DIOCESE OF

FORWARD
& OUTWARD TOGETHER
for our parish
communities

2004
FOREWORD BY BISHOP MICHAEL 3
INTRODUCTION 4
Our Diocesan Family 5
What is the Church for? 6
Why a Diocesan Pastoral Plan?
6
CALLED TO HOLINESS 7
A COMMUNITY OF WELCOME 8
Our Diocesan Family 9
Our Cathedral 9
Our Parish Family 9
Renewing our parishes 10
A truly Catholic welcome 10
A welcoming liturgy 11
Ministry of Welcome 11
Welcoming & including
newcomers 11
Welcoming to Sunday Mass 12
Social events 13
A network of communities 13
Less-active Catholics 13
The stranger 15
People with disabilities 16
The elderly, sick & housebound
17
The retired 17
Children and young people 17
Our Catholic Schools 19
Single people 19
The separated and divorced 19
The ring of the Prodigal Son 20
A COMMUNITY OF
Holiness and welcoming love 21
Care and loving-kindness 22
Justice 24
Communication 25
Earthen vessels 26
TOGETHER IN TRUST & PARTNERSHIP 26
Parishes working together 26
The Deanery 27
The Cluster 28
Communities within each parish
29
Working together in the parish 29
Needs and Skills Audit 30
Lay involvement and leadership
31
Training for lay ministry 32
Limited terms of service 33
Adult religious formation 33
Working with other Christians 34
Working with people of other
faiths 35
Structures for lay participation 36
TOGETHER IN PRAYER 37
LIVING THE SACRAMENTS 39
Touching the heart 39
RCIA 40
Baptism 41
Confirmation 43
Eucharist 44
Rediscovering Sunday 47
Services of Word & Communion 48
First Reconciliation & Communion 49
Reconciliation (Confession) 50
Anointing of the Sick 51
Holy Matrimony 51
Holy Orders 53
Priestly Vocations 54
Ongoing Formation of Clergy 54
Care of Clergy 55
Deacons 57
RELIGIOUS LIFE 57
FINANCES 58
NEW STRUCTURES 59
Deaneries (immediate) 59
Parish changes (immediate) 60
Parish changes (gradual) 61
Combining parishes (as needed) 63
Parish Clusters (immediate) 63
APPENDICES
1. Towards One Mass 65
2. Link People – one model 66
3. Youth Masses 67

In Christ,
we are together the Church.
My dear friends,
Your first response to this Diocesan Pastoral Plan may be that it is rather long! Yet more paper! I had to decide whether simply to produce yet another short document which repeated everything said in my previous documents, or to take seriously and to ‘harvest’ many of the thoughts and ideas which emerged from the two phases of ‘Forward and Outward Together.’
I have chosen the second option. It is important that you know you have been
listened to, and heard. This document is
largely the fruit of all the discussions among priests and people in our
parishes and deaneries, and at diocesan gatherings. I hope many of you will recognise your own
suggestions, perhaps even your own words. I have focused mainly on those
thoughts most frequently echoed in parish and deanery reports. I am very grateful for all the time and
thought that so many people across the diocese have given to this process over
the last 18 months. For some of you, it
has been worrying, disturbing, and perhaps even painful, as you have become
more aware of the serious challenges we face in the years a
Your second response may be to worry that too much is being asked of priests and people who are already overburdened. This plan is not intended to add to your worries or burdens: many people are far too busy as it is. We cannot do everything at once. Many of the ideas in this plan are already in operation; there is plenty of good practice across our diocese.
Even without this Diocesan Pastoral Plan, your parish and deanery discussions have already given you an agenda for future development. Every parish is different, and our approach must be flexible. I ask parishes, ‘clusters’ of parishes and deaneries to use this document as a basis for pastoral planning over the next five years, perhaps taking one or two topics at a time.
On the other hand, there is little point to all our work over the last year if this document becomes yet another ‘grand plan’ which sits on a shelf and gathers dust. We must work together to ensure that it has a positive and lasting effect. A key theme throughout the responses to ‘Forward and Outward Together’ is that we must be pro-active rather than re-active. This has to begin now – we do not have the luxury to put it off until later. Our progress will be carefully monitored.
The decisions and recommendations
here are not set in stone. Things change in
As Archbishop Oscar Romero once wrote, ‘It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. For a “future not our own”.’ Please read the whole Pastoral Plan in the light of the full text from Romero on the back cover.
What is our main aim in all of
this? It is not primarily for our own benefit
that we seek to move forward and outward together, but for all the people of
With my renewed thanks and my warmest good wishes,
Yours in Christ,

Rt Rev Michael Evans
Bishop of
When he arrived as Bishop of East
Anglia in March 2003, Bishop Michael immediately set about a series of
consultations about what were perceived to be the key priorities for our
diocese over the next few years. On 26th
March 2003, just a week after his ordination, the Diocesan College of
Consultors (the seven Deans and five other priests), rooted in their long and
varied experience of the diocese, gave the following ten priorities, all within
the setting of the Lord’s call to grow together in holiness, in faith and in
love:
The gathering of fifty of our
priests and deacons in Merville in June 2003 echoed these priorities, and added
some of their own.
These same priorities arose again
and again in discussions among lay people and clergy at parish, deanery and
diocesan level.
The clergy meeting in Merville
also asked that we dispel the attitude of ‘something will happen one day.’
There has been a growing sense over the last year that we no longer have the
luxury of being able to sit back and wait a little longer.
The March 2003 meeting of the
College of Consultors agreed a new diocesan consultation process, echoing
Bishop Alan Clark’s 1988 Pastoral Plan (“Deepening and Widening our Faith”) and
taking up where Bishop Peter Smith’s later “Sowing the Seed” had left off. This new diocesan process came to be called
“Forward and Outward Together”.
For twelve months, from May 2003
until May 2004, every parish and deanery has been involved in numerous
discussions. There were also many individual responses. A lot of people gave much time to the
process. Over 1,500 people were involved
in the first phase of consultations, based on the bishop’s paper “Forward &
Outward Together” and the accompanying “Points to Ponder”. These responses led
to two further papers for the second phase: “Working Together” and “Towards New
Structures”.
There have also been parallel
consultations and meetings at diocesan level on the age for First Communion and
Confirmation, our work with Young People, Justice and Peace, Disability
Awareness, and Marriage and Family Life (‘Listening 2004’), as well as with our
religious communities. Some of our Diocesan Commissions have also given time to
exploring the best way forward. Alongside this, Fr
A draft version of the Diocesan
Pastoral Plan was presented for discussion to a joint meeting of the parish
priests of the diocese and the Council of Priests on 1st July
2004. A large majority (86%) approved
the document as something on which we could move forward together; another 10%
gave qualified approval; 4% were unhappy to move forward in this way. A few small revisions were made, and Bishop
Michael has now endorsed this Diocesan Pastoral Plan as the policy for our
whole diocesan family and its parishes.
