Four are honored for completing Ecclesial Lay Ministry program

Standing with Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general, in Blessed Sacrament Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis on May 15 are the most recent to complete the archdiocese’s Ecclesial Lay Ministry formation program. Pictured, from left, Cathy Louden, Maureen Shea, Msgr. Schaedel, Ann Northam and Ed Isakson. (Photo by Mike Krokos)

By Mike Krokos

“God calls. We respond.”

The first two sentences from “Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ resource for the development of lay ecclesial ministry, describes the commitment that Ed Isakson, Cathy Louden, Ann Northam and Maureen Shea give to the Church.

The four were honored during an Evening Prayer liturgy on May 15 at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis for completing the Ecclesial Lay Ministry (ELM) formation program.

Isakson is the archdiocesan director of human resources. Louden is the liturgy and music coordinator at St. Malachy Parish in Brownsburg. Northam is the director of religious education at St. Augustine and Most Sacred Heart of Jesus parishes in Jeffersonville. Shea is coordinator of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for St. Thomas More Parish in Mooresville.

“Good ministry requires formation in spirituality, pastoral skills and theological studies, the three components of the Ecclesial Lay Ministry program,” noted Msgr. Joseph F. Schaedel, vicar general. “You dedicated yourselves to the enhancement of your ministry by your commitment to this formation experience.”

Msgr. Schaedel presented each honoree with an archdiocesan lapel pin and framed certificate of completion.

ELM, which was launched in the archdiocese in 1999, provides theological, spiritual and pastoral formation for lay ministers in the archdiocese. Suzanne Yakimchick, archdiocesan chancellor and executive director of lay ministry and pastoral services, administers the program.

Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad provides the ELM’s instructors and sets up its workshops, which take place in varying locations in the archdiocese.

Yakimchick addressed Isakson, Louden, Northam and Shea during the liturgy.

“You began this program in its earliest years and are now seven or eight years wiser, holier and more experienced,” she said.

“Thank you for what you bring to the Church, what you gave to this program, and for all that you do for the Church and your communities.”

For Shea, the program was a way to help in her ministry.

“I wanted to know everything that I could possibly know so that I could help people on their path [of faith] and help myself on my path,” Shea said.

Northam noted that she had traveled more than 20,000 miles in the last several years to participate in ELM classes.

“Four of us came from the [New Albany Deanery] area and took turns driving,” she said.

She added that the classes were a “refresher” for the masters degree she earned in theology.

“One thing I’ve loved is the networking with ministers from all varieties,” Northam said. “I’m in education, formation … and to work with music people and pastoral associates has been wonderful.”

Isakson said ELM helped him get to know different lay ministers throughout the archdiocese.

The program helped him spiritually, too.

“I started praying the Liturgy of the Hours at the beginning of the classes, and now it is something I do every morning when I get up,” said Isakson, who is a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis, where he and his wife, Kim, serve as a marriage preparation couple.

“It’s become part of my daily prayer routine and that all came about because of this program,” added Isakson, who also serves as an extradordinary minister of holy Communion at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.

For Louden, the program provided solid background for her ministry.

“I’m just interested in it so you just naturally want to find out more,” Louden said.

“I’m glad the archdiocese supports the lay ministers this way,” she added.

(For more information about ELM, log on to www.archindy.org/layministry or call 317-236-7325 or 800-382-9836, ext. 7325.) †