Uli Schmitt now serving as associate director for lay ministry formation for diocese

Uli Schmitt is now serving the Diocese of Sacramento as Associate Director for Lay Ministry Formation in the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis.

Schmitt and Sister Virginia Alcala are charged with implementing Bishop Jaime Soto’s strategic plan in the area of lay ministry formation.

Schmitt has studied theology, philosophy and sacred music in Trier, Jerusalem, Rottenburg and Tubingen. He received a master’s degree in theology from the Eberhard Karls University in Tubingen, Germany. His postgraduate studies brought him to Central America, where he was involved in theological and sociological research projects related to the origin of the “Delegates of the Word” –- a Central American Catholic Lay movement.

Schimit has worked previously at Loaves and Fishes, a Sacramento homeless service agency, and for the Diocese of Sacramento from 1994 to 1998, when he designed and implemented a leadership training institute for Hispanic lay leaders. He then directed a local coalition of faith-based institutions in the Sacramento area, where he was responsible for a leadership training module that enables local leaders to engage effectively in the public square to create solutions to the most pressing concerns of low-income families and their communities.

From 2002 until 2009, Schmitt was a consultant to the Central American Bishops’ Secretariat, where he designed and implemented a regional leadership training model to train parish leaders to become effective leaders in their communities, to build community organizations and to address issues around poverty in Central America.

On the Web: http://www.diocese-sacramento.org/evangelization_catechesis/evangelization_catechesis.html