Three honored for completing Ecclesial Lay Ministry program

Standing with Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein in front of a portrait of Bishop Francis Silas Chatard in the rectory of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis are, from left, the first three people to complete the archdiocesan Ecclesial Lay Ministry formation program: Sandra Cook, Connie Sandlin and Margaret Nelson.

By Sean Gallagher

With many friends and relatives gathered around them, three women were honored during an Evening Prayer liturgy on May 17 at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis as the first people from the archdiocese to complete the Ecclesial Lay Ministry (ELM) formation program.

Those who received archdiocesan lapel pins and framed certificates of completion were Sandra Cook, coordinator of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for the Richmond Catholic Community; Margaret Nelson, a retired senior editor for The Criterion and a member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Indianapolis; and Connie Sandlin, who will begin ministry on July 1 as the director of religious education at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Clarksville.

“God called you to service in the Church,” Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein told the honorees during the liturgy. “You have responded generously. May God continue the work he began many years ago in each of you.”

ELM, which was launched in the archdiocese in 1999, provides theological, spiritual and pastoral formation for lay ministers in the archdiocese. Suzanne Yakimchick, archdiocesan chancellor and executive director of lay ministry and pastoral services, administers the program.

Saint Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad provides the ELM’s instructors and sets up its workshops, which take place in varying locations in the archdiocese.

Yakimchick addressed Cook, Nelson and Sandlin during the liturgy.

“It has been a pleasure to work with you and see your growth in the years you invested in this formation experience,” Yakimchick said. “It will be my continuing pleasure to assist you in your future growth and development.

“Thank you for what you bring to the Church, what you gave to this program and for all that you do for the Church and your communities.”

“This is what we’ve looked forward to all those years,” said Cook. “All of us and all of those in the program have worked very hard for this.”

Although she retired from The Criterion two years into the program, Nelson said she kept up with ELM because its formation helped her as she continued to work periodically as a freelance reporter for The Criterion and writing

personality profiles for her parish’s newsletter.

“I think you can always grow in your faith,” Nelson said. “[ELM] was really interesting, and it helped me feel closer to God and helped me understand my relationship with God more.”

Sandlin, who ministered the last three years at the Aquinas Center in Clarksville, gave “total credit” to ELM for preparing her for her new ministry at St. Anthony of Padua Parish.

“There’s so much more to our faith than what you first realize,” Sandlin said. “Once you begin learning about it, you see all the layers and the deeper meaning behind everything. So [ELM] has increased my faith a lot.”

(For more information about ELM, log on to www.archindy.org/layministry or call 317-236-7325 or 800-382-9836, ext. 7325.) †