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Defining terms for local ministry in Cooperating Ventures
Terminology can be confusing. Anglican Dioceses, and Presbyterian, Methodist and other Partners in Cooperating Ventures, use similar but different terms.
The generic terms recommended by the UCANZ Consultation meeting in July 2005 were:
Local Shared Ministry - the general term for ministry leadership that is provided from among the local members of the congregation.
Local Support Team - the core leadership group in the congregation : what Presbyterians refer to as the Local Ministry Team
Enabler - the coach of the Local Support Team whom Presbyterians refer to as the Resource Minister.
Local Ordained Ministers - Are also in a strict sense a form of locally provided ministry, but their style of ministry leadership may or may not be close to that of local shared ministry.
Thanks to Andrew Starky, Ministry Enabler Waihao Cooperating Parish, and to members of the UCANZ Consultation in July 2005 for these definitions and comments.
Local Ministry Team (LMT)
A form of collaborative ministry authorised by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ). This is one of four strands of ordained ministry affirmed in the PCANZ. Those ordained to ministries of word and sacrament function in mutual ministry with other elders as one ministry ‘portfolio’ among others. No one person is inducted, rather a ministry support team is commissioned. Those who are ordained to ministries of word and sacrament are commissioned as part of a team and their ordination is linked to the ministry of the team.
Locally Provided Ministry (LPM)
An earlier term for Local Shared Ministry which has grown out of experiments with "total ministry" which seeks to involve as many members of the congregation as possible in the ministry of the church. The common provisions of UCANZ state that “Locally provided ministry is a model in which all roles of ministry are fulfilled by members of the cooperative venture. It is an alternative form of ministry to either full or part time, provided by one or more stipended or non-stipended persons appointed to the parish. It includes models of local team ministry currently used by any of the Partners. It is a model of one of the ways by which the community of the baptised carries out their ministry.” In a real sense both Local Ministry Teams and Locally Ordained Ministry are forms of "locally provided" ministry in contrast to that which may be called from outside the parish.
Local Shared Ministry (LSM)
This is the name used in the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch for the kind of collaborative ministry intended by LMT and LPM. Previously this style of ministry was known as Total Ministry in the diocese and some still use that term.
Comment: The underlying intention and ethos of this kind of ministry is very similar across denominations and in Cooperating Ventures. However, in each particular situation its implementation is governed by the particular local needs for ministry and mission and the wider denominational structures and traditions, which apply. “It is not a programme nor a system but rather a way of being, an attitude, a culture.” (Bishop Stewart Zabriskie of Nevada)
Resource Minister
A term used in the Presbyterian Church for the Enabler. “Where a presbytery agrees to a congregation establishing a LMT Presbytery is required to appoint an experienced minister to be a resource person to the congregation and those sharing the ministry. The resource minister will act as a ministerial advisor to the ordained ministers in the team and help the development of collaborative ministry in the team. The resource minister has a role in encouraging and supporting individual and shared learning.”
Ministry Enabler
A term used in Cooperating Ventures and in the Anglican Church. The guidelines for Cooperating Ventures state, “A Ministry Enabler [Job description to be written] shall be appointed from outside the parish. This appointment shall be jointly discussed and approved by all the parties. The appointment shall be for a specific term. Oversight of the Parish shall be by the denomination from which the Ministry Enabler is appointed. Changes in Denomination Oversight shall not change the model or personnel of locally provided ministry in the Cooperative Venture. Any changes must be fully discussed by all parties, again with the JRC as coordinator. Payment of the Ministry Enabler’s stipend shall be met by the Cooperating Venture.” In the Anglican Diocese it is expected that the Ministry Enabler would be ordained.
Calling
This is a process whereby the parish discerns whom God is calling to various ministry roles in the life of the church including ordained ministries. It is part of a wider process that seeks to identify the gifts and ministries of all the baptised and the particular supports they need from the church to carry those ministries out in their daily lives. Calling would normally have some congregational involvement as well as discernment and confirmation through both local and wider denominational processes as applicable e.g., Presbytery and Diocese. The parties agree about the actual process of how a calling is done before it happens.
Covenant Group
A term used in the Anglican Diocese to describe a group who undertake ministry formation training and education and further discernment after the calling process and before the parish is commissioned.
The duration, the content involved, the expectations of the group, individuals and for wider church support are agreed by the parties who along with the group sign a covenant about these and other issues. After commissioning the Ministry Support Team will be made up of members who have been part of this covenant group.
The Ministry Support Team (MST) or Local Support Team
A term generally used in Anglican Churches and CVs. It is the equivalent to the Presbyterian Local Ministry Team. It describes a group that has been called, and commissioned to support and encourage the ministry of all the baptised and each other. The team will meet regularly with the Ministry Enabler and individually as required. The Parish Council, or equivalent, continues to be the local court of governance. Members of the MST shall be responsible for carrying out the tasks assigned by Parish Council.