The Church as Organization - Workshop

In the same way that each of the Wednesday night classes begins with a simple and short prayer, usually by someone who volunteers, the Saturday class begins with a longer more organized prayer service, presented by a small group of students. I think this group did an excellent job, the service was very fulfilling, and I was blessed by the prayers, song, and readings. Today’s class was broken up into three sessions, with the theme of how the Church is Organized.

The first morning session was an overview of the Universal Church, and was supposed to be presented by the Bishop, but a recent injury required a substitution, so a Vicar filled in at the last moment. He began by drawing a large circle on the board, and indicated that the circle represented the world. Then he drew a cross on the top of the circle and indicated that the cross represented the Universal Church. He pointed out that Peter didn't establish the church in Rome, but that he was the first Bishop in Rome. He agreed with a student who suggested that when the church becomes dominate (historically) it has become lazy, but then asked a follow up question, "If the church hadn't become the religion of Rome would we be here today?"

The second session was an overview on Leadership in the Church, and the structure of a typical Parish. He presented a vision of ministry that included examples of well organized ministry teams, and discussed various organizational styles; such as autocratic, benevolent, consultative, and shared. He suggested that the last style is the typical expectation in California. Shared leadership has a philosophical component because it is natural for the human spirit to want to have input, it has a theological component because of our shared baptism, and an ecclesiological component because there is more lay people involvement than ever. A good leader must allow participation, allow the team to share responsibility, and make the decisions as a group.

The afternoon session was an overview on Canon Law, which basically regulates areas of the church, such as ministry, structure, and processes. It came from four sources, 1) Old Testament scripture, like the law found in Leviticus and Numbers, and the New Testament, 2) Roman law, such as the court system, and ideas such as advocacy, jurisdiction, and pronouncements, 3) Decrees of Bishops, including the Pope, and 4) the various ecumenical councils. Actually, decrees form the bulk of the Canon Law, and of the twenty one councils four were especially important.