Co-Workers in the Vineyard

---

When I first stepped into the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry & Service, I thought my role would be largely entailing administrative tasks — calendars, schedules, coordinating courses and formators across the archdiocese. What I discovered instead is a ministry of accompaniment that reaches deeper still: helping each person recognize the ecclesial bond joining their personal call to the broader mission and life of the Church. This work has made me realize that formation is not simply about doing church, but about being Church—echoing St. John Paul II’s teaching in Christifideles Laici, that the lay faithful are not merely collaborators of the clergy, but are themselves the Church, sharing fully in her mission by virtue of their baptism. This is the spirit of Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, the U.S. bishops’ vision for lay ecclesial ministry: the belief that the harvest is abundant but the laborers few, and that the baptized are called to labor side by side with the ordained.

At its heart, the work is about walking alongside people who feel called to serve. I have listened to men and women transformed over their faith formation journey. Sharing in a tender and vulnerable way, they arrive uncertain of their gifts and of who God is calling them to be—much as I once was, myself in ministry. Forming people across the four dimensions Co-Workers names—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—is teaching me that formation is and never will be simply the transfer of knowledge, but the patient work of helping someone recognize the Spirit already moving within.

My work also includes coordinating a bilingual formation program for the lay faithful in the program Parish Ministry Formation through both our Archdiocesan and Caminando Juntos tracks. While the Archdiocesan programs focus on supporting parishes and ministry leaders within the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Caminando Juntos extends that mission to rural and small-town communities beyond the archdiocese. In both, we journey together with parishes and their pastors to help support the formation of ministers through building community, dialogue, and shared prayer, fostering a spirit of accompaniment that strengthens the Church at the local level while connecting across regions and cultures.

Currently, we will begin courses in Parish Ministry Formation at St. Bonaventure, St. Matthew, St. Dominic, and Our Lady Queen of Peace in the rural community of Kenedy, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Del Rio, bringing formation directly to communities seeking support. Partnerships with dioceses such as Victoria, Austin, and Jefferson City show that this mission extends well beyond San Antonio. Caminando juntos—walking together—we form ministers through community, dialogue, and shared prayer, helping leaders grow and serve where they are needed most.

There have been challenges—yet even the ordinary tasks have become a kind of prayer, each one serving a parish and its lay leaders that will be better cared for because someone said yes to formation. This humble work has deepened my own discipleship, reminding me that the Church is built not in grand moments but in faithful, quiet labor. For the chance to serve in this way, alongside clergy, religious, and people of faith, in this chapter of my life, I remain deeply grateful.

By investing in pastoral leaders where they live and serve, we help build vibrant, faith-filled communities prepared to respond to the needs of today and the future of the Church.

To learn more about the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry and Service, visit: https://maccsa.org/en/institute/