No such plan is of use unless it
is practical and realistic, and is followed up carefully. Although a range of
views were expressed in parish, deanery and individual responses to ‘Forward
and Outward Together’, we can only move realistically into the future on the
basis of Catholic teaching and current Catholic discipline. People will continue to ask challenging
questions, and these need to be heard and answered, but a Bishop can only lead
his diocese within the fullness of the Catholic tradition, united in full
communion with the Holy Father and his brother bishops, and drawing his
inspiration especially from the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Bishop Michael launched our
diocesan review on the basis of the experience and priorities of the Diocesan
College of Consultors and others. As
this process has continued, the Bishop has got to know the diocese in some way,
visiting every Catholic school before the Summer of 2003 and every parish at
least once before Easter 2004. The best source of detailed insight and
information on our parishes, deaneries and the diocese has come from the
reflections given in reports as part of the diocesan process. It is those reports which have determined the
way forward.
Although three people are
beginning seminary formation in September 2004, the first for our diocese for
many years, we have very few priests now available to replace those due to
retire over the next ten years. We now
have 56 parishes in our diocese. If all our priests were to preserve reasonably
good health and none retire until aged 75, fifteen parish priests would retire
over the next ten years. The actual
figure is likely to be larger.
Clearly we cannot preserve all our
parishes as they are, and we need to make practical decisions now about how to
prepare for that future rather than react to each situation as it arises. Some of those decisions need to be
implemented immediately. Some will need
to come into play over the next few years. Others may never be necessary if our
situation changes radically.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Each of our parish communities is
a portion of the ‘
We are not just a community: we
are a community ‘in Christ’. Through our Baptism and Confirmation, and our
regular participation in the Mass, the Holy Spirit draws us into the mystery of
Christ and into the inner life of the Holy Trinity.
The Risen Lord says to each of us: ‘Come to me’, ‘Follow me’
and ‘Go in my name’. We are transformed by the touch of his presence and become
new people, ready and able to follow him and to live a new life ‘in Christ.’ We
are sent forth by him into the world to proclaim with joy the good news of
God’s love for all humanity, and ‘to make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew
28.20). Jesus’ call to communion with
his life (‘Come to me’) is inseparable from his call to communion with his
mission (‘Go in my name’). Jesus was
deeply conscious of being ‘sent’ by the Father. If we are truly united with
Christ as his bride and his body, and as branches of the vine, we will also be
drawn into his mission to bring God’s saving love to the world.
The Second Vatican Council
proclaimed the mission of the whole Church in its summary of the vocation of
every individual: each ‘must stand before the world as a witness to the
resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus, and as a sign that God lives’ (Gaudium
et Spes, n. 38).
As the Second Vatican Council taught, ‘The pilgrim Church is
missionary by her very nature. For it is from the mission of the Son and the
mission of the Holy Spirit that she takes her origin, in accordance with the
decree of God the Father’ (Ad Gentes, n. 1). Communion with the Triune God is the very
life of the Church; communion with the mission of God’s Son and Spirit is the
very mission of the Church.
Some of the things required or
suggested here are already well established in many parishes. Someone recently
suggested that the Catholic Church in our country is dying. That is not the impression we get from our
parishes in
‘Many of the themes covered in Bishop
Michael’s paper Working Together were met with heartfelt cries of “We
should have been doing this years ago!” Many of the proposed priorities and
initiatives have been desired for many years (e.g. better welcome, better
community, better sharing, more lay leadership, etc) and need attention
anyway.’ (St Mary’s parish,

The Pastoral Plan is divided into
two parts.
This covers a range of diocesan
policies and recommendations, rooted in the initial round of discussions for
“Forward & Outward Together” and responses to the document “Working
Together”.
There are three categories
of statements:
(1)
Policies to be implemented everywhere
across the diocese.
(2)
Recommendations to be given full
consideration in each parish and deanery.
(3)
Points for further consideration by each
parish and deanery, and the diocese.
The plan should be used as a
check-list by priests and people together as they present pastoral plans for
the future of parishes, clusters of parishes, deaneries and the whole
diocese. Parish and Deanery Councils of
different kinds should use it as an agenda for their ongoing work. It will also be used as a basis for the
Bishop’s visitation of parishes.
This covers decisions concerning
structural changes regarding individual parishes, clustering of parishes and
deaneries, some to be implemented immediately, others to be implemented
gradually as appropriate.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
This Plan is not intended to be the last word on
anything. It is open to ongoing and
periodic review. As the Second Vatican Council reminded us, the Church is in
need of continual renewal. Some things will not work. Other better ideas will
come to light. This Pastoral Plan will be presented for radical review by the
whole diocese in 2009, but there needs to be flexibility between now and then.
Such a plan can only be provisional. Our situation may change for better or
worse. We need continuity with our past;
we need to consolidate all the good that we already have; but we are also a
pilgrim people, and we need to keep moving “Forward and Outward Together” if we
are truly to be the Church of Jesus Christ.
“People want more church –
not less”
(St Mary’s parish,
ababababababababab
The motto of the Synod of Churches in the Holy Land,
presenting its General Pastoral Plan in 2000, sums up in three phrases
all that our own pastoral plan seeks to enable and encourage:
·
Believing in Christ
·
Participating in the Church
·
Witnessing in Society
We need to hold together those three callings if we are to
be truly the Church in
ababababababababab
CALLED TO HOLINESS
Much in this pastoral plan concerns new ways of doing
things, new structures for our future, and simply sharing good practice with
one another. But there is no point to
any of this unless it serves our fundamental vocation from God: the call to
holiness, the call to perfect love of God and one another. Our prayer for this diocese and our parishes
is that the Holy Spirit will renew us in love, and set us on fire so that
others can catch fire from us.
Our personal lives, our families and homes, our schools and
parish communities, are ‘holy ground’ where we encounter the transforming
presence of the Living God. We are
called to be like the burning bush Moses was drawn to in the desert: we should
be people on fire with God’s love within us, so that others will be attracted
towards us and meet God himself.
But holiness is never a private affair. It is deeply personal, but never
private. We are called to love God with
all our being, and to love one another as Jesus has loved us. Growing together in loving community is
essential to being truly holy. We are
called to be beacons of holiness – in our personal lives and in our communion
with each other.
We are all called to turn our lives away from sin and
towards the Risen Lord. Only God, ‘the fountain of all holiness’, can make us
holy, and it is always by the power of his love – the Holy Spirit - that he
renews and transforms us from within.

As Jesus changed the water into wine at
We are not asked to do all this on our own. Above all, Christ is with us. Without Christ
we can do nothing. We are totally
dependent on his free gift of grace, the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the love
which God pours into our hearts.
But also, our Diocese of East Anglia today and in the years
a
Nor are we simply united with the Church of today. We are supported and inspired by all those
who have gone before us in
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A COMMUNITY OF WELCOME
Nearly all parish responses highlighted the need to become
more welcoming communities. This is one
of the main ways we will spread the Good News of Jesus together: by becoming
visible beacons of God’s light, communities full of the joyful and welcoming
love of the Risen Lord. Other people
will be drawn towards our parish life and worship, and encounter there the
presence of Christ.
