Your Summer Project: work on part of your portfolio

Summertime and the living is easy.

Well, that's exciting!

Perhaps not.  But this is an exercise worth doing and not as hard as it sounds.  Drum roll please....

This is how you CHECK AND SEE HOW YOUR EDUCATION AND FORMATION MEASURES UP NEXT TO THE NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR LAY AND ECCLESIAL MINISTERS.

Sorry, am I screaming with the all caps?  I can't help it.  This is important.

We (the department, with the initial prodding and matchless help of Laurie Ziliak) have created various templates to help you create something that describes or shows how you are proceeding in your education and formation toward certification toward Lay Ecclesial Ministry.  We offer three options:

1. create a concept map, like this one. 
2. do our (beta mode!) checklist
3. write a narrative that incorporates these standards

There is no standard form for a portfolio, although there are basics that need to be in one: a resume, perhaps a list of people to call for general recommendations (perhaps an employer, an internship director, a pastor, and/or an professor), and evidence that you have done good work preparing to be a lay minister/teacher.  It can be paper or online, although there is probably value in doing both.

Career services can help you craft a good resume and polish interviewing skills.  We can advise on securing recommendations and how to do that.  We want to help you with the evidence piece of the portfolio.  How you present this material is up to you.

You are not expected to complete the National Standards for Lay Ecclesial Ministers by the time you graduate.  However, it would be good to show that you are well on your way, and that you understand that working on these standards is the bread and butter of lay ministry.  Churches want to hire people who are personable, experienced, qualified, and have a good understanding of the work in terms of vocation.  These standards help you articulate that.  You may end up working in a diocese that wants you to get certified through these standards.  Almost any place will be impressed that you are attending to them.  So go do it!

But how?  Personally, I think the checklist is the easiest place to start.  It provides the four sections of the National Standards (human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation), and the particular items that you should be attending to in some fashion.  HOW you attend to these items is for you to describe and defend.  This checklist is a pilot project for us, and the items to check out are not meant to be exhaustive.  Some items were included as possibilities that you may not think qualify, at least according to your experience--so don't check them.  But the checklist gives you a good sense of how this works, and frankly, can be printed off and included in your portfolio.

Some people love their visuals, and the concept map is one way to provide that.  There are many online options to creating a concept map.  The one I used for the sample is Text2Mindmap .  There are also possibilities in XMind, Lucidchart, Mindmeister...the choice is yours.  Just choose one that will print in a way that fits on a standard piece of paper, if you wish to have a paper portfolio; and make sure any online version is easily accessible for church secretaries dealing with a slow dial up computer.

Then there is the narrative option.  Think about what you have done and write a relatively short ( five page?) defense of how you have attempted to meet the National Standards.  Especially if you are a good writer, this may be the way to go.  You can also easily print it out or post it online for easy access.

***

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK ON THIS OVER THE SUMMER.  Oops, shouting again.  But it's true--this is worthwhile and you will need to do this before it's all over at SMU.  The earlier you start, the more you can "correct" gaps and weaknesses in your portfolio.

The Theology faculty is happy to talk to you about this at any time.

Happy summer!

"I'm in a mind-mapping state of mind"

(My apologies to Billy Joel)

In these last few days before break, you may want to set up a meeting with your advisor to discuss the National Standards for Lay and Ecclesial Ministry--either for the end of this week or just after break.  Creating a mind-map, or working with the Google docs form (in beta!), is an optional but important part of your own self-assessment as a student discerning lay ministry in the Church.  A completed mind map can be a useful introduction of yourself within a portfolio as well, electronic or not.

This option has been introduced in Th 209 and Th 460, but if you are interested, please feel free to fool around with the options and make an appointment with your Theology department advisor.

Question: How do I determine what I need to do be a lay ecclesial minister or teach theology?

(Answer: it's a bit more than taking the required courses and having a good heart.)

Don't be afraid of the technology--it's really quite easy, and you want to do this! And since you have now finished exams (woo hoo!), you have time to do it as well!

As you move through one of the Theology-affiliated majors (or minors) and your liberal arts education at Saint Mary's University, you will be discerning who it is God calls you to be--as well as which skills, educational choices, and formation opportunities you need to best fulfill that vocation. This 14 minute video explains the easy "fill in the blanks" concept map that will help you see for yourself (and show others!) what you have done in the effort required to discern vocation, what your natural interests are, and what work you still need to do. It is designed to be a help in your growing self-awareness, as well as a key to seeing if your desire to move into lay ministry or teaching theology is in line with the guidelines provided by the U.S. Bishops.

If you want to see the Prezi presentation in this video and move through it at your own speed (but without the audio), click here.

Ignore the somewhat lackluster first minute of the video and please watch!

Contact any of us in the theology department with questions.

--Dr WD

On pizza, mind maps, and spiritual formation

The meeting! Finally! Thanks to everyone who came (should have gotten a big group shot, I know, I know)....

Conclusion #1: Goodness, we eat a lot of pizza.

Look at us using computers. How on earth did Thomas Aquinas write his Summa without them....









Concept mapping broke out all over the place.

If you weren't there, we explained this program (on this page) AND showed people how to use the "mind map" (or concept map if you prefer). This is like a digital version of Co-Workers in the Vineyard, a tool to self-assess your formation as a Catholic Christian, and help determine next steps in discerning and growing in your vocation and ministry. More to come....