In reading an address given last year by Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue it's easy to understand why he embarked on his Fit for Mission? crusade in the Lancaster Diocese. Fitting the pieces of the jigsaw together, one can see a pattern emerging now. What is becoming more clear is where our weaknesses really lie, and they are not wholly at parish level as we were first lead to believe, if Fit for Mission? Schools and Fit for Mission? Church are to be taken seriously. There are many who disagree with the contents of both of these documents, Fit for Mission? Schools especially. Even the Bishop himself was dismayed to learn that boxes of the Fit for Mission? Schools documents, still lay unopened in some of our schools
When the Fit for Mission? Review was first mentioned almost two years ago (yes we have been at it for a long time), we were not quite sure how to tackle such a mammoth task as that which was being asked of us. Looking back now, at how we tackled it in Saint Mary's Parish, to call it a 'hot-potch' of ideas would be kind.
With little time to organise a strategy, with our then Parish Priest out of action, we had to rely on our stand it PP, who was as much in the dark as the rest of us, having only been in the parish a few weeks. So with a fair amount of good will and some good ideas from our Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) we set to work and drew up a set of questions which we placed in a simple questionnaire with tick boxes, which were handed out to the parishioners one weekend towards the end of March 2007. The data collected from the questionnaires was quite revealing. Most of the parishioners were unanimous in their ideas of where the focus had to be with regards Mission and Sacramental Priorities at Saint Mary's, Great Eccleston.
Of the Sacramental Priorities listed below,
Sacramental Priorities22% selected Authentic Liturgy with a close
19% who selected Fostering Leadership
as being a parish priority in the next decade.
“...Jesus calls us together to give us power and authority to serve...”
Saint Luke (9:1-3) tells us that we are given the power and authority of apostles to serve the needs of others, and enable them to grow ‘in the Spirit’.
1. Fostering Leadership
Jesus calls us together as the Church to give us the power and authority to teach, reconcile, and heal in His name. Though we all have a share in Jesus’ power and authority, it is vital we develop leaders in the many different areas of work and ministry required for the current and future needs of the Church.
2. Compelling Witnesses
All parishes – priests and people – should take greater advantage of catechetical opportunities at times of preparation for the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, first communion, confirmation, marriage, and funerals.
3. Deepening Leadership
Receiving the power and authority of Jesus through Holy Orders is a great privilege. Our calling of others to leadership will only be credible and compelling to the extent we re-commit ourselves to active and creative leadership.
4. Christian Responsibility
‘...The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve...’ (Mark 10:45)
Jesus gives us a share in His power and authority so that we can serve other’s needs. This is why it is so important for each parish to have a pastoral council that serves as a collaborative forum for such deliberation under the Spirit’s guidance.
5. Fostering Vocations
We can be sure that Jesus is calling men and women to a special share in His power and authority for service. I ask that prayer for vocations be a regular part of our liturgies and that once a year, every parish dedicate its weekend liturgies to this hugely important theme.
6. Authentic Liturgy
Liturgy is the way given us by God to enable us to share in the life of God, and hear Him speak in love to us as friends (John 15:14-15). Liturgy is the way God lives among us, and invites and enables us to enter into fellowship with Him. In light of the importance of gathering around the Lord in the Eucharist, we must be ever faithful to our identity and tradition, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist and Sacraments.
Of the Mission Priorities listed below
31% selected Mission with Families
with a close 24% who selected Mission with Youth
as being a parish priority in the next decade.
Missionary Priorities
“...Jesus sends us out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal...”
Luke (9:1-3) tells us that Jesus sends us out as his apostles to bring the healing of the Good News.
1. Mission with FamiliesIf we now look at what Bishop Patrick had to say in his letter to the parishes in response to Fit for Mission? Review - The Final Proposals, it is again clear that what he is saying is markedly different from what we were lead to believe at the beginning of the Fit for Mission? crusade.
Family life ministry is vital to all of us. Pope John Paul II had a keen sense of the fundamental value of the family, ‘As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.’ Therefore, it is essential that we all foster the well being of marriage and the family.
2. Mission with Youth
Young people – whether they know it or not – need the meaning and purpose that only comes through a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. We very much need the enthusiasm, creativity, and passion for life that young people bring to the Church. Engaging youth as active participants and leaders within our parish is part of our mission.
3. The New Evangelisation
We need to foster and encourage those among us who have the talent and creative skills to use music, art, film, drama, and the web to proclaim the life giving power of the Gospel?
4. Mission with Schools
Every school must have a strong sense of its Catholic identity. It is important that opportunities for prayer, evangelisation, and catechesis are a regular part of school life. To this end, mutual collaboration between parish and school is essential.
5. Mission with Workers
We need to bridge the gap between the workplace and the worshipping community. We also need to explore ways of fostering mission with workers.
6. Mission with the Poor
It is the experience of the Church around the world that the poor are the most open to the Gospel because – in large part – they recognise that Jesus is one with them, speaking to their conditions of powerlessness, suffering, and oppression in the language of transforming hope, love and justice. We have much to learn from the poor about the real power of the Gospel to change lives!
7. Mission with Migrants
Pope Benedict XVI had the following in his 2007 message for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees: ‘In this misfortune experienced by the Family of Nazareth, obliged to take refuge in Egypt, we can catch a glimpse of the painful condition in which all migrants live, especially, refugees, exiles, evacuees, internally displaced persons, those who are persecuted’.
8. Mission with Older People
It is important that the Church affirms the gifts and responds to the needs of our ever-growing population of older people. I am very aware that in many cases grandparents are passing on the faith to their grandchildren. I believe we must find ways of assisting them in this.
9. Mission with the Sick and Housebound
It is important that parishes respond to the needs of the sick and their carers. The sick are a powerhouse of prayer for the Church, very much forming a ‘Carmel in every parish’.
10. Mission to our World
Our active support of Catholic agencies must continue to grow and develop. So too must our co-operation with inter-church and interfaith justice and peace initiatives.
Bishop Patrick writes...
"...What we have achieved is something quite remarkable – a Mission Review that has combined an honest evaluation of our sacramental and mission priorities with a courageous vision of the future shape of the Diocese in the years ahead. Again, this Review was about mission and how we are to strengthen the communication of the Faith today. It was not all about the linking and merging of parishes though inevitably this will happen. What is of real concern is the prayer-life of our parishes, schools and homes and the living out of the faith with confidence. At the very heart of the mission of the Church is our being gathered together in Christ and being sent out as witnesses to Him and leading others to Him. For as the Prophet Jeremiah reminds us; The Lord is at our side as a mighty hero for we have committed our cause to Him. Today’s psalm teaches us that with His help we will never fail for the Lord listens to the needy. We can only do this under the power of the Holy Spirit. We need not be afraid..."The fact is, the way it was managed at deanery level by the Core Groups of each deanery, it was made abundantly clear that the Fit for Mission? Review WAS about merging and linking parishes, it WAS about churches closing, and it had very little to do with how we 'the faithful' were equipped to go about evangelising or re-evangelising the 'unfaithful' those who had lapsed, those of our own family members who, surprisingly, find little or no solace in the churches teachings any more.
to be continued...
