A Ministering Church
Zeni Fox, Ph.D.
Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 10:30 a.m.
The Rev Richard Tessmer Leadership Lecture*
Since the beginning, the Church has indeed been a ministering Church. Diverse roles arose in the early communities, as well as an emphasis on the need for good preparation for all involved.
In our time, new roles have emerged. What can we learn from our beginnings? What can we learn from changes over the centuries? What contributes to the richness, and the challenge, of developments today, especially in providing pastoral care to our most vulnerable?
*The Rev. Richard Tessmer Leadership Lecture honors the memory of Dick Tessmer, longtime chaplain, supervisor, and pillar of the NACC.
The lecture is sponsored by AMITA Health, a faith-based health system comprised of the Alexian Brothers Health System, Adventist Midwest Health, and Presence Health.
Zeni Fox, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, Pastoral Theology, earned an M.A. in Religious Education and a Ph.D. in Theology from Fordham University. Her doctoral dissertation was titled, Lay Ministries: A Critical Three-Dimensional Study. Dr. Fox was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa by Christ the King Seminary in 2006, and Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa by Georgian Court University in 2007. She has also received the Cardinal Bernardin Award from The Catholic Common Ground Initiative, Chicago Theological Union in 2013; the Wisdom and Service Award from St. John’s University, Collegeville in 2011; the Servant Leader Award from the College of St. Elizabeth in 2011; and the Gaudium et Spes Award from the National Association for Lay Ministry in 1998.
She is the author of New Ecclesial Ministry: Lay Professionals Serving the Church, revised and expanded, Sheed and Ward (2002). For over ten years, she served as an advisor to the Bishops’ Sub-committee on Lay Ministry, as they developed Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord: A Resource for Guiding the Development of Lay Ecclesial Ministry. She lectures frequently throughout the country on lay ministry, lay spirituality and lay leadership. Dr. Fox serves as a member of the Sponsor of Ascension Health, St. Louis, MO; she has recently served on working groups of the National Association for Lay Ministry, National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management and the Catholic Health Association. She edited Lay Ecclesial Ministry: Pathways Toward the Future (Rowman and Littlefield, 2010) and co-edited Called and Chosen: Toward a Spirituality for Lay Leaders (Rowman and Littlefield, 2005). Articles and book reviews have been published in various pastoral journals, including Church, The Living Light, Liturgical Ministry and Health Progress, as well as chapters in several books.
Educational Materials (recommended books, articles, or websites for participants to review prior to the program)
“An Unfolding Reality Affects All Systems” by Zeni Fox