The ‘gift of community’ lies at the heart of God’s plan for
humanity. The Lord came to ‘gather together the scattered children of God’, and
unity is central to a truly Catholic understanding of the ‘salvation’ Christ
came to bring. Only if we are truly united with each other can we be a credible
sign to the world of the Good News of Jesus Christ. ‘Being together’ and ‘going forth’, Community
and
God our Father,
we rejoice in the faith that
draws us together,
aware that selfishness can
drive us apart.
Let your encouragement be
our constant strength.
Keep us one in the love that
has sealed our lives,
and help us to live as one
family
the gospel we profess.
We ask this through Christ
our Lord.
Roman Missal: alternative
opening prayer for the 11th Sunday of the Year.
Our diocesan
family
Any church community is more than a gathering of people. It
is a family. We should think of the
diocese as our diocesan family, and each parish as a parish family. Once we think and feel that way, we may well
have a very different attitude to much of church life, worship and
mission.
Within the great worldwide family of the Catholic Church, we
belong first to the family of the Diocese of East Anglia, gathered around the
Bishop and with
Your parish, and every parish in

illustration
by Derek Mahoney from the cathedral parish
Many reports highlighted the fact that we are blessed with
two focal points in our diocese: our Catholic Cathedral in
Our diocese is divided into parishes, each of which is “a
living cell of the body of the diocese” (General Pastoral Plan for the Holy
Land, p. 98). No parish can exist in
self-sufficient isolation. Each is an integral part of the diocese, and needs
to be open in welcome to other parishes. Collaboration among parishes is essential,
not just because we need to but because it is part of what it means to be truly
Catholic.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Our parish family
Pope John Paul reminds us that each parish should be “a
fraternal and welcoming family home, where those who have been baptised and
confirmed become aware of forming the people of God” (Catechesi Tradendae,
n. 67). A parish is “a Eucharistic
community” with the Mass as the “summit and source” of its whole life and
mission, but it is more than simply a ‘Mass station’, a place where we go for
Mass.
Every parish should be a community of faith and of
love. We need to cultivate a spirit of
belonging among all members, so that everyone really thinks of the parish as
their family and their church as their home. The natural extended family has
been weakened in our society in recent years. Every church community should be
an extended family for all its members.
Each parish is a network or ‘cluster’ of communities. Some
parishes have more than one place of worship, and this will probably be the
norm in the future with fewer priests. No matter how strong and distinctive those
communities may be, each is a fully integral part of a single parish family
served and led by its parish priest. No
matter how many places of worship there are in a parish, the whole community
should see the one parish church, after which the parish is called, as its
centre. Just as an example, the distinct
Catholic communities at Blakeney, Burnham Market and Wells, each with their own
church, are integral parts of the parish of Walsingham, with the parish church
in Walsingham as their local ‘mother church’.
There should be a real desire in such parishes for distinct
communities to share their life together.
But we must not limit our understanding of ‘parish’ to the
needs of its members. Any truly Catholic
parish will have a missionary orientation.
“The parish is not a community for itself, it is rather a community for
mission (an apostolic community)” (General
Pastoral Plan for the Holy Land, p. 96).
ababababababababab
Renewing our parishes
There is little doubt that the parish will remain the
fundamental local community to which we belong as Catholics, although perhaps a
different kind of parish than we have been accustomed to. Although there is much renewal which can
happen at diocesan, deanery and ‘cluster’ level, it is above all the renewal of
each parish family – and of each individual, family and community within that
parish – which is the key to our moving forward and outward together.
There is no room for elitism of any kind in Catholic
spirituality. No one Catholic group or movement can say to another, ‘we are
better than others’ or ‘we are the way’.
Organisations and movements suit some but not others. It is the diocese
and parish to which we most truly belong. Any groups we join should always
enhance and enrich our involvement in the life, worship and mission of our
local parish and diocese.
Our primary focus should be the spiritual renewal of our
local parish communities in faithfulness to the Scriptures, and of course to
our whole Catholic Tradition in general and to the teaching of the Second
Vatican Council in particular.
“The parish is called to be the centre of
Christian life in the future and, as a consequence, the centre of our continuing
pastoral effort. The renewal of our
Churches, before all else, must pass through the renewal of our parishes”
(General Pastoral Plan for the Holy Land, p.
104)
The most important part of our diocesan process is not this
Pastoral Plan, but rather the positive and practical fruits of your local
discussions. This plan is simply the
bringing together of your ideas, hopes and dreams. Each parish should spend
time making full use of the reports produced during the two phases of ‘Forward
& Outward Together’.
ababababababababab
A truly Catholic welcome
One meaning of the word “catholic” is “all-embracing” or
“inclusive”. Every parish needs to
become more truly catholic in this sense, not simply being ready to accept
anyone who comes to us, but reaching out pro-actively and positively to all in
the name of Christ.
How can we make our parish more fully inclusive, so that
everyone feels truly welcome? Truly
Catholic unity is unity in diversity. We
rejoice in being able to be truly united while cherishing and nurturing
distinctive cultures, abilities and contributions. The challenge is to ‘count everyone in’,
creating a culture of inclusion.
“ALL need inclusion NOW”
(
A welcoming liturgy
The heart of parish life is the Sunday celebration of
It is at Sunday Mass that
our Catholic welcome must be most powerfully evident and experienced: before
Mass, during Mass and after
Ministry of Welcome
The ministry of welcome is not limited to those few people
who greet us in the church porch on the way into
‘Do not let your love be a pretence, but
sincerely prefer good to evil. Love each other as much as brothers and sisters
should, and have a profound respect for each other. Work for the Lord with
untiring effort and with great earnestness of spirit. If you have hope, this
will make you cheerful. Do not give up if trials come, and keep on praying. If
any of the saints are in need you must share with them, and you should make
hospitality your special care’ (
Imagine someone being invited to join your family for Sunday
lunch: you might welcome them wonderfully at the front door, but they may then
be ignored by the rest of the family! We
need to develop not simply a limited ministry of welcome, but welcoming
communities. That is far more of a
challenge, but essential. What is most needed is a change of heart, so that we
become people of welcome, relaxed and joyful in our faith and open to all.
Our diocesan policy is that
the diocesan family and every parish community should be pro-actively welcoming
to all. Every parish is asked to explore the very heart of the way in which it
welcomes all. The following
recommendations are based on the good practice of many parishes.
Welcoming & including newcomers
(1)
The word ‘Welcome’ needs to be seen and heard. Many parishes have a ‘welcome’ sign
outside the church or in the porch, often in many different languages.
(2)
Welcome leaflets should be available in the
church porch, so that newcomers can complete them and hand them into the parish
office or presbytery.
(3)
A welcome pack should be given to all newcomers,
with a letter of welcome from the parish priest and information on parish life,
including the names and addresses of key people in the parish.
(4)
A welcome card from the parish could be posted
to each newcomer.
(5)
As a priority, the parish clergy should visit each
newcomer within a few weeks.
(6)
A house blessing can be offered to all
newcomers.
(7)
A social event could be organised every few
months for newcomers,
hosted by the clergy and parish
representatives.
