Collegeville Ministry

Pope Francis has said, "How I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor!" How might your parish answer the Holy Father's call more boldly? The Ministry of Peace and Justice is a practical guide meant to help faith communities deepen their commitment to bringing God's compassion to a wounded world. Intended for pastoral leaders and parishioners with a heart for those who are poor and vulnerable, this book includes creative suggestions for starting or expanding social efforts and contains six ready-to-use educational, interactive sessions for new or growing peace and justice committees. The Collegeville Ministry series provides practical, effective help for those serving the parish through various ministries, and comprehensive training on the various liturgical roles. Each work is prepared by a specialist in the field and provides down to earth suggestions for making ministry more meaningful for the ministers and those they serve.

Emphasizing both spiritual and practical preparation, this book will help both experienced and beginning lectors develop their understanding of the ministry of proclaiming the word of God as well as the skills needed to do it well. Wallace offers insight to various aspects of the lector's work (job, ministry, vocation), and reflects on the mystery of God who speaks to-and through-us in the Word. It includes an accessible explanation of important concepts related to the Lectionary and the liturgy, ideas for spiritual preparation before serving as lector, concrete guidance for ongoing skill development, and a handy pronunciation guide

Like its predecessor, this revised edition of The Ministry of Music explores liturgical singing in terms of how it enables the gathered assembly to enter more fully into ritual enactment of the paschal mystery. The "whats" and "how-tos" of music ministry are developed from this perspective. How does communal liturgical singing enable us to participate in and surrender to the paschal mystery? What musical and pastoral choices best enable the singing to fulfill this role? And how does the singing form us in a paschal mystery spirituality that shapes daily Christian living and makes the relationship between liturgy and life more evident? This edition incorporates new understandings of the ministry of liturgical music generated by Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship (STL). New material addresses the underlying theology shaping STL, provides schemas for using both the Proper chants and vernacular songs at the Entrance and Communion, discusses the value of singing the dialogues, and explores silence as a necessary component of music-making and liturgical prayer. The Collegeville Ministry series provides practical, effective help for those serving the parish through various ministries. Brand-new volumes complement the already popular existing volumes that have been completely updated and expanded. The Collegeville Ministry series offers inexpensive, yet comprehensive, training on the various liturgical roles. Each booklet is prepared by a specialist in the field and provides down to earth suggestions for making ministry more meaningful for the ministers and those they serve.

Ministering as a catechist is one of the highest callings within the church. Your "yes" to this calling-for whatever reason-needs to be affirmed and supported by an understanding of the ministry of catechesis, your role as minister, the audience to whom you are ministering, and the art of this ministry. Carrie Sallwasser offers an overview of the ministry of religious education for novice and veteran catechists alike that will aid in their on-going formation as catechists in the ministry of forming disciples.

Joyce Ann Zimmerman's The Ministry of Liturgical Environment has served as a reliable and inspiring resource for parish liturgy committees, liturgy directors, and clergy for more than a decade. It is an insightful and practical guide to preparing an inviting sacred space that reflects and enhances the community's valued principles. Contemporary and complete, it considers the physical location of our worship, from assembly seating, color usage, and liturgical accouterments to ministers' and assembly's dress. This fully revised edition includes new content, a new structure, and updates based on ecclesial documents published since the publication of the previous edition. Anyone involved in liturgical ministry will want to keep it close at hand.

The Ministry of Communion offers practical advice and vital theology for eucharistic ministers. Updated with the latest liturgical laws and norms, and with an expanded section on leading Communion services, this book is an excellent guide for both those who serve God's people and those who help them prepare for the ministry. The Collegeville Ministry series provides practical, effective help for those serving the parish through various ministries. Brand-new volumes complement the already popular existing volumes that have been completely updated and expanded. The Collegeville Ministry series offers inexpensive, yet comprehensive, training on the various liturgical roles. Each booklet is prepared by a specialist in the field and provides down to earth suggestions for making ministry more meaningful for the ministers and those they serve.

The Ministry of Cantors has long been a valuable resource for music ministry formation. This new edition includes valuable insights from Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship. The revised edition addresses more fully the distinction between the roles of psalmist and cantor, suggests further concrete ways a paschal mystery spirituality must undergird both roles, and offers practical insights for helping one discern the call to be a cantor. New content also explores the power of the psalms to transform those singing into the kind of persons God is calling them to be. As with the first edition, this new book does not present the "how-tos" of vocal technique, warm-up exercises, diction principles, etc. Instead, The Ministry of Cantors focuses on what the cantor is doing beneath vocal technique: surrendering self to the dying and rising of the paschal mystery. The aim of the book is to help cantors delve more deeply into who they are and who they are becoming through their ministry: the Body of Christ pouring self out in voice, breath, and prayer for the life of the world.

The Ministry of Servers is a simple and concise, yet comprehensive, guide for altar servers and their instructors. This book will be easily understood by children who fulfill this essential ministry to God and God's people. The Collegeville Ministry series provides practical, effective help for those serving the parish through various ministries. Brand-new volumes complement the already popular existing volumes that have been completely updated and expanded. The Collegeville Ministry series offers inexpensive, yet comprehensive, training on the various liturgical roles. Each booklet is prepared by a specialist in the field and provides down to earth suggestions for making ministry more meaningful for the ministers and those they serve.

Many who come to Sunday Mass or other liturgical celebrations are not one of the formal ministers (presider, greeters, acolytes, lectors, etc.). This book is about helping everyone at liturgy understand that being there and serving one another so that liturgy is fruitful for all is a ministry. This is what we may call the ministry of the assembly. In some respects the ministry of the assembly is the most important ministry of all because it makes visible the church, the Body of Christ, by its very gathering together as one Body. As liturgical assembly, it makes present the celebration of the paschal mystery and Christ's ongoing mystery of salvation. Being a liturgical assembly is a privilege of our baptismal identity and the first way we live it out. The Ministry of the Assembly is a new book in the Collegeville Ministry series. Its five chapters address the being of the liturgical assembly, what the assembly does during liturgy, why being a liturgical assembly is so important, the configuration of the liturgical assembly in its own place, and a spirituality of the liturgical assembly.

Offering solace and encouragement to those who grieve is a critical aspect of the church's ministry of mercy and love. To find your place within grief ministry and plan this important ministry from first response to spiritual guidance, there is no better mentor than Fr. Terence Curley. In this guide, Fr.  Curley pays attention to all of the factors contributing to a grief minister's multifaceted work, including parish support and his or her own loss history. Symptoms of loss, trust, and hints for conversations with the grieving are topics touched by this detailed and sensitive guide. This book, a fully revised edition of Fr. Curley's earlier book The Ministry of Consolers, is a necessary tool for parishes, hospices, educational institutions, and all those attending to the bereaved.

All church ministries are oriented toward fostering missionary discipleship. Youth ministry focuses this mission on young people. In this new book in the Collegeville Ministry series, Jeffrey Kaster explores leadership for youth ministry, Christian discipleship, conversion, the theological foundations for youth ministry, the importance of community and belonging, and vocational discernment. Kaster looks at the practice of vocational discernment and how it encourages youth ministry to continually help young people discern their gifts, connect them in service to meet the world's deep needs, and foster Christian discipleship. Youth ministry at its best mobilizes the faith community to support young people as they learn to live as disciples of Jesus Christ. The Collegeville Ministry series provides practical, effective help for those serving the parish through various ministries, and comprehensive training on the various liturgical roles. Each work is prepared by a specialist in the field and provides down to earth suggestions for making ministry more meaningful for the ministers and those they serve.