From part-time coordinator to full-time director
Tips for growing your skills as your job expands
Photo by Mike ConnorsTwenty-five years ago, Donna Erickson Couch was hired as a part-time confirmation coordinator for a parish of 1,500 families. Today she is the director of faith formation, and oversees a staff of six in a parish composed of 6,500 families at St. Edward the Confessor Church in Dana Point, California. Couch is a hard-working visionary leader. She lugs bags of supplies, speaks to young mothers, is involved in the hiring of a youth minister, and rejoices with team members when dozens of catechumens receive sacraments. Donna recently took some time to talk about her career in ministry.
Administration
Have your responsibilities changed as the parish has grown?
I’ve moved from working solely with volunteers and being personally involved with every level of ministry to a supervisory, administrative position. I still do “hands on” presentations for RCIA and adult formation, and form teams of volunteers. I supervise the six-person faith formation staff and work with them full time. I’m also a spiritual director, speaker, do staff development, and give spiritual retreats and days of recollection.
Funding
How do you fund lifelong catechesis faith formation?
We charge tuition for the children and youth programs—$100 per year, per student. We are able to spread that money over all of our other programs including the catechumenate for children, teens, and adults (they don’t pay to become Catholic). We receive donations from the parish on a monthly basis, through plate offerings, as well as contributions from individuals. Salaries for the faith formation staff are paid by the parish, and I do not oversee that budget. Sometimes, if there is a special program, we may ask for a donation.
Has the amount changed over the years? What do you foresee going forward?
Yes, the tuition has increased slowly to accommodate inflation. We try to keep the cost down and we offer scholarships. Fortunately, we are a wealthy and generous community. I foresee that people will continue to lend their support as long as we offer worthwhile and meaningful ways to grow.
Meeting Space
Do you have challenges in scheduling meeting space?
Yes—we need larger spaces in order to do intergenerational and experiential ministry. Our space is not always adequate or available. We do both onsite and offsite retreats.
What are two hiring challenges for faith formation staff?
It’s difficult to attract and keep qualified young people who have a desire to work in ministry as a vocation, not as a stepping stone to bigger and better jobs in other fields. The salaries we offer—and we are better than most—are still not competitive with the secular world. One cannot be a minister these days and raise a family on that one salary in Southern California.
Two Practical Tips
I find it’s important to form teams that are of all ages and nurture their spiritual growth. Don’t just ask them to give—provide them with opportunities to grow deeper in a spirituality that will last for the long haul.
Collaborate—take time to do the consensus work, to listen, and persuade rather than just compromise. Learn better interpersonal skills and use the components of compassionate communication.
Looking to the Future
What practical considerations do you predict for the next two to five years?
We need a renewed vision that is more intergenerational, more interactive, more inclusive, more experiential, and has more distance-learning opportunities. Technology and social networking must be employed to do the new evangelization required of the millennial generation.
We need more young people in professional ministry.
We need to think about how we can engage and enlighten those who claim to be “spiritual but not religious.”
We also need to figure out how we can help those who have recently returned to us and need to “grow up” in the faith again.
I recently formed a team of parishioners in all age brackets who meet once a month to vision with me for the future.
Resources
What books or other resources have helped you in your career?
I read a lot even though nothing ever fit exactly. Re-Imagining the Parish, Parishes that Excel, and all of the other Patrick J. Brennan books, as well as small church community resources by Arthur J. Baranowski and others were inspirational. I read many RCIA resources and the work of Loughlan Sofield and Donald H. Kuhn on leadership. I was asked to write Communicating Effectively for DREs (Liguori Publications) in the early 1990s, which was a guide for parish leaders.
Deepening my spirituality helped me in my career. I did this through the monks at Spiritual Life Institute, reading works by contemplatives like Thomas Merton and Thomas Keating, and a steeping in the mystical tradition. These experiences and books kept me grounded and centered. The literally hundreds of retreats I went on and my commitment to Liturgy of the Hours (more than 15 years of practice) held me together and kept my eyes on God rather than one mentor.
Pegge Erkeneff is an author, spiritual director, and retreat leader with 15 years of experience in youth and campus ministry.
