Organized lay ministries work developed during the late 1960s, beginning with The Episcopal Church’s effort to integrate women more fully into the institutional Church. In 1968, the Executive Council created the Ad Hoc Committee on Lay Ministries, and in 1969 the Committee was reappointed as the Special Committee on Lay Ministries. The 1970 General Convention adopted the recommendations of the Committee and created a Program Group of the Executive Council with members from the Special Committee on Lay Ministries, the Committee for Women, and the Executive Council. The first staff officer for Lay Ministries, Francis Young, began work in 1971.
The purpose of the Lay Ministries Office was to further the ministry of the laity in the secular structure of society, spurring the Church towards greater support of this ministry, and promoting participation of all kinds of laity in the work and decision-making of the Church. Lay Ministries pursued these goals through various activities including the publication of the “The 99%” magazine for lay ministers, the organization of conferences and consultations on topics relevant to lay ministry, and the facilitation of networks and programs to connect various stakeholders in the field of lay ministry. Although the Lay Ministries Office disappeared as a distinct entity in 1980, its work was carried out under different titles.
Published
Records of the Lay Ministry Office consist of the work product of staff officer Barry Menuez from 1973 to 1980. The records consist mainly of correspondence with some minutes, reports, conference materials and publications. These records document the changing status of women in the Episcopal Church and the Church's effort to involve part of the laity in the ministry of the Church. The topical files provide little supporting evidence of the range of activities of the office, but the serial newsletter called The 99% is a good resource.
Three series constitute the Records of the Lay Ministry Office:
Correspondence, 1972-1978
Memoranda, 1973-1978
Subject Files, 1968-1979
Coordinator for Lay Ministries. Records
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