Times of great change present the Church with great opportunities says Jesuit Father, James Martin
They offer the chance to adapt to new needs and serve people differently, and a ministry of service means going wherever the people are, says Martin (pictured).
Martin says that Pope Francis has officially supported ministering to LGBTQ people. He’s encouraging the embrace of LGBTQ within Catholic families — creating new possibilities for in-reach.
“Even as some may feel constrained by vows of obedience that obligate leadership to line up with papal directives, others are finding support for new areas of ministry and outreach to underserved and marginalised groups,” says Martin.
Besides various communications roles, Martin brings a sense of Catholic belonging to many who had been disaffected or unchurched, particularly LGBTQ people.
With more than 645,000 followers on Facebook, 309,000 on Twitter and 81,000 on Instagram, he ministers to people wherever they are.
Martin says he’s just copying Jesus; instead of waiting for students to come to him, Jesus went out into the community to call his first disciples.
“Maybe they’re not on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, so you go somewhere else,” he says. “They’re on Facebook, they’re on Instagram, they’re on Twitter.”
But that’s just a first step.
The other step is just as important: “When you go there, you speak in their language,” Martin says.
Jesus did; with fishermen like Peter, Andrew and James, he used terms they would understand.
“He said: ‘Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.’”
“And if it’s not beneath Jesus to do it, it shouldn’t be beneath us,” he says.
Martin found community life shifted online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though online ministry can’t replace going to Mass, encountering Christ in the Eucharist and communal worship, opportunities to gather as online communities appeared.
Today Martin runs a Facebook Bible study every Friday. It draws about 500 people.
He interacts with online communities on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, plus more informal communities.
His ministry to the LGBTQ+ community began after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub where 49 people were killed in 2016.
“I felt like I needed to say something,” says Martin.
Very few bishops said anything. “Even in death, they’re invisible to the Church,” Martin noticed.
He now has an ongoing ministry to LGBTQ people, something Martin said God led him to.
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