C304 –Theology of Church and Ministry David A. Stosur, Ph.D.
St. Bernard’s School of Theology & Ministry 271-3657 x299
Fall 2006 (Tuesdays 6:30-9:30pm) dstosur@stbernards.edu
Course Description:
Constructing a contemporary theology of church and ministry relying on scriptural and historical evidence and the documents of tradition, with special reference to the church’s membership, mission, and magisterium, and ministry’s origin, function, and evolution.
Course Requirements:
Readings:
Richard R. Gaillardetz, By What Authority? A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003).
Edward P. Hahnenberg, Ministries: A Relational Approach (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003).
Walter Kasper, That They May All Be One: The Call to Unity (London/New York: Burns & Oates, 2004).
Paul J. Philibert, The Priesthood of the Faithful: Key to a Living Church (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2005).
Bernard P. Prusak, The Church Unfinished: Ecclesiology Through the Centuries (New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 2004).
Other required and recommended readings are listed in the course schedule below, including documents from Vatican II (e.g., Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes, Unitatis Redintegratio, online at the Vatican Website); sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [=CCC, online at http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm]; the statement of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord [online at http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/co-workers.pdf]; and World Council of Churches, Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry, Faith and Order Paper No. 111 (1982)[=BEM online at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/bem1.html]. All required readings, except for the above texts, are on reserve at St. Bernard’s Russell Reading Room and through the online reserve at the University of Rochester Rush Rhees Library.
In addition to the required readings above, students may also wish to obtain a copy of Peter C. Phan, ed., The Gift of the Church: A Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield, O.S.B. (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2000), from which a number of recommended readings will be taken, and one of the following for the book review assignment (described below, p. 2; another book in ecclesiology or ministry may be chosen upon approval of the instructor):
Zeni Fox, New Ecclesial Ministry: Lay Professionals Serving the Church, rev. ed. (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield [Sheed & Ward], 2002).
Thomas P. O’Meara, Theology of Ministry, rev. ed. (New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1999).
Kenan B. Osborne, Orders and Ministry: Leadership in the World Church (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2006).
Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church: An Ecclesiology for the Third Millenium (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2005).
Susan K. Wood, ed., Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood: Theologies of Lay and Ordained Ministry (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003).
Class Participation: Students will have read the assigned materials, and will come to class prepared to answer the following questions:
· What new information did you learn from the material?
· What are the themes/issues emphasized?
· What aspects of/context for the reading were unclear or require further explanation? To what sources did you turn for clarification?
· Did the author present anything from a point of view new to you?
· Do you disagree with any of the author's arguments? Why?
· What implications does the reading have for ecclesial and ministerial practice and theology?
The class time will be spent with material presented by the instructor and in dialogue over these questions and others that emerge in the course of reading and discussing the material. Since significant class time will be dedicated to discussion of the readings, it is essential that the assigned material be read before each class. Attendance at every class meeting is expected. Each unexcused absence and any absence from more than two class meetings will adversely affect the class participation grade.
Written Assignments:
Discussion Papers (2): Two-pages each, first half-page consisting of three to five bulleted items highlighting significant points from the reading, remainder consisting of a double-spaced theological/pastoral reflection on one of the issues highlighted. (See “class participation” for appropriate types of theological/pastoral reflection questions.) Copies to be distributed to all class members. Assignments/due dates will be decided the first day of class.
Book Review (10 pages double-spaced). Book review of one of the following (student’s choice), or another book in ecclesiology or ministry approved by the instructor:
Zeni Fox, New Ecclesial Ministry: Lay Professionals Serving the Church (2002)
Edward P. Hahnenberg, Ministries: A Relational Approach (2003)
Thomas P. O’Meara, Theology of Ministry (1999)
Kenan B. Osborne, Orders and Ministry: Leadership in the World Church (2006)
Thomas P. Rausch, Towards a Truly Catholic Church (2005)
Susan K. Wood, ed., Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood (2003)
In addition to including a brief summary of the book (description of chapters and main points of each—no more than six pages), one or two of the points described should be developed and critiqued, demonstrating appropriation of the book’s message and of other material read for the course. Due November 7.
