On Wednesday, December 14 the Ministerial Development Directorate met at the Provincial Office in New York. Members of the Directorate include Andrew Reitz, Chairperson, Frank Sevola, Christopher Keenan, Steven Patti, Kevin Downey, and Msgr. Kenneth Lasch (Morristown, NJ), Patricia Ballner (Englewood, NJ), Janet Rizzuto (New York), and Melina Rudman (Rocky Hill, CT).
Items on the agenda included:
A summary of the evaluation of the Guardians’ Meeting in St. Petersburg was given to the members of the committee for discussion. Next, a rough draft of an evaluation of the Process for Seeking Leadership Positions was presented and discussed. This evaluation will be worked on by several members of the Directorate, finalized at the next meeting, and then sent throughout the Province.
The possibility of a new ministry at Clemson University was discussed. The Guidelines for New Ministries was presented and Andrew and Frank will travel to Clemson to further look into this ministry that the Paulist Fathers are involved in. The Paulists will be leaving this ministry July 1, 2006.
There was a lengthy discussion on the topic of Evaluation of the State of Partnership in Holy Name Province. This recommendation came from Chapter 2005 and is one of the responsibilities of this Directorate. A proposal from James Gorman was presented and discussed. Mr. Gorman has done assessments of ministries and an outside person seems advisable for this task. Members of the Directorate will meet with Mr. Gorman to continue the discussion.
The final item on the agenda was the next Partners in Ministry gatherings. The autumn of 2006 seems like the best time to convene sessions of PIM. The emphasis would be to meet in small groups with key leaders from ministries to help them develop their leadership abilities in a Franciscan setting. The idea of Servant Leadership was discussed as a possible way to assist our Partners.
The next meeting of the Directorate will be January 31at the Provincial Office in New York.