Bishop Barry C. Knestout will commission five people from across the diocese as lay ecclesial ministers on Saturday, June 24, 10:30 a.m., at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond. The five candidates have completed studies through the diocese’s Lay Ecclesial Ministry Institute (LEMI).
The diocesan Office of Christian Formation created LEMI in 2011 at the request of the late Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo. Bishop DiLorenzo wanted to help lay leaders better serve our diocese by giving them an opportunity to develop in human, pastoral, intellectual and spiritual formation.
The candidates are required to be practicing Catholics in full communion with the Church and be serving in a lay leadership position. The five candidates participated in either a Catholic university’s Master of Arts study in theology, or certificate study in a related field. They also attended formation workshops and spiritual retreats.
Once all the requirements were met, the candidates applied for commissioning by the bishop as lay ecclesial ministers in the diocese. Since 2016, 59 lay leaders have been commissioned.
In anticipation of their commissioning, the candidates shared their experience with LEMI and how the formation will impact their ministries.
All candidates were asked “What impact has LEMI formation had upon you, and how will it impact your ministry and those you serve?”
Aaron Hostetter: M.A. in Theology, Augustine Institute
Parish: Holy Trinity, Norfolk
Position: Youth Minister/Director of Life Teen
This process has been life changing. My LEMI formation and classes have been an experience of being sanctified “in the truth” ( Jn 17:17) – while I was “transformed by the renewal of [my] mind” (Rom 12:2) through the study of divine truth and pastoral wisdom, I was also interiorly “being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor 3:18). It is necessary for there to be well-formed lay leaders in the Church today, through whom Christ will “progressively illumine the whole of human society with His saving light” (Lumen Gentium 36). The formation I have received has equipped me to be a better husband and youth minister, and I look forward to seeing the different ways God has prepared me to serve through it.
Austin Farinholt: M.A. in Catholic Studies, Franciscan University in Steubenville
Parish: Blessed Sacrament, Harrisonburg
Position: Director, James Madison University Catholic Campus Ministry
Through LEMI, I had the opportunity to be formed intellectually by one of the most outstanding Catholic universities in the country, which has helped tremendously in my ministry to college students. The formation of LEMI exposed me to a wide array of Catholic thought which is sure to help me minister to many throughout the course of my life.
Jean Hawley: M.A. in Theology, Saint Leo University
Parish: Immaculate Conception, Hampton
Position: Director of Religious Education
LEMI has been an integral part of helping me to grow my own human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual formation. I am now able to celebrate the goals and joys of my daily ministry and personal life, and also courageously face any challenges that may occur along the way. I am blessed to have been given the opportunity to be a LEMI student within the Diocese of Richmond. As a newly commissioned lay ecclesial minister, I look forward to continuing to actively serve within my faith formation ministry. Sharing the gifts of strength, understanding, prayerfulness, reflection, grace, and joy that I have received from LEMI provides the opportunity to link arms with others to formatively discover and then actively do the Gospel message of Jesus in the world today.
Laura Muller Stapleton: M.A. in Pastoral Theology, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Parish: Saint Mary’s, Richmond
Position: Coordinator of Christian Formation
The formation, education, and personal development made available to me through the Lay Ecclesial Ministry Institute have shaped me into a better servant leader. Lessons in compassion, humility, listening, grief, and forgiveness have been most valuable to me, equipping me to answer God’s call and embrace my vocation with peace and joy. I am confident in my dignity as God’s child, stronger and more capable of overcoming challenges with his accompaniment. I have seen the Lord in new ways through eyes of faith. My LEMI journey has been an adventure of trusting the Lord. Now I turn around and see the great distance I have traversed! I thank my support team, those who have loved me unconditionally since this journey began — I could not have made it without you!
Timothy J. Hatton: Certificate in Catechesis Levels I and II, University of Dayton
Parish: Church of the Holy Spirit, Virginia Beach
Position: Facilitator of Adult Faith Formation
The LEMI program has enriched my knowledge and understand- ing of what is required to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Through God’s graces, I am better prepared to present the teachings of the Church to the RCIA participants at my parish and enhance the information shared in the adult Scripture study I have facilitated for many years. I believe that our diocese has worked very hard to provide lay ecclesial ministers with the tools to meet that call and I feel blessed to have had the chance to participate in such a well-supported ministry. It is a blessing to be part of a diocese that has the love of God and neighbor at the forefront of its ecclesial and apostolic mission.
Editor’s note: For more information about LEMI, contact Tracy Brookmire at 804-622-5157 or email [email protected].