"On the matter of priestly and diaconal ministries, we should remember that a diaconal ministry is community facing, a priest’s ministry is to gather that community."
A: Best use of PSEs -- whether in * specialised ministries"In ministry we should always play to our strengths. Therefore I favour specialization in ministry. Location is critical. There are two over-arching considerations to bear in mind, (a) the workplace as location of priestly vocation, (b) the ministry unit as location of priestly vocation."
* team ministry"Consistent with the above, I try to involve a team concept wherever possible. This involves a sharing of authority, of responsibility and of support. Mutual Ministry is a case in point"
* and with very small congregations"As a kind of spiritual GP to a few families ? I tend to disagree, and would favour the Mutual Ministry as a better model. We have to be careful, though, about merging parishes into larger territorial units. Mergers have proved counter-productive in a number of cases here."
* but not as permanent auxiliaries"I tend to agree. A team ministry should work better than this."
B: whether a PSE is most productively deployed into * a community which is not over a financial barrel"The starting point should be the spiritual needs of the community rather than its finances. A Vicar’s role in a parish is that of chaplain to the community."
* a community that wants to make use of resources other than clergy time * a community that would like to hire more staff* a community that would like its clergy to stay put longer
"Not at all. New Zealanders are a mobile people; families stay in one community only three years on average."
* a community whose laypeople are seeking to increase their ministries"Yes. In the Mary-Martha story, the figure of Martha suggests that worthy do-ers are not necessarily the people called to priestly ministry. A PSE might be seen as more of a Mary than a Martha, ‘keeping the rumour of God alive’."