Final Paper (10-12 pages double-spaced, plus bibliography and footnotes where appropriate). Select an ecclesiological or ministerial issue of interest to you that was specifically addressed in the book you chose for the book review assignment. In roughly equal parts of the final paper, 1) describe the author’s position and argumentation of the issue, 2) describe how other authors you have studied in this course (or elsewhere) have addressed the issue, and 3) assess these authors and offer your position on the issue. It is recommended, though not required, that you consult with the instructor as necessary to determine the appropriateness/feasibility of your topic by November 2. Paper due Monday December 11.
Course Instructional Methods: The methods utilized to help involve the students in the learning process include: lectures and videos to provide material supplementary to the readings; a seminar-style of class discussion and participation (see class procedure and presentations, above); and written assignments that help to integrate the course material and provide a basis for self-assessment of learning.
Course Outcomes: Successful completion of the requirements for this particular course will provide the student with the following specific competencies:
· A graduate-level familiarity with historical and contemporary principles of ecclesiology and ministry, with those of the Second Vatican Council as a benchmark;
· A critical appreciation of the plurality in ecclesial and ministerial practices and theologies through the centuries, with a primary but not exclusive focus on the Roman Catholic tradition;
· An appreciation of the theological trends in the 20th Century leading to and stemming from the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) and their place in the development of contemporary ecclesiological understanding;
· An introduction to a method for approaching the documents of the magisterium with a view to interpreting them on a firm theological and pastoral basis;
· A deepened appreciation of post-conciliar ecumenical developments and their impact on the post-conciliar church;
· An ability to reflect critically, theologically, ethically and spiritually on principles, issues, texts and practices involving church and ministry, in a global, ecumenical, multi- and inter-cultural context;
· Improvement of skills in written and oral expression.
Methods of Assessment: The student's performance will be assessed on the basis of critical attentiveness to and integration of assigned readings and material presented in class, and on the quality of the student's written and oral expression. Evidence of these criteria is to be given by the student as appropriate to the various course requirements:
· reading assignments/class participation (20% of final grade)
· discussion papers (30% of final grade – 15% each)
· book review (25% of final grade)
· final paper (25% of final grade)
Course Schedule and Reading Assignments:
(All required readings, except for the purchased texts, are on reserve at St. Bernard’s and online.)
Sept 12 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE
Read: Prusak, 1-8
Hahnenberg, 1-6
Gaillardetz, 1-11
Philibert, 1-18
Kasper, 1-5
Recommended Reading:
Read: Prusak, 9-119
Recommended Reading:
Read: Prusak, 120-175
Gaillardetz, 15-53
Recommended Reading:
S. Wood, “The Church as Communion” in Phan, 159-176
Read: Prusak, 176-228
Recommended Reading:
Read: Prusak, 229-269
Recommended Reading:
Read: Prusak, 270-341
Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
Gaudium et Spes (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World), online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
Recommended Reading:
A. Dulles, “The Ecclesiology of John Paul II” in Phan, 93-110
W. Kasper, “On the Church: A Friendly Reply to Cardinal Ratzinger,” America 184:14 (April 23-30, 2001): 8-14.
J. Ratzinger, “The Local Church and the Universal Church: A Response to Walter Kasper,” America 185:16 (November 19, 2001): 7-8 and10-11
Francis A. Sullivan, “The Evangelizing Mission of the Church” in Phan, 231-248
T.H. Sanks, “The Social Mission of the Church: Its Changing Context” in Phan, 267-291
Oct 24 Read: Gaillardetz, 57-147
Recommended Reading:
J. Boyle, “The Teaching Office of the Church” in Phan, 355-370
B. Hinze, “Developing a New Way of Teaching with Authority” in David A. Stosur, ed., Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003) 165-196.
