What is the Presider Task Force?

PTF May 2004 Listening Night Follow-up Notes

As you know, Dignity/Boston is blessed to have a small number of priests who preside at liturgy most Sundays of the year, along with a rich pool of lay people who also have liturgical roles, including preaching and presiding on occasion. Major feasts in our community are co-presided by ordained and lay presiders, working collaboratively in a way that emphasizes the gifts of both. We have invited guests from outside of our community to offer homilies, or, in the case of Christian Unity Sunday, celebrate liturgy with us. Our current presider model, which incorporates all of these elements, was developed over the years with the input and consensus of the community.

The 2003 D/B Executive Board outlined questions about and developed the charge to assess this model in light of who the community is and what our needs are at the current time. They convened the Presider Task Force, comprised of current and past members of the Liturgy Committee and Board; in addition, all our current ordained presiders were invited to participate as well (and three of the four actively participated in at least some part of this process thus far). The 2004 Board has asked us to continue as a Task Force this year as well. We believe there is "no turning back" in the examination of Dignity/Boston's presider model; indeed, we have a sense we may be moving in the direction of greater involvement by lay people in our worship. Having been called by the Board to develop a process for examining these issues, we now call upon the community to engage in this discernment with us.

In our work, we have been guided by the 2002 brochure, "Liturgy at Dignity/Boston," included with this letter for your review. Three principles identified in that brochure really stood out for us: that we are a Eucharistic community rooted in the Gospel, that liturgy at Dignity/Boston is continually evolving, and that the community is always involved in calling for and participating in that evolution. We are committed to a process that reflects the needs and values of our progressive and inclusive Catholic Christian community. Our Task Force believes that now is the time to reflect on these needs and values as they pertain to presidership issues at Dignity/Boston. We invite you to join us in a series of events and activities over the coming year designed to promote dialogue and gather feedback as we evolve our vision about worship and who leads us in our worship experience.

Our first event of 2004 took place on Saturday, March 20th, in the Common Room of St. John's. What is Eucharist? What is community? What is the "priesthood of all believers?" What nourishes you about liturgy? How do our individual and collective responses impact our discussions about presidership?

March 20th was an important kick-off for engaging the broad community in conversations about this important issue. In the coming months, through other workshops, readings, and listening nights, we'll ask for your participation and involvement. We each need to have a voice in this conversation, to create and sustain a meaningful dialogue in the life of Dignity/Boston. Our dialogue comes at a critical time in the life of the larger church, and that critical time is mirrored in our own community. We hope you will take part in some or all of these opportunities. It should be an exciting time, with opportunities to learn more about ourselves, each other, our experience of liturgy, and ways that God calls and nourishes us as a community of faith.