in the United Methodist Church at age 16. He came to Catholicism while he was an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, where he dated a Catholic girl and converted through the help of the RCIA program at the Newman Center there. While the relationship with that girl didn’t last, his Catholic faith has remained his strength for the past 40 years. CNH: I believe you said you are a graduate of this program? How did you find out about the diocesan Lay Ministry Program? Keeton: My wife and I graduated from the Lay Ministry program in May of 2008. The program is a prerequisite for the aspirancy for the permanent diaconate. I sought out information about the diaconate from my parish when I moved to Greensboro. I was very active in military parish life while in the Army. My wife and I had been extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, lectors, altar server trainers and liturgists while serving around the world. While deployed to Zagreb, Croatia, in support of United Nations forces, I performed as an unofficial Catholic chaplain’s assistant in addition to my usual field hospital duties. I was counseled by several of our Catholic chaplains to seriously consider the permanent diaconate. CNH: What drew you to become a facilitator and instructor within the program? Keeton: The former Greensboro facilitator informed Frank (Villaronga, director of the Lay Ministry program) that he needed a break. He had served as facilitator for many years. I had enjoyed all of the classes, had the time and decided to help Frank out. Over time Frank has allowed me to teach the Church History portion. CNH: How do you continue to develop your own formation? Keeton: Staying active in Church life, continuing to study, staying aware of current events, keeping open to those opportunities to share the Good News with others. CNH: What would you like to share with a reader who might be considering applying to the program? Keeton: The program is much more than a prerequisite for the diaconate. The classes give you a stronger foundation in our faith. It is a foundation for any ministry, whether that venue is family, work or that random act of kindness to a stranger.
Frank Villaronga, director of the Lay Ministry Program Frank Villaronga moved to Charlotte from Miami 12 years ago to take the position of Director for Evangelization and Adult Education. Previously he had worked in the business world but felt that he was being called to work in ministry in some fashion. He entered seminary and completed five years but eventually discerned that while his call was still strong and vibrant, it was for the Lay vocation. He worked for 10 years in several positions for the archdiocese, including young adult
ministry, the chancery and vicar general’s office, and the office for lay ministry. As director of Evangelization and Adult Education he directs and coordinates the Lay Ministry program, and he assists people who are looking for long-distance education. He counsels and gives guidance to parishes with their evangelization programs. Teaching and education as it relates to evangelization and lay ministry have always been his great joys – all of which came together in the position he eventually accepted in the Charlotte diocese.
‘It is a foundation for any ministry, whether that venue is family, work or that random act of kindness to a stranger.’ Dennis Keeton
Lay Ministry class facilitator and instructor
CNH: You’ve been doing this in Charlotte now for 11 years. Has the makeup of the class changed over the years? Villaronga: It has always been a mix of people, I think every year brings its surprises. What I’ve always found fascinating is when the classes gel, the class itself forms its own identity, its own personality. Numbers and demographics fluctuate. Some years we have more than others. We have five sites (where classes are held); when I first started we only had three. What I like about the program is that it’s not just the theology, but we’re able to have the theology of the program resonate with the experience of the people. The information offered in each class is the same, yet the way that it’s presented and the way that it’s filtered and processed really does change depending on the makeup of the people and the region. CNH: How do you keep developing your own formation? Villaronga: Time is always the issue. One of the things that has been good for me is my involvement with the National Association for Lay Ministry. I served on the board until this past May. Discussing, networking, that’s how I keep informed. We have a conference each year, a formation directors’ institute that I attend annually. This helps me become aware of books and programs out there. Becoming aware of developing issues and how the Church responds to them are important – to be aware of the reality of the Church and what it’s dealing with. CNH: Is there anything you’d like to share with people about the Lay Ministry program? Villaronga: When people ask me about the program and what the purpose is, I tell them it is a formation program for lay people that gives them the background to better respond to their baptismal calling of participating in the mission of the Church – which is the mission of Christ. People find out about the program in their parish bulletins or in the Catholic News Herald. They see it at the right time for them. Many times people start the program and they tell me they hear and see things in a new way – they hear Jesus’ call in a new way for them. Maybe that means more involvement in their parish, but in a new way. Everyone learns, though, it doesn’t end with education. There’s something more and they want to be involved with that “something more.”
LAY MINISTRY: FROM PAGE 8A
The feast of Corpus Christi was a fitting time to reflect on what we are all called to do as members of the Church, Monsignor Mauricio W. West, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese, told the Lay Ministry graduates in his homily at Mass June 22. Modern living can be relentless in its pace and can make us self-centered and forgetful of others, he said. “In many ways we are very content with separation and isolation,” but “Almighty God has a different idea – a very different idea – of how we are to live, about how we are to use our freedom and independence.” We must “use all that Almighty God gives us to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters, so that no one is ever outside the circle of God’s love – no matter who, no matter what,” he said. In Jesus Christ, we find the perfect way to live and to love, he said. “Jesus shows us the love of God for all of humanity. But more importantly, rather than only telling us about God’s love, Jesus becomes the perfect expression of that love, as He allows His Body to be broken in service and His Blood to be poured out in sacrifice. In laying down His life for us, Jesus reveals the authentic love of God for every one of us, flawed and unworthy as we may be. “This is the Good News of the Gospel.” The Eucharist gives us strength to respond more deeply to our baptismal call, he said. “The Body and Blood of the Lord is given to us so that we are able to do the work of the Gospel when it is convenient and when it is inconvenient. Because we
OUR PARISHESI 13A
ourselves are fed so generously with the Body and Blood of Christ, we must then use who we are and what we have to respond to our brothers and sisters who are lost, who search for reasons to have hope, who ask from where will help come. If not in the Christian community, where will the hungers of the needy and vulnerable be provided for? If not in the Church, for whom Christ gave His life, where can the hopes and needs of our brothers and sisters be brought and voiced? If not by you and me – people who bear the name of Christ – who will respond to the daily challenge of the Gospel to provide food for the hungry, rest for the weary, support for the oppressed, kind words for the broken, welcome for the marginalized? “What Jesus did, we are asked to do. What Jesus began, we are asked to continue.” He acknowledged, “Without question, the demands of the Gospel are often very difficult... We get all twisted up and turned around ... because we are concerned only about ourselves, our personal freedoms, our individual contentment.” But, Jesus emphasized, “It cannot be that way with you.” “We must find better ways to live, ways that really reflect who we are and what we truly believe. Jesus Christ – God’s love made flesh – binds us as brothers and sisters to each other through the grace of the Holy Spirit. We must express what we believe, and in Whom we believe, in the way we live. Faithfulness to Christ demands nothing less.” After Mass, Villaronga congratulated the graduates and encouraged them. “I’d like to thank you for taking the challenge of the program. You heard the call,” he said. “I hope that you continue to listen to that call.”
Live Your Faith Be affirmed in your present ministry. Upgrade your certification as a catechist and religion teacher. Fulfill the prerequisite for the Permanent Diaconate.
Grow in your faith. The Diocesan Office of Lay Ministry offers a two-year program designed to help you understand more fully your baptismal call to minister to your family, to others in the Church, and to those in your daily life. Sites include Arden, Bryson City, Charlotte, Greensboro and Lenoir. We are currently accepting applications for the 2014-2016 program. For more information:
Dr. Frank Villaronga Director, Evangelization and Adult Education Office
F O R M AT I O N P R O G R A M
704-370-3274 favillaronga@charlottediocese.org