Bishop Wester teaches the Models of the Church to religion class

Intermountain Catholic

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Bishop John C. Wester polls the 8th grade religion class on which Model of the Church they prefer; 26 of the 28 students liked the Servant Church. ?I encourage you to study what appeals to you and consider why the others may not,? the bishop told the students.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Most Rev. John C. Wester, bishop of Salt Lake City, was met and escorted to the Kearns-Saint Ann School eighth-grade religion class by Caitlin Stanchfield and Alex Pasillas Oct. 26. He spent some time discussing the "Models of the Church" by Cardinal Avery Robert Dulles, S.J., which the eighth graders were studying.

"Suppose I came from another planet in my spaceship and you told me you were studying the Catholic Church. What would you tell me?" asked Bishop Wester.

The answers included a place to go to church, a place to hear the Word of God and it’s a community. He then compared the different ways of looking at the Church with the facets of a diamond ring, saying we all have different views.

The students told the bishop they study six models of the church, whereas when the bishop was in school, there were five. The models are: Institution, Mystical Communion, Sacrament, Servant, A Community of Disciples and Herald, which is the mission of the people of God, according to the textbook "Christ Our Life" by Loyola Press 2009.

The bishop asked the students questions throughout the discussion as he covered the different models.

Through questions and answers it evolved that Jesus started our Church and he is the body of Christ. The baptized are one with Jesus, by his cross and resurrection through the Holy Spirit. We receive the body of Christ and are sent forth to proclaim the good news.

The bishop drew a pyramid on the board and layered it with the pope at the top, followed by priests, deacons, religious, and laity, and asked what was radically wrong with this pyramid. After many not-quite-right answers, Candice Nkoy said the pyramid should be inverted.

"Yes, Jesus washed the disciples feet at the Last Supper and said, ‘As I have done so you must do,’" said Bishop Wester. "He served them. The pope is a servant of the servants. We do have a church that is hierarchical, and the Holy Spirit works through that. It’s the Magisterium or the college of bishops with the pope. It doesn’t mean one is better; we are all there to serve."

The Church as a servant is the service of the people, he said. "The Church as a sacrament is the seven sacraments, and referred to in the Baltimore Catechism, ‘A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give us grace.’ A sacrament is like God’s love, we can’t see it but we can see the vestments."

"The Church is all of these aspects," said Bishop Wester. "We need all of you. It’s important for you to be aware of your relationship with Jesus Christ and your relationship with each other."

The students had a great time interacting with the bishop and wanted to know more about him on a personal level. The bishop said he loved being a parish priest because he loved baptizing babies and people, but then he received a phone call from the nuncio to ask him if he would be an auxiliary bishop in San Francisco. "Now I look at all of you as my parishioners," said Bishop Wester.