2010 Catalog cover - The Athenaeum Of Ohio

Lay Pastoral Ministry Program
Introduction
tion
The Lay Pastoral Ministry Program is one of the
three divisions of the Athenaeum. Begun in 1975
as one of the first lay ministry programs in the
country, the LPMP is open to women and men of
faith who want to grow as lay ministers. The
program provides participants with experience they
need to become more effective ministers, to
empower others to minister and to minister with
creativity and adaptability to the evolving needs of
a changing Church and society.
History
The LPMP began because of the initiative of a
group of lay persons who had met for several
years discussing lay service and the possibilities for
ministry within the Archdiocese. In 1973 they
began meeting with the Director of Religious
Education, Father Robert Hater, exploring the idea
of a formal program for training lay persons in
ministry. Through collaboration between the
Rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary and Father
Hater, a Committee on Pastoral Ministry and
Catechetics was appointed by the Athenaeum
Board of Trustees to study the prospects for the
establishment of a lay ministry training program
through Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.
Meanwhile, during the first year of the Permanent
Diaconate program, a group of six women
participated in classes with the men in training in that
program. A faculty member at Mount St. Mary’s
Seminary, Sister Ellen Frankenberg, worked with
that pilot group while the committee continued its
work.
In the spring of 1975, the committee approved a
proposal for the formation of the Lay Pastoral
Ministry Program. Subsequently, that proposal was
approved as well by the Athenaeum Board of
Trustees and the Athenaeum Chancellor, Archbishop
Joseph Bernardin. Sister Ellen
Frankenberg was appointed coordinator for the
new program, and 21 participants began classes at
the seminary in the fall of 1975. The Committee on
Pastoral Ministry and Catechetics became the
Policy and Review Board, with particular responsibility
for the program as a unique entity within the
Athenaeum. Members of that board were
appointed by the Archbishop. No new students
were admitted in the following year, so that effective
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