Msgr. Edward Arnister  (pictured right with Bishop John M. Smith) is a priest of the Diocese of Trenton. He completed his Good Leaders, Good Shepherds journey in December of 2008.

The realization of the impact of what the Good Leaders, Good Shepherds (GLGS) program has done for my priesthood and my pastoring came to me in the water – yes in the water.  I have been swimming for health and fitness for about 30 years now, I'm no Michael Phelps but I can crank out a minute mile, two or three times a week. I started about 25 years ago, right after my ordination. I read books and articles about technique and ways to improve my strokes. I kept going along all these years, but I was wondering in the past year, why my timing was slowing down. Instead of moving forward and progressing, I was digressing and not improving.
About a month ago, I was doing my laps and in the lane next to me was a swimmer who was on the Masters team. When I was resting in between laps, he asked me if he could offer a suggestion. He noticed that in my freestyle stroke that I wasn't breathing fast enough as my hand entered the water. I thanked him for the suggestion and took his advice. Almost immediately, my timing and efficiency improved; it was like an epiphany in all these years I've been swimming.

So what is the connection? I've been a priest for almost 30 years and a pastor for 13 years. And certainly studies in the seminary lay the foundation for your priestly life and ministry. But there is only so much that you can learn on the job. In my situation, I thought I had a pretty good handle on the art of pastoring in these challenging times in the church; especially after going through a merger of three parishes into one. Then along came Good Leaders, Good Shepherds in the Diocese of Trenton. Good Leaders, Good Shepherds has been for me, something comparable to that master swimmer who offered valuable suggestions on how to be more efficient, how to be more effective and how to improve your skills to be a pastor and leader.

I don't have down all the skills and techniques that were offered over the course of the six modules, but thanks to the wonderful trainers in this program, I now have the resources and tools to be a better shepherd. Not only did Good Leaders, Good Shepherds give us the knowledge and the vocabulary, but it involved us in using the material in concrete situations. It was very educational, informative and I must say very fun. All this was done within the context of the spirituality modeled on Jesus the Good Shepherd.  Good Leaders, Good Shepherds was a wonderful experience of priestly fraternity; something all of us need and relationships that we must continue to foster. I thank Bishop Smith for introducing this program into our diocese and  to the trainers and staff of Catholic Leadership Institute.  Last but not least, thanks to that master swimmer in the lane next to mine, who taught me not only to improve my strokes, but help me form an analogy of what the GLGS program means to my priesthood.