(8)
If a ‘Parish Link Scheme’ is in place (see later),
the Link Person should visit the newcomer as soon as possible.
‘Although an introductory pack for new
parishioners is good, it cannot replace the personal sense of welcome that a
parish offers, and a sensitivity by all to welcome new faces as part of a
ministry of hospitality’ (individual response)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming to Sunday Mass
(1)
Although it is vital that every member of the parish
community be welcoming, there is an important ministry of welcome before
each Mass on Sunday. Most parishes now
have some form of ‘welcomers’ before Sunday Mass, but this may need to be
developed.
Parish reports stressed that
welcomers need to be chosen carefully.
Their role is not simply to hand out newsletters and hymn books, but to
be the welcoming face of the parish community as people arrive for
If this role is understood in this
way, it becomes a true ministry of welcome rather than simply a job to be
carried out. Not everyone is suited for
such a vital service. It may be worth
considering a formation day for such ministers, either in the parish, cluster
of neighbouring parishes or at deanery level.
Those taking up this ministry could then have time to reflect on the
spirituality of welcome, as well as share practical ideas for making welcome.
(2)
The special service of usher can be useful in
helping newcomers, visitors and late-comers to find a seat at Mass without
undue embarrassment.
‘It was felt especially
important to promote a community in which people were known by name’
(St Peter & All Souls
parish,
(3)
We need to challenge everyone at Mass to ‘make hospitality their special
care’. The prayers of the
Mass, especially the Eucharistic Prayers, highlight God’s will that by taking
part in the Mass we ‘grow in love’ and become ‘one body, one spirit in Christ’.
Our parishes would be far more welcoming if everyone at Mass made a point of
getting to know one new person each Sunday, perhaps on the way into Mass or the
way out. Gradually we get to know each other by name, recognise each other in
the street and the supermarket, and become more of a family.
(4)
An essential part of making people welcome at Mass is
the way we celebrate the liturgy together. The ‘ministry of welcome’ includes making
sure everyone can hear (e.g. better training for our readers; improving the
sound system; making sure there is a loop-system; use of sign language), and
ensuring that active participation is possible for everyone (e.g. through the
choice of music; provision for people with disabilities; full use of the
cultural diversity and riches of the parish community).
(5)
The church building itself must be a warm, welcoming
and inviting place of worship. Creative use of art, flowers,
banners, etc can help. Good lighting is essential, creating an atmosphere
between ‘gloom’; and ‘glare’. The church
building is a sacred space to be cared for with love and to be kept open as
long as possible each day as a sign of God’s welcome to all.
‘A beautiful liturgy and a
caring church
will attract young and old
alike’
(Hunstanton parish)
Welcome after Sunday Mass
(1)
As far as possible, and taking account of resources
and the time of Mass, some kind of social gathering (coffee, tea &
biscuits, etc) should be available after Sunday
(2)
Whenever possible, the parish priest and other clergy
should be in the church porch or outside the church after every Mass to greet
people as they leave.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Social events
Once we understand that growing in holiness involves growing
in unity, and that God’s gift of salvation is a gift of community (of
‘at-one-ment’), then we appreciate more strongly that coming together as a
family for social activities is a fundamental part of parish life. It is not simply a way of drawing people into
the parish; coming together is central to the life and witness of the
Church.
(1)
Parishes and the communities which form them are
strongly encouraged to develop a range of social events throughout the
year, some for the whole parish family, and others for particular groups of
parishioners (Over-Sixties, Young Wives, Men’s Group, etc). Family-friendly events open to the whole
parish are particularly important.
(2)
Each parish could have a Social Events Committee,
with people representing the range of parish life. Their role is to initiate
and facilitate the social life of the parish.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A network of
communities
(see
a model scheme on page 60 of this booklet)
Even a parish with a relatively small congregation is a
‘network of communities’. Without in any way undermining the essential unity of
the parish, there may be room for developing smaller, local Catholic
communities (e.g. in each village or in neighbourhoods of our towns and
cities). Larger villages or communities,
whether or not they retain a weekly Sunday Mass, can develop their own local
ways to ensure the cohesion and needs of that community. A parish could be divided into viable areas
(with, for example, 10-20 known Catholic households), each with a lay ‘link
person’ or couple responsible for getting to know each household, liaising with
the parish priest about individual needs, and organising occasional gatherings
(e.g. purely social, a House Mass, reflection on the Sunday readings).
Such a scheme would provide an important way for developing
responsible and collaborative lay leadership at local level. It can also be an effective support for
reaching out to the lapsed, and caring for the sick, elderly and housebound.
Link people might play a part in organising transport to Mass for people from
their area. An annual gathering of such
link people may provide a valuable forum for discussing pastoral strategies.
The 1987 Synod of Bishops in
“One way of renewing parishes, especially urgent for
parishes in large cities, might be to consider the parish as a community of
communities and movements. It seems timely therefore to form ecclesial
communities and groups of a size that allows for true human relationships’
(Ecclesia in America; 1999)
“The Church as Family cannot reach all her
possibilities as Church unless she is divided into communities small enough to
foster close human relationships” (Ecclesia in Africa; 1995)
“So that all parishes of this kind may be truly
communities of Christians, local ecclesial authorities ought to foster…small
basic or so-called ‘living’ communities where the faithful can communicate the
word of God and express it in service and love to one another; these
communities are true expressions of ecclesial communion and centres of
evangelisation in communion with their pastors.” (Christifideles Laici; 1988)
Reconciling & welcoming less-active Catholics
On average, over three quarters of Catholics do not come to
Mass regularly. Some have becoming alienated from parish life for some reason;
others have simply drifted away. We need
to appreciate the delicate issues sometimes involved in making contact with
such Catholics, and possible past hurts. Sometimes vicarious apologies may be
necessary as a way of moving forward.
“In our day and age, many people now stand on
the threshold of our Church. They have many questions. Do I really want to go in? Will there be
someone to open the door to me? What will stepping over the threshold involve?
Might I feel trapped? Do I really want to be here anyway? Would I rather walk
away? Will I be made welcome? If I walk away now, will I ever be able to come
back? Whether it is on the presbytery doorstep or at the church or at the
school entrance, standing on the threshold can be a nerve wracking experience,
especially for those who, for whatever reason, do not feel at home in a church
situation.”
(On the Threshold, Catholic Bishops Conference
of England and
Many are awaiting an invitation to return, to ‘come
home’. That call has to be made
explicitly and in an inviting and welcoming way. Ideally, a Catholic friend or neighbour
should accompany them to Mass. Participation in social events can often be a
way back into the liturgical life of the Church. Friendly contact with priests and people is
essential. Something like the ‘Link
Scheme’ outlined above, or some form of visiting by parishioners, can make a
big contribution.
(1)
The diocese will provide a leaflet aimed at
less-active Catholics, with a message from the bishop and space for each
parish to print local details (Mass times, etc). Alternatively, parishes could
produce their own leaflet.
(2)
Every parish should develop an outreach programme
to less-active Catholics, using either the diocesan leaflet or their own.
(3)
The parish newsletter could be
delivered to less-active Catholics.
