Thanks and praise—for you!

Thank you for the great job you’ve been doing!

Last week, I was helping to lead a training session for catechumenate teams, sponsored by the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. I was so impressed by the dedication and commitment of the participants. Some of them have been at this 20 years or more. And some were brand new. They didn’t even know what “RCIA” stood for. But they knew they wanted to help others explore their journey in faith. It was inspiring just to be in the midst of people like them. People like you.

It occurred to me that catechumenate ministry is a pretty thankless job. I guess most ministry is, but folks on the RCIA team seem to me to be more outside the normal recognition process than most ministers. So, I thought the least I could do is to publicly thank all of you who have spent so much of your time and energy helping seekers find their way to Christ. It is really a great thing you do. Thank you.

Here is a terrific book that describes the impact of RCIA ministry in a community.
The Impact of the RCIA: Stories, Reflections, Challenges
Jerry Galipeau, ed.
Price: $24.95
Click here for details

I also ran across this post by Marshall Goldsmith. Apparently, the lack-of-recognition syndrome is not specific to ministry types. People in the business world suffer from it too. In his post, Goldsmith is speaking to managers and CEO’s, urging them to give positive recognition to their employees in order to boost job performance. I like his ideas, but they need some adaptation for ministry.

First of all, the reason we should recognize and thank people for the good work they do in initiation ministry is because we love them, not necessarily to boost job performance. If we are about forming seekers in the way of faith, we need to model loving behavior. We need to be who want the catechumens to be.

And second, we don’t have to wait for our “boss” to praise us. We can be agents of praise and thanksgiving. We can praise and thank people both “above” and “below” us. So if you are one of those brand new team members whose RCIA text is still gleaming and unmarked, who can you thank today for doing a great job in initiation ministry? And if you are a 20 year veteran, who needs your recognition today to know that they are making a significant contribution to the life of faith in your parish?

Here five easy ways to show the love.

1. Send an electronic thank you card
2. Send a written thank you card
3. Leave a “thank you” voice mail
4. Hug someone and say, “I’m really grateful for all the work you do.”
5. Lead a round of applause for someone at your next team meeting.

Please hit the comments link and share some other ways you have used to recognize greatness on your team.

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Tags: leadership

Posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 8:17 am under Team.