Oct 31 Read: Philibert, 22-155
Recommended Reading:
G. Tavard, “The Ecclesial Dimension of Spirituality” in Phan, 215-230
***Book Review due***
Read: Hahnenberg, 7-38
Recommended Reading:
Nov 14 Read: Hahnenberg, 39-150
Recommended Reading:
M. Scanlon, “The Ecclesial Dimension of Anthropology” in Phan, 193-214
Nov 21 Read: Hahnenberg, 151-214
U.S. Bishops, Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord [online at http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/co-workers.pdf]
Recommended Reading:
Read: Kasper, 14-91
Vatican II, Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism), online at http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19641121_unitatis-redintegratio_en.html
World Council of Churches, “Ministry” in Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry [Faith and Order Paper No. 111, June 1982], online at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/bem1.html
Recommended Reading:
Dec 5 Read: Kasper, 96-191
Recommended Reading:
J. Erickson, “Episkopé and Episcopacy in Modern Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue” in Stosur, ed., Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching, 93-110
Michael Root, “The Roman Catholic Bishop in Ecumenical Perspective” in Stosur, ed., Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching, 111-132
Dec 11 (Monday) ***Final paper due***
Selected Bibliography on Church and Ministry:
Bernier, Paul. Ministry in the Church: A Historical and Pastoral Approach. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1992.
Brown, Raymond E. The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. New York: Paulist, 1984.
__________. The Community of the Beloved Disciple: The Life, Loves, and Hates of an Individual Church in the New Testament Times. New York: Paulist, 1979.
Carmody, Denise Lardner, and John Tully Carmody. Bonded in Christ’s Love, Being A Member of the Church: An Introduction to Ecclesiology. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1986.
Castelli, Jim, and Joseph Gremillion. The Emerging Parish: The Notre Dame Study of Catholic Life Since Vatican II. San Francisco, Harper and Row, 1982.
Cozzens, Donald B. The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest’s Crisis of Soul. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
Cwiekowski, Frederick J. The Beginnings of the Church. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1988.
Dole, Dennis M. The Church Emerging from Vatican II: A Popular Approach to Contemporary Catholicism, rev. ed. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2004.
Dulles, Avery. A Church to Believe In: Discipleship and the Dynamics of Freedom. New York: Crossroad, 1982.
__________. Models of the Church, expanded ed. New York: Image books/Doubleday, 2002.
Flannery, Austin, ed. Vatican Council II: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations. The Basic Sixteen Documents. A Completely Revised Translation in Inclusive Language. Northport, NY: Costello Publishing Company, 1996.
Fox, Zeni New Ecclesial Ministry: Lay Professionals Serving the Church, rev. ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield/Sheed & Ward, 2002.
Gaillardetz, Richard R. By What Authority? A Primer on Scripture, the Magisterium, and the Sense of the Faithful. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003.
__________. Witnesses to the Faith: Community, Infallibility, and the Ordinary Magisterium of Bishops. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1992.
Goergen, Donald J., and Ann Garrido, eds. The Theology of Priesthood. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
Granfield, Patrick, ed. The Church and Communication. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1994.
Greeley, Andrew M. The Catholic Myth: The Behavior and Beliefs of American Catholics. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1990.
Hahnenberg, Edward P. Ministries: A Relational Approach. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003.
Halton, Thomas. The Church. Message of the Fathers of the Church 4. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1985.
Ivereigh, Austen, ed. Unfinished Journey: The Church 40 Years after Vatican II. New York, London: Continuum, 2003.
John Paul II. Ecclesia in America [The Church in America]. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: The Way to Conversion, Communion, and Solidarity in America. 22 January 1999. Washington, DC: United Sates Catholic Conference, 1999.
Kasper, Walter. Leadership in the Church: How Traditional Roles Can Serve the Christian Community Today. New York: Crossroad, 2003.
__________. That They May All Be One: The Call to Unity. London/New York: Burns & Oates, 2004.
__________. Theology & Church. New York: Crossroad, 1989.
Küng, Hans. The Church. London: Burns & Oates, 1967.