(4)
A general distribution of cards for Christmas and
Easter, with details of Mass times (perhaps with other churches) is a
simple but effective outreach.
(5)
Occasional adverts in local newspapers
extending a welcome to newcomers and
less-active Catholics may reach those untouched by other forms of outreach.
(6)
Some parishes find helpful an informal ‘Come and
See’ evening as a way of introducing people to the way the Catholic Church
is today and to the life of a particular community. This could be advertised in
the local newspapers.
(7)
The diocese will explore existing programmes for
reaching out to less-active Catholics, and provide training days on suitable
schemes (e.g. Landings).
(8)
The diocesan theme for 2005 will be both ‘The
Sacrament of Forgiveness and Reconciliation’ and ‘reconciling less-active
Catholics’.
(9)
Generally, we need to develop a culture of welcome
and friendship so that returning Catholics, visitors and newcomers do not slip
through the net. We should seek to
attract and inspire – rather than worry - others back to involvement in the
church.

“COMING HOME”
“We want to let our inactive brothers and
sisters know that they always have a place in the Church and that we are hurt
by their absence – as they are. We want to show our regret for any misunderstandings
or mistreatment. And we want them to see that, however they feel about the
Church, we want to talk with them, share with them, and accept them as brothers
and sisters. Every Catholic can be a
minister of welcome, reconciliation and understanding to those who have stopped
practising the faith’
(Go & Make Disciples, US Bishops,
1993)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming and including
the stranger
‘I
was a stranger,
and
you made me welcome’
(Matthew 25.35)
We have long had among us in
There is sometimes a tension between the desire of such
communities to retain their distinctiveness and yet also a desire to become
integrated into our society. The
Catholic Church has an important role to play, as ‘unity in diversity’ lies at
the heart of our catholicity.
Some communities (e.g. Italians and Poles) are gradually
becoming more integrated into ordinary Catholic life. Some of our parish communities have made
considerable efforts to welcome the Portuguese migrant workers. As the process of integration continues,
there are ways which we might use to make diverse groups feel more ‘at home’ in
our ordinary parish lives. These are
only a few examples:
(1)
Copies of the Scripture readings and prayers for
Sunday Mass could be provided in Portuguese. It would be helpful to
have the main English text alongside the Portuguese text, to help people follow
the
(2)
All or part of one of the readings could be
read in Portuguese as well as English at
(3)
Place a ‘Welcome to our Catholic Church’ sign in
Portuguese outside the church. Leave ‘Welcome’ leaflets in
Portuguese in the church porch (including information on Catholic schools),
along with government leaflets available in Portuguese on the rights of migrant
workers, etc.
(4)
Those from distinct communities could be invited to sing
a liturgical song from their country at Mass, or contribute some of their distinctive
liturgical customs.
(5)
People from other countries and cultures are often
delighted to have the opportunity to talk about their country, or to provide
meals and social events from their countries.
(6)
Organise English language classes for
Portuguese-speakers, and encourage all parishioners to learn some basic
Portuguese (at very least, words of greeting) in order to be more
welcoming. The latter could be combined
with a social event.
(7)
The special annual celebrations of such communities
can be marked each year, in the liturgy and in social activities.
Everything suggested for welcoming Portuguese speakers also
applies to any other group of people as they arrive in our area. We also need to be aware of the particular
needs of migrants who are not Catholics, but who still need to be made welcome
in our local communities (e.g. Chinese).
‘Continue to love each other like brothers
and sisters, and remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some
people have entertained angels without knowing it’
(Hebrews 13.1)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming and including people with disabilities
As a fully-inclusive community, the Catholic Church should
in all ways be an example of ‘best practice’ regarding our welcome of people
with disabilities of any kind. This is
not simply a matter of fulfilling our legal obligations under the ‘Disability
Discrimination Act’ (1995), but of being truly catholic in the breadth of our
inclusiveness. In 1998, the Catholic
Bishops of England and
(1)
Each parish should have one or two representatives
responsible for ensuring the full implementation of the Disability
Implementation Act (1995) and of working towards a parish community which is
fully inclusive of people with disabilities.
(2)
Every parish needs to carry out a full audit of its
facilities and activities with a view to enhancing access for people with disabilities. Useful materials were provided to all
parishes after our diocesan disability study in March 2004.
(3)
Parishes are required by law to make all reasonable
adjustments in order to make their liturgy and community life accessible to
people with disabilities. This includes
necessary alterations to physical features (e.g. ramps and wider doorways for
wheelchair users; suitable toilet facilities; providing additional help;
adapting existing parish services and catechetical programmes).
(4)
Our liturgy must be celebrated in such a way that
people with disabilities are included as fully as possible. This includes practical steps such as
ensuring that a good loop-system is installed; provision of large-print,
Braille and taped newsletters etc; use of signing when possible; provision of
suitable spaces for wheelchairs; clear marking of steps and uneven surfaces;
providing suitable transport to Mass.
The question to ask is: what are the barriers which prevent people with
disabilities from full active involvement in our parish life and worship? We must then do all we can to remove those
barriers. The first people to ask are
the experts: ask people in your parish with disabilities to tell you what they
need.
(5)
Our forms of ministry should be open to people with
disabilities. For example, can we
provide a microphone for a reader in a wheelchair? Do we invite people in wheelchairs or with
learning difficulties to bring up the offertory gifts, to minister Holy
Communion, to serve at the altar? For
example, what is there to stop a person with Downs Syndrome from being an
Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion?

(6)
Our catechetical programmes, parish social life,
youth activities and every other aspect of parish life must be as fully
inclusive as possible.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming and including the elderly, the sick and the housebound
Our Catholic welcome includes people of all ages, and must
never neglect the sick and the elderly who have given and continue to give so
much to the life of the Church. Those
who cannot come to Mass need to be kept ‘in touch’ with the parish family:
(1)
Through visits by members of the parish
community, and the opportunity to receive Holy Communion especially from
Sunday Mass. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion can make this possible.
Care of the sick and housebound always remain a very important part of the
ministry of priests and deacons.
(2)
Social events for older parishioners (e.g. over
60s) are often very popular. These might include a fortnightly or monthly Over-Sixties
Lunch (with home-made soup, rolls, tea and coffee), perhaps with entertainment
of some kind.
(3)
Tapes of Sunday Mass can be a
great support to housebound people.
(4)
The sick and housebound should receive copies of parish
newsletters and diocesan newspapers, and be made to feel as fully as
possible part of parish life.
(5)
The sick and housebound have a vital role to play in
the life of the church, through their personal witness and by becoming
power-houses of prayer. They could be invited to be prayer-partners for
children and young people preparing for First Communion and Confirmation, for
couples preparing for Marriage and students for the Priesthood and Diaconate.
abababababababababa
Welcome and including
the retired
As one parish pointed out, there are many parishes in our
diocese where most people join through retirement rather than baptism! Retired
people have their own needs. They also have much to contribute to the life,
worship and mission of the church, including the gift of time.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming and including our children and young people
Our children, teenagers and young adults are a vital part of
our church community. They are not
simply the
Developing youth work in
(1)
Children and young people should be included as fully
as possible in each ordinary Sunday Mass, for example as welcomers,
ministers of the word (readers), collectors, offertory bearers, extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion (once confirmed and aged 15).
