|
The
title of this article seems an appropriate topic for this continuing series
on stewardship. As individuals and parishes become more aware of the role
stewardship plays in their lives, the next logical step is to design programs
which institutionalize its principles. This process naturally involves
the identification and performance of specified tasks. Since churches
are led by priests who are in turn supported by parishioners, jobs tend
to be classified into these two categories.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with setting aside some
tasks for clergy and some for laity, long standing misconceptions exist
which create incorrect assumptions about this division of responsibility.
The Church is an institution based upon spirituality, faith, and long
established teachings. Everything done by the Church must be consistent
with these prescribed practices. This fact represents the crux of the
issue and the source of misunderstandings which have evolved concerning
the role of clergy and laity.
The simple fact is that all members of the parish community, clergy
and laity alike, should work together in all phases of church life. There
are no tasks which are reserved solely for the laymen or exclusively for
the priests. It is true that only priests can administer the sacraments,
but even in this sacred duty they are supported by laymen. Our various
services and liturgies contain roles for clergy and laity. A priest cannot
perform them without the involvement of all those in attendance.
This same point holds true in other dimensions of the church’s
life. Clergy and laity must work together. Perhaps the most common cliche,
stereotype, or misconception which exists in our churches is the one having
to do with parish operations. “We run the church like a business.” This
practice may be a very sound one, but it has led to the notion that only
business persons are qualified to run the church. Since priests are not
trained in these matters, they are to be excluded from these aspects of
parish operations. Nothing could be further from the truth. Except in
those matters relating to ordination and the duties and responsibilities
it carries….
1. . . . no one should be excluded from any phase of parish life.
2. . . . all church practices must be consistent with the faith
and teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Some explanation is needed in order to show how it is possible
to have a division of duties without contradicting these two points.
In the Church, there is no place for the belief which states, “the
end justifies the means.” Everything done in the name of the Church must
be consistent with Biblical teachings. Since the Bible has stories
and parables which touch every aspect of human life, the daily lives of
individual Christians and of the Church as a whole must be guided by these
teachings. When a parish community sets about upgrading its May 1983 stewardship
program, care must be taken to involve both clergy and laity in the program’s
design. It is a mistake to think there are spiritual segments of the plan
and those parts which are out of the realm of spirituality. Everything
the Church does is touched by the Hand and Word of God.
It has been mentioned that the Department of Stewardship has designed
a number of parish workshops. One of these contains an activity which
examines lay-clerical cooperation in the development of a stewardship
program. A series of true-false questions are asked, with the answers
intended to stimulate thought and discussion. A sampling of these items
will help illustrate the extent to which such a program should embrace
the entire parish community.
1. “Abdication of a role in stewardship by lay or clerical parish
leaders diminishes success of the program.” The truth of this statement
should be obvious. When parishioners hear the same message from their
lay and clerical leaders, they tend to listen harder and with more attention.
2. “The priest should be the spiritual leader, uninvolved in material
needs of the church.” The first part of this statement is certainly true,
but when the last portion is added it should be easily seen as a false
notion. The mere fact that the Bible is full of references to God’s
concern for man’s attitude toward material possessions proves the priest
must shepherd his flock so that material needs are met with a right spirit.
3. “The priest should never speak of money from the pulpit.” This
commonly held notion would be true if Jesus never spoke about money during
His earthly life, but the fact He did makes this statement false. If a
priest were to simply plan a series of sermons about a certain book of
the Bible, many of those messages would be about money and giving.
In their book, How to Have a Giving Church, Bartlett and Margaret
Hess say, “The Bible gives no hint that God’s spiritual leaders
are to avoid mention of money. Money is part of life, and life is the
pastor’s domain. He is to lead his flock.”
4. “Parish councils can meet without inviting their priest.” Once
again, the statement is false. There is virtually nothing a parish council
could discuss that would not involve their priest, yet the notion persists
that some church matters just do not involve the priest. This mistaken
belief ignores the fact that everything done by the church must be founded
in spirituality and the priest is the spiritual father.
5. “The priest should initiate the parish pledge program.” By now
enough has been said to show that this statement too is false. A joint
effort is needed here just as in all other phases of parish life.
This particular workshop activity is designed to break down some
of the misguided notions of the priest’s role in the development of a
parish stewardship plan. Another activity helps bring out ideas concerning
how specified roles might be correctly assigned. Everyone in a parish
has some talent or skill. In the case of a priest, it is in the area of
spiritual and theological training. Another person might be a trained
electrician. Someone else an expert seamstress. The point is, each person
possess a special talent. It might be related to their job or to a hobby,
but it is a service which could be offered to the church. The workshop
activity brings out ways of finding out people’s talents and then putting
them to use as part of a stewardship master plan.
The proper approach to identifying the role of clergy and laity
in a stewardship program should now be somewhat clearer, It has always
been understood that there are separate roles to be played, the mistake
has been believing some were exclusively reserved for priests or laymen.
This practice tends to diminish the totality of the role every person
must play in the church. By virtue of his special training, commitment,
and certainly his ordination, the priest has certain tasks he is best
suited to perform. These should be seen as results of training and ordination,
and not because they are the “spiritual” aspects of parish life. Every
layman has a special role to play, not because it is out of the spiritual
realm, but precisely the opposite. Everything in the Church is encompassed
by faith, spirituality, and the teachings found in the Bible.
An earlier article in this series presented and explained fourteen
principles which are important points to keep in mind when developing
a parish stewardship program. One portion of that article, which appeared
in the November, 1982 issue of The Word bears repeating here, as it spoke
to the need for cooperation between clergy and laity in the establishment
of sound stewardship practices within a parish.
“5. While the priest is always an integral part of any stewardship
program, a joint effort between laity and clergy is needed in order for
an effective stewardship program to exist. Many people would say this
principle is so basic it need not be stated. It would be nice if this
were true, but experience suggests the contrary. On the one hand, there
is still the notion in some people’s minds that a priest’s role is confined
to only certain aspects of parish life. What is known as the ‘upstairs-downstairs’
mentality persists. ‘Father, you take care of the altar and we’ll run
the church’s other business. ‘There are no segments of church life not
touched by spiritual needs. Stewardship’s broad application reminds us
that this is true. The clergy then can be excluded from no aspect of parish
life.”
“On the other hand, the priest alone cannot implement an effective
stewardship program. Other than administering the sacraments of the Church
and conducting Divine Liturgy, there are no aspects of parish life for
which only the priest is responsible. The Bible contains numerous references
to the role of the faithful as stewards of God’s word. Implementation
of an effective, ongoing stewardship program becomes, then, a joint clergy-laity
responsibility.”
The success of a parish’s stewardship
plan hinges on this issue of role definition. It takes the efforts of
all segments of the parish community to make stewardship work. It also
requires the awareness and acceptance of the fact that all church programs,
involvements, and activities are scripturally based. This point leads
logically to the conclusion that all are responsible for assuring the
Church’s spiritual wellbeing. Every parish should review their practices
to insure that this idea is reflected in their regular routines.
From Word
Magazine
Publication of the Antiochian Orthodox
Christian Archdiocese of North America
May 1983
pp. 15-16
|
