Laity have much to contribute to Church management
Kerry Robinson, the Leadership Roundtable's executive director, wrote in America magazine's special issue on women about the need to include the laity, and women specifically, in the Church's decision making processes. The article's release this week coincided with a visit to the Vatican by Kerry and other lay women representing prominent family foundations for a series of meetings with heads of various Vatican departments. This is the third time the group has visited Rome.
 | | Kerry Robinson, fourth from left, joined colleagues from various Catholic family foundations at a series of meetings at the Vatican earlier this month. |
In the United States the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management advocates for the role of laity, particularly senior executive leaders from the secular world whose financial acumen, managerial expertise, human resource experience and communications skill could benefit the church. Complex, temporal challenges facing church leaders are solved with the assistance of these experienced and committed leaders. In the decade since the roundtable was formed, we have been acutely aware of a byproduct of this involvement by the laity: evangelization. This is an important lesson. When a professional woman is recognized for the skill, expertise and competencies she possesses and is invited to share those talents in service to the church, she is far more likely to be invested and committed.
ESTEEM, Leadership Roundtable featured in Faith & Leadership
 | | Katie Diller is ESTEEM's national coordinator and a campus minister at Michigan State University (photo: Faith & Leadership). |
ESTEEM, Engaging Students to Enliven the Ecclesial Mission, was featured in Duke Divinity School's publication, Faith & Leadership, highlighting it's impact on emerging Catholic leaders. ESTEEM is a joint project of the Leadership Roundtable and St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel & Center at Yale University. From the article:
The high point of the ESTEEM year is the Capstone Conference, where ESTEEM students from across the country network and discuss what they've learned. It's been held at Yale in the past but is moving to Chicago next term.
"You know there will be others at the conference with the same career and faith goals," [Michigan State University ESTEEM participant Joel] Feldpausch said. "You can build relationships there. It's incredibly empowering to know that there are students like us all over the country, taking their faith into the real world as laypeople."
It's just as empowering, [ESTEEM project manager Katie] Diller said, to discover that, with students pursuing majors ranging from organic farming to roller coaster engineering (true story), "we're all different, but we share this thing."
Diller's current goal is to more than double the number of ESTEEM campuses to 25 within three years, and to move for the first time into at least five dioceses. She also wants ESTEEM alumni to work with the incoming students as mentors.
Catholic leaders collaborate on schools at Regional Roundtable
 | | From left, John Kaneb, Ed Hanaway, and the Leadership Roundtable's Darla Romfo speak on sustaining Catholic schools during the Regional Roundtable. |
Over 80 leaders attended the Regional Roundtable-Philadelphia on September 30, 2013, at the Union League Club in Philadelphia. Regional Roundtable participants engaged in dialogue about the Leadership Roundtable's vision, with a panel presentation from the group's newly installed chairman, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) James Dubik, and Executive Director Kerry Robinson. Small workgroup sessions allowed for greater exchange of ideas among participants. Geoff Boisi, the founding chair of the Leadership Roundtable, offered a brief update on our engagement with the Church over the past 9 years as we prepare to celebrate a decade of service beginning at the 2014 Annual Meeting. The final session of the day was a panel focusing on the sustainability of Catholic schools co-hosted by the Philanthropy Roundtable. Over 100 guests from that organization joined us for this event.
That evening, Geoff was honored with the 2013 Leadership Roundtable Best Practices Award for his extraordinary vision, dedication, service and investment in the Catholic Church. Kerry also announced the creation of the Boisi Philanthropy Award, which the Leadership Roundtable will bestow on individuals and organizations that exhibit a strong philanthropic commitment to the Catholic Church.
Save the Dates
- The Leadership Roundtable will be present at the USCCB Fall Assembly, November 10, 2013, for an open house for US bishops to connect with Leadership Roundtable project managers.
- The 2014 Mid-Atlantic Congress, February 27-March 4, 2014, at the Baltimore Hilton Hotel, with a Leadership Roundtable sponsored track on leadership.
- ESTEEM gathers its participants from all campus sites at the national capstone conference, March 28-30, 2014, in Chicago.
- The 2014 Leadership Roundtable Annual Meeting, kicking off our tenth anniversary celebrations, June 24-26, 2014, at Loyola University Chicago.
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