(2)
A strong and well-led body of altar servers
remains a proven and well-established way to provide a way for young people to
come together. When social activities
are linked with their ministry, such a group can be an excellent focus for
‘faith, food and fun’. The diocese hopes
to arrange an annual event for altar servers.
(3)
Care should be taken to involve children at
Mass, making full use of the options and flexibility provided for by the
Church’s liturgical documents. Special reference should be made to the Directory
for Masses with Children (1973) and the Bishops’ Conference guidelines Liturgy
of the Word with Children (1996). The Eucharistic Prayers for
Children authorised by
(4)
There should be reasonably regular Youth Masses wherever the number
of young people and resources allow.
This may be in an individual parish, in a cluster of neighbouring
parishes, or at deanery level. The
musical resources of parishes and our high schools can be combined on such
occasions. A Sunday Youth Mass is not a
Mass only for young people, but one in which the focus for preaching, music and
ministry is on the young members of the congregation. Please see Appendix 3 on
pages 67-68 for some thoughts on Youth Masses.
(5)
A range of ‘faith and fun’ activities should be
provided for the pre-school and primary school children of the parish
according to their age, so that the parish becomes a ‘second home’ where they
are nourished in the faith and enjoy being together as part of the family of
the church.
(6)
Regular youth activities are
strongly encouraged, again at different levels (parish, cluster, deanery and
diocese) as numbers and resources allow.
The diocese will organise a series of diocesan and area events each
year: every parish is strongly encouraged to give full support and
encouragement to these events.

FAITH FOOD &
FUN
(7)
We currently have three Catholic Scout Groups in the
diocese: the 12th Ipswich, 9th King’s Lynn and 17th
(8)
Special care needs to be taken to support parents in
the ongoing catechesis of our young people who do not attend Catholic
schools.
“We must listen to the young
and heed what they say”
(
(9)
The Diocesan Youth Council (for
those aged 16-21) works closely with the Bishop and the Director of our
Diocesan Youth Service to develop youth activities in the diocese. Parishes are asked to encourage young people
to join the council.
(10)
The Diocesan Youth
(11)
The Diocesan Youth Commission works
with our Director of Diocesan Youth Services to promote and support youth work
across the diocese. It is composed of one clergy representative and one lay
representative from each deanery.
(12)
Each deanery, and perhaps some larger parishes, are
encouraged to consider the possibility of establishing Deanery and Parish
Youth Councils, enabling young people to have a voice in local church life.
(13)
There is great value in large international and
national gatherings (e.g. World Youth Day, Taize,

our Catholic schools
Absolutely essential to our
diocesan programme for young people is the place of our Catholic schools
and their partnership with parishes, deanery and diocese. Our Director of
Schools Service and Diocesan Schools Service Commission seek to support and
work closely with all our schools, as they are an integral part of the life of
our diocesan family.
Our Catholic
The relationship between
parish and primary school, and parish priest and
Foundation Governors play a
vital role as representatives of the Bishop and the Diocese in working to
ensure both the Catholic ethos and high academic standards of each of our
schools.
Our Catholic schools serve
the whole diocese, even when a parish does not have a school of its own. Past,
present and future parishioners benefit from our schools, and every parish is
touched and enriched in some way by the schools we have.
We must work to maximise
the partnership between our schools and our parishes and diocese. Almost
everything in this Diocesan Pastoral Plan applies to our school communities as
much as it applies to our parish communities.
Welcoming & including single people
Because marriage and family life
need so much support today, we can too easily neglect those many people who
live a single life, whether by choice or by circumstance. This includes the
bereaved, and single parents who bring up their children with such dedication
despite the special challenges they face.
(1)
Single people of all kinds should be invited to
suggest what might fruitfully be provided for them in parish life.
(2)
Social events should be organised in a way
which enables single people to be involved with ease and comfort.
(3)
Special care should be given to those who have been widowed.
(4)
Single parents merit special care and support
from the parish community.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Welcoming and including the separated and divorced
People who have suffered the pain of the breakdown of their
marriages and family life often feel alienated from the Church, sometimes from
a sense of ‘failure’ and sometimes because of a feeling of ‘rejection’ flowing
from the Church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage. Any couple going through difficulties with
their marriage and family life needs the prayer, care and practical support of
the church community. People who have
been through a civil divorce but have not entered a new relationship may need
to be reminded that they may still receive Holy Communion. Our Catholic welcome must be more joyfully
and pro-actively extended to people who are separated and divorced, as they are
still very much members of our family.
(1)
Our parish ‘welcome packs’ and outreach material for
less-active Catholics should include explicit mention of the separated and
divorced.
(2)
The diocese, parishes and groupings of parishes
(clusters and deaneries) will explore ways to give support and care to those
experiencing difficulties and division in their married lives. Some parishes
find it helpful to establish a befriending service or support group.
(3)
The Association of Separated and Divorced Catholics has
representatives in our diocese (names and numbers are in the Diocesan Year
Book).
ababababababababab
‘It is even more important
that we should put ourselves out personally to get alongside people
no matter what their colour,
creed or problems, making them feel welcome and wanted”
(Gorleston parish)
The ring of the Prodigal Son
Catholic
communities are sometimes reluctant to be totally all-embracing in their
welcome and inclusivity. As just one
example, while the Church has clear teaching on sexuality, we also insist that
homosexual people be welcomed and ‘accepted with respect, compassion and
sensitivity’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2358).
We
rightly maintain the enduring character of Catholic moral teaching, and it can
be all too easy to reject a person or group of people along with rejecting
certain behaviour. For example, we
continue to insist on the absolute sacredness of human life from conception,
and we reject abortion, but we must always show the welcoming love of the Lord
to the woman who has suffered the trauma of abortion, and do all we can to
bring her to healing and wholeness. We must speak the truth, but always in love
(cf. Ephesians 4.15).
There
are many Catholics who know their way of life is in conflict with Catholic teaching.
This is true for many of our young people. Some strongly oppose that teaching.
Others know in their hearts that the teaching is correct, but feel unable to
live by it. Some struggle courageously
to live Catholic teaching, failing at times as we all do. Most do not expect to come into our parish
life and find acceptance of their attitudes or conduct, but they do have a
right to find there the compassionate embrace of the Lord who scandalised his
contemporaries by welcoming sinners and eating with them (Mark 2.15-17). Each of us is among those sinners welcomed by
the Lord.
The
Pharisees complained when Jesus went into a sinner’s house; today’s Pharisees
will say the same of us if we are truly Christ-like in our welcome (Luke
19.1-10). We need to make visible in our society the Lord who refused to join
in the condemning looks of the crowd who brought to him the woman caught in the
act of committing adultery, but who then looked up at her and said, ‘Go away,
and do not sin any more’ (John 8.1-11).