Lafont, Ghislain. Imagining the Catholic Church: Structured Communion in the Spirit. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
Lakeland, Paul. The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church. New York/London: Continuum, 2004.
Lathrop, Gordon W. Holy People: A Liturgical Ecclesiology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999.
Lawler, Michael G., and Thomas J. Shanahan. Church: A Spirited Communion. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995.
Lennan, Richard. Risking the Church: The Challenges of Catholic Faith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Markey, John J. Creating Communion: The Theology of the Constitutions of the Church. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2003.
Marty, Martin E. The Public Church: Mainline—Evangelical—Catholic. New York: Crossroad, 1981.
McBrien, Richard P. Ministry: A Theological, Pastoral Handbook. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1988.
Meier, John P. The Mission of Christ and His Church: Studies in Christology and Ecclesiology. Good News Studies 30. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, Inc., 1990.
O’Donnell, Christopher. Ecclesia: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996.
O’Meara, Thomas P. Theology of Ministry, rev. ed. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1999.
Osborne, Kenan B. Ministry: Lay Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1993.
__________. Orders and Ministry: Leadership in the World Church. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2006.
__________. Priesthood: A History of the Ordained Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 1988.
Phan, Peter C., ed. The Gift of the Church: A Textbook on Ecclesiology in Honor of Patrick Granfield, O.S.B. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
Philibert, Paul J. The Priesthood of the Faithful: Key to a Living Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005.
Prusak, Bernard P. The Church Unfinished: Ecclesiology Through the Centuries. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 2004.
Quinn, John R. The Reform of the Papacy: The Costly Call to Christian Unity. Ut Unum Sint: Studies on Papal Primacy. New York: Crossroad, 1999.
Rahner, Karl. The Church and the Sacraments. London: Burns & Oates, 1974.
Rausch, Thomas P. Towards a Truly Catholic Church: An Ecclesiology for the Third Millenium. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2005.
Ruch, Ormond. Still Interpreting Vatican II: Some Hermeneutical Principles. New York/Mahwah: Paulist, 2004.
Sanks, T. Howland. Salt, Leaven & Light: The Community Called Church. New York: Crossroad, 1992.
Schillebeeckx, Edward. Church: The Human Story of God. New York: Crossroad, 1990.
__________. The Church with a Human Face: A New and Expanded Theology of Ministry. New York: Crossroad, 1987.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Church in the New Testament. New York: Herder and Herder, 1965.
Seidler, John, and Katherine Meyer. Conflict and Change in the Catholic Church. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1989.
Stosur, David A., ed. Unfailing Patience and Sound Teaching: Reflections on Episcopal Ministry in Honor of Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003.
Sullivan Francis A. The Church We Believe In: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1988.
__________. Creative Fidelity: Weighing and Interpreting Documents of the Magisterium. New York/Mahwah: Paulist,1996.
__________. Magisterium: Teaching Authority in the Catholic Church. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1983.
Tavard, George H. The Church, Community of Salvation: An Ecumenical Ecclesiology. New Theology Studies 1. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992.
Tillard, J.-M. R. Church of Churches: The Ecclesiology of Communion. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992.
__________. Flesh of the Church, Flesh of Christ: At the Source of the Ecclesiology of Communion. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry. Washington, DC: USCCB, 2005. [Online at http://www.usccb.org/laity/laymin/co-workers.pdf.]
Warren, Michael. At This Time, In This Place: The Spirit Embodied in the Local Assembly. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1999.
Whitehead, Evelyn Eaton, and James D. Whitehead. Community of Faith: Crafting Christian Communities Today. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1992.
Wood, Susan K., ed. Ordering the Baptismal Priesthood: Theologies of Lay and Ordained Ministry. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2003.
__________. Sacramental Orders. Lex Orandi Series. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
World Council of Churches. Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Faith and Order Paper No. 111. June 1982. [Online at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/faith/bem1.html.]