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Welcome to the Called & Gifted Home Page!

Press to see Letter from the Director

You’re not here by accident. The Spirit’s movement in your life has caused you to consider doing more to deepen your faith and to strengthen your gifts for ministry.  We thank God for that, and for the generous service you’ve been giving to your parish. 

Look through these pages.  If you feel excitement and sense this could be a way to do something for yourself as well as for your parish, then talk to us about the program. It would be a great privilege to welcome you and walk with you through your two years of learning and growth.  Perhaps the Spirit will lead you elsewhere and these pages will serve as a pointer to where you need to go.  If that’s the case, know our prayers are with you.

What’s this program all about?  Here’s a quick overview.

The Called & Gifted Program has a long history of training parish volunteers and equipping them with the confidence and competence to better serve their parish in various ministries. Established in 1979, the program has grown from a one-year to a two-year program of learning and faith formation.  Weekly classes are offered at three sites within the metropolitan area and monthly formation days are presented on the campus of the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

Over 1600 graduates of the program continue to minister within parishes all over the archdiocese, mostly as volunteers.  But some have gone on to pursue graduate degrees in ministry and now work in parishes as Directors of Religious Education, Pastoral Associates, Youth Minister, etc., while others direct Diocesan offices or lead other ministries within the Archdiocese. 

We have always been proud to welcome generous and talented volunteers sent by their pastors to become more effective parish ministers.  By learning about their faith and growing in their self-understanding, these volunteers return to the parishes better equipped to serve, to lead, and to continue to grow in their love of God and neighbor.

Participants in the program

• Engage in serious study of scripture, church, and sacraments
• Deepen their spirituality and integrate their faith with daily life
• Learn to share faith and be more effective team members
• Become better listeners and more responsive to people's needs

The basic awareness that underlies all we do is that God puts people in ministry so they can meet Jesus Christ.  First and foremost, we are here to develop our relationship with Him.  Knowledge of the faith helps us to do that. So does prayer. So do the relationships we build with others in the program. So does the self-awareness we develop through study and reflection and sharing the experiences of others.

With St. Thomas Aquinas, we are convinced that we must study theology “on our knees.” That is why prayer is so integral to all we do. “You are the salt of the earth… the light of the world,” Jesus said. We take that seriously. Helping participants become “salt” and “light” is part of our mission.

Teaching them about theology and scripture and liturgy, and many other things, is also integral to what we do. Our students are adults, and we treat them that way.  Knowing the needs of adult learners and respecting those needs has been a hallmark of the program for nearly thirty years! Our students study together with the men and women of the Dicaconate Formation program, giving members of both programs, who may later work together in parishes, a wonderful opportunity to meet and know each other, and to learn to respect each other’s ministry.