Like
the Prodigal Son, the returning sinner should find in our parish communities
the welcoming embrace of the living God who put the best robe on his son, put a
ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, and organised a celebration with
the fattened calf (Luke 15.22-24). That
is the welcome everyone should receive in our church life, whether saint or
sinner, regular worshipper or newcomer, young or old.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A COMMUNITY OF
It is essential that we become truly welcoming communities,
open to all and united in faith and in love. But if our only concern is the
creation of close-knit worshipping communities, we will never be fully the
Church of Jesus Christ. The Risen Lord
calls us together, and binds us together, so that we can go forth
together. As Pope Paul VI reminded us so
powerfully, “Evangelising is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the
Church, her deepest identity” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). The word
‘evangelise’ comes from the Greek works for ‘good news’. The Church is called to bring the Good News
of Jesus Christ to the world. That is true for our diocese, and it is also true
for every parish. The call to proclaim the
Gospel to the world, to be a radiant witness to everyone of Christ himself, is
the heart of what it means to be a parish.
Our diocese as a whole, and each and every parish, should
seek to become a beacon community – or a modern day ‘burning bush’ to which
others are drawn and where they encounter the presence and call of the Living
God.
“Outreach and bringing the
Gospel to people
in many different ways, in
particular by ‘living it’, is so very important”
(Gorleston parish)
Why did we call our diocesan process “Forward and Outward
Together’? Because going forward together is not enough. Our deepest identity
as the
Pentecost is the key.
That is why we focused so much on the Sacrament of Confirmation during
2003 and 2004. Our diocesan renewal of
Confirmation at Pentecost 2004 reminded us of our calling as baptised and
confirmed Catholics. It is tempting to stay put together in our cosy Upper
Rooms, but the Holy Spirit drives us out into the market-place to announce the
Good News that Jesus is risen from the dead, and that he is with us.
Like the Good Shepherd, and in his name, we must go out in
search of the lost sheep rather than simply remaining at home with the rest of
the flock.
The call to ‘evangelisation’ is vital not only for those
already within the Church, but also for that majority of people in our cities,
towns and villages whose lives remain largely untouched by the Good News of
Jesus Christ.
The radiant witness of our personal and parish lives is
vital to this, but we also need to reach out to others, taking the light into
the darkness. As Catholics, on our own but also united with other Christians,
we must develop an effective and fruitful ‘ministry of outreach’. We are called together to be ‘the living
Gospel for all to hear.’ It is not
enough to ‘witness’ to our faith in Jesus Christ; we must also ‘share’ that
faith with others, spreading the Good News in an explicit way.
Loving God,
you called us each by name
and gave your only Son to
redeem us.
In your faithfulness you
sent the Holy Spirit
to complete the mission of
Jesus among us.
Open our hearts to Jesus.
Give us the courage to speak his name
to those who are close to us
and the generosity to share
his love
with those who are far away.
We pray that every person
throughout the world
be invited to know and love
Jesus
as Saviour and Redeemer.
May they come to know his
all-surpassing love.
May that love transform
every element in our
society.
We ask this through Christ
our Lord.
A beacon of holiness & welcoming love
Many parish responses highlighted the idea that we will most
powerfully proclaim the Gospel by the radiant witness of our lives as
individuals, families and parish communities.
Everything we have said so far about becoming welcoming
communities lies at the heart of becoming truly ‘evangelising’ communities. But
we cannot leave it at that! Like the
Apostles, we are called to go out to others rather than just wait for them to
come to us. We need to explore effective
ways to do that in our society, each of us with our particular gifts and
personalities. We are called to be
Gospel-bearers in our families and to our friends, at work and at play, in
school and college. We do that by the
things we say and do, by the way we live, by the inspiration of our lives.
“Certainly our families, parishes,
associations, schools, hospitals, charitable works and institutions give
powerful witness to the faith. But do
they share it? Does their living faith
lead to conversion of minds and hearts to Jesus Christ? Does the fire of the
Holy Spirit blaze in them?’
(Go & Make Disciples, U.S.
Bishops, 1993)
It is not so much a message that we are asked to bring to
others, but rather Christ himself. Like
Mary, we are to be Christ-bearers, bringing the mysterious presence of the Lord
into the lives of those we meet. Our own
deeply personal relationship with Christ – our personal holiness – is
absolutely essential for this mission we all share.
The Gospel story of the visitation of Mary to
(1)
Parish life and liturgy must help to nurture and
nourish each member of the parish family to be a Gospel-bringer and
Christ-bearer to others.
(2)
Together as a parish community, we need to find ways
to be more publicly and openly the ‘living Gospel for all to hear.’ A Catholic parish should never be a hidden
community, shut away in its ‘upper room’. The Holy Spirit calls us out into the
market-place to proclaim the Risen Lord.
(3)
Full use should be made of modern communications and
media (see later).
(4)
As a diocese and in our parishes, we should explore
the possibility of training lay evangelists.
(5)
It is very important that we do not limit our ideas
of lay involvement and leadership to church activities. Lay people are
called to go into the world with the presence and message of Christ: in school
and college, at work and recreation.
(6)
More Catholics should become involved in public life, including
local government, the justice community (magistrates, police, etc), various
agencies, and the media. It is essential that the Catholic community
contributes fully to society as a visible Christian presence in
(7)
We need to explore and make best use of the various resources
already available for encouraging Catholics better to understand and share
their faith with others (e.g. the CaFE programme, Echoes). The Diocesan
Commission for Evangelisation will organise training days.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
‘A more caring and loving
Church
is the greatest
evangelisation’
(Sheringham parish)
A beacon of care and loving-kindness
In the earliest days of Christianity, pagans were drawn to
Christ by the practical care shown by the Church to those in need, especially
those often marginalized and rejected by society: orphans, widows and
slaves. Although it can at first seem
idealistic and impractical in our society, we have much to learn from the
earliest community. The fundamental principle surely applies to many aspects of
our church life together, both in our care for those in need and in our
increasing collaboration among parishes with fewer priests: in that first
community, we are told, there was no-one in need because everything was shared
among them (Acts 4.34, 32; cf. 2.44-45).
Every Christian community is called to serve the wider
community. We can take our inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan
(Luke 10.29-37), as well as Jesus’ teaching that whatever we do for the least
of his brothers and sisters, we do for him, and whatever we fail to do for
them, we fail to do for Christ (Matthew 25.31-46). We are first and foremost
called to holiness, but there is no holiness without love. We are called to a
personal relationship with the Risen Lord, but it is in the ‘least of his
brothers and sisters’ that we find and serve him.
“Come, you whom my Father has blessed, and
take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the
world. For I was hungry and you gave me
food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome;
naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to
see me.” (Matthew 25.34-36).
The Lord calls us to a love ‘which is not to be just words
or mere talk, but something real and active’ (I John 3.18; cf. James 2.14-17).
It is a call to practical and effective service of the poor and needy, and
anyone who is marginalized, a call to follow the Lord’s example as he washed
the feet of his disciples (John 13.1-15).
Every parish should be a ‘foot washing’ community, dedicated to humble
service of the poorest of the poor.

It is diocesan policy that
every parish community should be involved in some practical way in care for the
poor and needy of their locality.
