When Terry Ginther, diocesan executive director of Pastoral Life and Mission, learned that she was going to receive a national honor for her work in pastoral planning, she began to reflect on her life and the accomplishments “that have brought me to this point in ministry.”

Ginther received the prestigious 2016 Lumen Gentium Award, which was presented April 19 during the National Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development’s 43rd annual convention held April 17-20 in Chicago. She said her involvement in ministry on both the parish and diocesan levels essentially began with “someone who spoke the Word of God into my life more than 30 years ago.”

“That Word transformed my way of thinking and has set me on a path that has had many turns. All along the way, I have continued to hear the Gospel calling me to more love, more mercy, to reconcile and to heal – to become a small reflection of the Word in the every day of life and ministry,” Ginther said.

According to the CPPCD’s website, the Lumen Gentium Award recognizes distinguished pastoral leadership in the utilization of planning and broad consultation processes; initiative and creativity in responding to parish or diocesan changing needs; significant contributions to raising awareness of the principles of the document, Lumen Gentium, and a significant number of people, structures or programs influenced.  The award is named for the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, which examined the nature of the Catholic Church.

Ginther, in accepting the award, said she found it “startling to be included among the auspicious prior recipients of this award whose contributions far exceed my accomplishments and years of service.”  “I recognize, however, in this award, the acknowledgment of my service; service that is not so different from other planning directors around the country who do their best to quietly share a vision for collaborative structures that help to nurture the kingdom of God emerging in the world."

Ginther, who hails from Wall Township and is a member of St. Denis Parish, Manasquan, has served the Diocese of Trenton in a variety of capacities for some 14 years. Her current position as executive director of Pastoral Life and Mission includes oversight of Pastoral Planning in addition to the Departments of Youth, Marriage and Family Life and Pastoral Care; Campus Ministry; Movements, and Retreat Houses.  Ginther also serves on the Diocesan Expansion and Restructuring Commission.

Her specific work in pastoral planning includes working with Pastors to establish parish pastoral councils and undertake planning for ministry.  Ginther guided the development of “Led By the Spirit – A Pastoral Plan for the Diocese of Trenton” from 2007-2009, which introduced broad-based online surveys and regional consultation through the deaneries of the Diocesan Pastoral Council to determine the priorities about which people felt most strongly.  “It was [the Diocese’s] first experience of articulating a directional plan for the next five years.” In 2014-2015, she coordinated the work of committees to create the “Plan for Ministry Among Spanish-speaking Catholics” and the “Plan for Strengthening Marriage in the Diocese of Trenton.”  “Both initiatives are slowly but surely having an impact on the way we do ministry in the Diocese,” she said. Earlier this year, she began working with Monsignor Leonard Troiano, Episcopal Vicar for Diocesan Planning, and in collaboration with the Reid Group, to help lead “Faith In Our Future,” the first time the Diocese will involve every parish in planning at the same time.

“All of these processes have engaged hundreds of the baptized in ways to move forward together – speaking the Word of God by what we say and what we do. It is sacred work; the work of an open heart. I am indeed blessed to carry it out with dedicated colleagues and companions.”

Ginther holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Va., and a master of arts degree in pastoral ministry from Caldwell College, Caldwell.

Prior to arriving to the Diocesan Chancery, Ginther’s previous work included serving as pastoral associate for Christian formation in St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Lakewood, during which part of her responsibilities included overseeing the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process.

In 2002, Ginther began her first diocesan position as associate director of the Office of Catechesis, coming to the role with a broad background in leadership, planning and Christian formation, particularly at the parish level. She served in the Office of Catechesis until 2007 when she assumed the position as diocesan director of pastoral planning. In 2011, Bishop O’Connell named her to her current position on the Diocesan Curia.

Ginther has continued her professional development through a number of venues including the Diocesan Educational and Catechetical Leadership Institute, St. Mary’s Center for Continuing Formation, Baltimore; Certificate Program in Council Development and Pastoral Planning, St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn.; Church Management Institute, Villanova University Center for the Study of Church Management, Villanova, Pa; and Tending the Talents Parish and Diocesan Leadership Development Program, Catholic Leadership Institute, Wayne, Pa.  She is married and the mother of two adult children.

The CPPCD has presented the Lumen Gentium Award to deserving persons since 1993. Ginther is the second recipient from the Trenton Diocese to be honored with the award. Now Bishop Emeritus John M. Smith had been named an award recipient in 2009.