Retirees find they’re ‘called and gifted’ to serve

By Patty Gayes
Contributor

Since 1979, the archdiocese’s Called and Gifted Program has been preparing people to become lay ministers. The “graduates” have been almost as diverse as the Catholic population itself, but in recent years a trend has begun to develop: Husbands and wives, nearing retirement, are choosing the program as a pathway for their “golden years” together.

Lou and Pattiann Sharp and Steve and Winnie Ligda, two couples who recently graduated from the two-year program, are examples. Both couples have had active, multi-decade relationships with their parishes. Both have raised their children and have either retired or are on the verge. The Sharps, who live in Libertyville, belong to St. Joseph Parish, and the Ligdas in Evergreen Park attend Most Holy Redeemer Parish.

“We started the program when Steve and I were both in our last year of full-time employment,” Winnie Ligda said. “We had a need to know where we were in the church, and where our future lay.” The program helped tremendously, she said, by broadening and deepening their knowledge of their faith. Students in the Called and Gifted Program study church teachings, Scripture, sacramental theology, doctrine, history/ecclesiology, Christology and peace and justice.

“We had some ‘how-to’ training—we led a prayer service, practiced public speaking. But mostly the emphasis was on deepening our background in the Catholic faith,” Steve Ligda said. “I started out a little uncertain about how much we could learn. What I found out was that there is so much to learn, so many concepts, so many rich church documents. Our class on peace and justice went deeply into the teaching behind each issue, and I realized ‘Wow, this is what social justice is about,’” he said.

The Ligdas, long active in liturgy planning (Steve is director of liturgy at Most Holy Redeemer), used what they learned to plan their next parish mission around a theme of social justice. “The program broadened our horizons about what we already knew. So we went back to the same liturgy, but with new perspectives,” Steve said.

For Winnie, the Called and Gifted program was empowering. “Our pastor asked me to plan a Scripture study during Lent. I planned one on the women of the Old Testament. Prior to this class, I would not have had the confidence to do this. Now he wants us to continue with Scripture study.”

The Ligdas attended weekly Called and Gifted classes at St. Xavier University on the South Side, while the Sharps attended at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. A third, central location is at Gordon Tech College Preparatory School in Chicago. In addition to the monthly academic classes, the participants all come together once a month at the Mundelein seminary for an all-day “formation” experience, with topics ranging from Values and Gifts to Christian Sexuality to Ministerial Leadership. A weekend retreat at Mundelein Seminary begins and ends the two-year program.

“We both had 16 years of Catholic education, but this program refreshed what we knew and updated a lot that had changed,” said Pattiann Sharp. “Plus, our maturity level is much greater now. In college, the grade was the motivation. In this program, there is no grade. We were allowed to simply appreciate the knowledge we obtained.”

Like all program participants, the Sharps signed an agreement with their parish or a Catholic agency to volunteer for two years, since the parish or agency sponsors them. “We were already volunteering anyway,” Lou Sharp explained.

Pattiann chairs her parish’s Human Concerns Commission, which includes bereavement ministry, the Waukegan soup kitchen, Right to Life, Lake County United, Ministry of the Sick, the parish’s work with Catholic Charities, and the Mary and Joseph House Shelter on Chicago’s West Side, plus others. Lou will serve on the Spiritual Life Commission, specifically working on developing a men’s ministry. “Right now, women make up probably 70 percent of the programs at St. Joe,” Lou said. “I want to develop programs of interest to men.”

The Called and Gifted program influenced their retirement plans in a big way. “The program led us both to reach the decision to retire at this time,” Pattiann said. “We have come to know that everything we have and are is a gift from God, so we want to give back while we can. We have all the financial resources we need, so we realized we could let go of that. This program cemented our decision (with what to do with the rest of their lives),” she explained.

The program also changed the Sharps’ personal spirituality. “In the past, I think Lou and I had focused on Jesus looking mostly at his divinity. The program helped us see him as human—as one of us. We realized fully that he had the same problems we do, that he got dirty and sweaty from a day in the desert, that he had the same range of emotions. That has made a big difference in our prayer lives.” Pattiann said.

The couples’ relationships deepened from their experience of learning together. “We share the same beliefs, but it seems that we look at things from different perspectives,” Lou Sharp said. “We both listened to the same lectures and discussions, but what we took from them was often completely different. So we got to know each other in a different way.”

Plus, as Winnie Ligda put it, “it was great to have my best friend in school with me.”