On the feast of the Holy Trinity, three new Pastoral Associates were commissioned for parishes within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles during a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Each new Pastoral Associate, commissioned following the homily, has served in archdiocesan parishes in various capacities (two for most of their ministerial lives), and each will bring her own gifts and talents to the service of the people of God. As "generalists in ministry," they will draw upon their own personal strengths and backgrounds and share in whatever way they can according to experience and training.

The three new Pastoral Associates are:

---Religious Sister of Charity Eva Bryan, who has served in St. Didacus Church, Sylmar, and now will serve as Pastoral Associate at Sts. Felicitas and Perpetual Church in San Marino.

---Notre Dame Sister Teresita Keliher, who has served at both Assumption and St. Philip the Apostle Churches in Pasadena, and will serve as Pastoral Associate at St. Philip.

---Rita Recker, who will continue serving at St. Francis Xavier Church, Burbank.

In his homily, Cardinal Roger Mahony emphasized that the Holy Trinity is a mystery difficult to explain, but very much part of the life of the Christian. He emphasized how each person of the Trinity brings into our lives of faith "the wonderful gifts of beauty and majesty of God and all he has given to us."

"We have been given, as well, the saving presence of Jesus as Redeemer and Savior as he became human for us, and gave us gifts and grace of the Spirit to be with us, to open our eyes to the wonderful splendor all around us," the cardinal said, as he asked the assembly to make the sign of the cross with him.

In keeping with the wonder and mystery of God's power, each person is called to share and use her or his gifts in service to the church. Each person has something to add to the building of the church and in using one's gifts, each person shares in the ministry of service according to those gifts.

The vision of Vatican II
Before the liturgy and ceremony, Kathy Russell Enright, director of the Office of Parish Life, reflected on the role of laity in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and said that Cardinal Mahony has been been "an extraordinary leader in recognizing the need to prepare lay leaders. These three people have answered the call to service in the church in a collaborative ministry."

"In this archdiocese," she continued, "we see beautifully expressed the vision laid out in Vatican II which recognizes that by virtue of our baptism all of us are called to serve in the church. Lay ecclesial ministers have a particular role which in many ways is so like the very earliest church.

"When you read the letters of Paul, you read about women and men ministering together; that's what you see here. Vatican II recovers the model of the earliest church. That's what we are doing."

The newly-commissioned Pastoral Associates, said Enright, "have a real desire to serve the people of God. They are bringing their particular gifts and enthusiasm to church ministry, to the church, and will be available as they are needed. Each will do a different kind of service, all of which is predicated on the need of a particular parish. They will work collaboratively with the pastor to meet the needs of a particular parish. They are part of a leadership team in a parish."

Sister Eva Bryan was accompanied to the ceremony by Father Jerry O'Keefe, a longtime friend and former pastor now serving as a senior priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge.

"We need the pastoral associates," said Father O'Keefe, who has known Sister Eva for 22 years. "They are necessary and Sister Eva will do a wonderful job. She is committed and dedicated. She has all the wonderful talents necessary - vitality, energy, enthusiasm - and she is committed to serve the people."

Sister Eva who has years of experience in education, pastoral ministry and vocation work, is happy that she will return to "my first love, which is back in the parish with the people," she said. "Empowerment of our laity is so needed as is education of the people in their own parishes."

Notre Dame Sister Teresita Keliher has served in the archdiocese for 46 years and is ready to try something "a little new," though it is really what she has done all along.

"For me, this is an acknowledgement of who we are in the archdiocese," she said. "It is a looking toward the future of how we have people who will move into the parishes and have the education, the know-how, and will be able to work along with our priests and our lay people, and will work together for the betterment of the church as we move on into the future."

Having worked in a parish since 2000, Rita Recker has found her preparation for the Pastoral Associate role to be fulfilling and broadening. She recently completed her masters degree in Religious Studies.

"The program has definitely opened my eyes to new ministries," she said. She wants to work "more with bereavement and with the elderly" and envisions so many ways in which she can be of service to those in need, especially the older members of the parish.

Enright noted that the Pastoral Associate program is predicated on a discernment process, pastoral experience and a master's in theology or pastoral studies and or similar degree, and participation in a formation program run by the Office of Parish Life. In the formation program the candidates are exposed to various types of ministries, communications, conflict resolution and human resources issues. They learn to preach in a course at St. John's Seminary, though they will not deliver homilies.

"People skills are critical in all this," said Enright. "They have to be high on people skills. They have to want to serve others. It's not about power. It is about service. It is a great service to the church and to the priests. They are trained to work along side the priests."