(1)
Every parish should discern with care and with prayer
the greatest needs of the local community. It should be active in its
commitment to the poor and needy – both locally and overseas. Such action can often be done in unity with
other Christians, people of other faiths, and with secular agencies. Existing
groups such as the SVP should be encouraged.
New caring groups such as ‘Helping Hands’ in Wymondham can be
developed. It is up to each parish to
discern the greatest needs and the best action, but every parish should have
some practical programme for helping those in need. Many parishes have a ‘Care
Group’ of some kind which coordinates practical work for those in need in the
local community.
(2)
Every parish will include care for and visiting
the sick as a central part of their life.
This is a ministry in which lay people can be increasingly involved.
Visiting teams can be formed and trained, perhaps alongside the link people in
any ‘neighbourhood communities’ which are formed.
(3)
Parishes also need to develop ministries of support
to the bereaved. This requires careful training and formation.
(4)
Prison and hospital visiting is a
special but essential ministry in which many can be involved, again with
careful preparation and formation.
(5)
The Catholic Church must be visible in its practical
care for the homeless, ideally in partnership with other
Christians. The ‘Open Door’ project in
Great Yarmouth is an inspiration to all, and would value financial support from
other parishes. There may be room for similar projects in other parts of the
diocese. Some already exist.
(6)
The Diocesan Commission for Social Concern
represents caring organisations in the diocese, and administers the St
Edmund’s Fund which supports many welfare projects and activities to
relieve poverty and distress.
(7)
The diocese will work closely with the Bishops’ Conference
body Caritas-social action.
Website:
www.caritas-socialaction.org.uk
‘HELPING HANDS’
The ‘Helping Hands’ project in Wymondham
began when a district nurse saw that many people who had been sick were
neglected as soon as their medical condition was alleviated. The remit was
broadened to include anyone in need, but especially those who had been ill or
coming out of hospital, and also the lonely and housebound. The parish was
divided into areas, with coordinators responsible for each area and volunteers
allotted to coordinators. Each volunteer has identification and authorisation
from the parish. Funds have been raised
in the parish. Those involved were commissioned at Mass. Volunteers began by taking
flowers and a card to those who had just come out of hospital or who were sick
at home. Others now visit the lonely and
housebound, take people with disabilities shopping, cut lawns, etc. This is a simple but practical scheme which brings the active love
and care of the parish community to many in need.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
A beacon of justice
When
he came to
Our
Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission brings together those people in
the diocese committed to justice issues, and works to encourage greater
involvement by the whole diocese and its parishes in work for justice and
peace.
Our
Permanent Deacons have a particular part to play in the furthering of work for
justice and peace in our diocese, as a key dimension of the ‘ministry of
charity’ which has a priority in their call to serve.
It is diocesan policy that every parish should be actively involved in
some way in work for justice and peace. This could be co-ordinated by a group
(e.g. Justice & Peace Group, Human rights Group), but the whole parish
should be involved as fully as possible.
The diocese strongly recommends parish involvement in the following
bodies:
(1)
Life
The
Catholic Church is committed to promoting the sacredness of human life ‘from
womb to tomb’, from conception to death. Every parish should give its full
support in a practical and effective way to the protection of unborn children,
as well as the defence of the dignity of human life in every other way. We
should also be openly and publicly committed to the support of mothers who
decide not to have an abortion, and to compassionate care of women who have
been through an abortion. In the Diocese of East Anglia, our primary focus is
to support the work of the national charity ‘Life’ and its centres (listed in
the Diocesan Year Book). All parishes are strongly encouraged to support these
local centres. Beginning in 2005, there
will be an annual national mandatory collection to support pro-life charities
on the July ‘Day for Life’. However
strongly we rightly speak out on pro-life issues, we should always ‘speak the
truth in love’ and with the compassion of the Lord. Website: www.lifeuk.org
(2)
CAFOD
CAFOD is the primary agency of the
Catholic Church in our country for support and solidarity with people in need
across the world. Parishes should be
involved not only in the twice-yearly Family Fast Day but also in CAFOD’s
campaigning activities and projects.
Website: www.cafod.org.uk.
(3)
Traidcraft
Every parish is encouraged to use
fairly-traded goods (e.g. tea and coffee) and to sell such goods (e.g. by
establishing a regular Traidcraft stall after Sunday Mass, etc). We will work
towards being recognised as a Fair Trade Diocese.
Website: www. www.traidcraft.co.uk
(4)
Aid to the Church in Need
Aid to the Church in Need provides
spiritual and material aid wherever the Church is persecuted, oppressed or in
need.
Website: www.acnuk.org
(5)
Amnesty International
Although all will not agree with
everything this organisation does, a parish can be regularly involved in a
practical and effective way in work for human rights through Amnesty
International, inviting parishioners to sign petitions or write letters on
behalf of prisoners of conscience. The
names of prisoners could be included in the Intercessions at
Website: www.amnesty.org.uk
(6)
Asylum seekers & refugees
The Holy Father has called the
plight up of all uprooted people across the world ‘a shameful wound of our
time.’ As part of our calling to ‘welcome the stranger’, parishes should
embrace those who have fled their homes, and welcome asylum seekers and
refugees, as well as playing their part in insisting on fair and just
conditions and procedures for all of them.
Please keep in your prayers all those resident at the Oakington
Immigration Centre in our diocese.
(7)
Jubilee Campaign & Jubilee Action
Jubilee Campaign has campaigned
since 1987 on behalf of people suffering as a result of injustice. Its sister
charity, Jubilee Action, provides
practical support to those who suffer unjustly. Both have the support of David
Alton. Contact Jubilee Campaign,
(8)
Environmental issues
The Book of Genesis teaches us
that we are the stewards of God’s creation, accountable to him for the good use
of his many gifts. We are responsible
for the preservation and protection of our planet and its resources. Parishes should take account of environmental
concerns in managing their own resources (e.g. recycling, use of electricity)
and help to educate the whole parish community on such matters.
(9)
‘Building Bridges’:
Cambodia
& Holy Land
The Diocese of East Anglia is now
‘twinned’ with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and with the Diocese of
Battambang in
(10)
Parish Projects
Parishes are encouraged to
continue and develop the overseas projects they have already established. The ‘Building Bridges’ twinnings are not
intended to undermine or replace such projects.
ababababababababab
Communication: a beacon
of light for all
Good communication is essential at every level of the
church. Effective and attractive publicity is important. The diocese now has a bi-monthly newspaper,
and is currently working towards a new website.
(1)
Every parish is to appoint a Parish Communications
Officer. He or she will be responsible for pro-active contact with
local media (especially local newspapers) in order to achieve coverage for
‘good news’ parish events.
(2)
The Diocesan Communications Officer will organise training
sessions for parish communications officers, including basic skills such as
how to prepare a press release and be interviewed for local radio.
(3)
We will also seek to develop more pro-active
relationships with local radio and television.
(4)
Many parishes have found it useful to develop their
own websites. This is a further way of enabling the housebound to keep
in touch with parish life.
(5)
Parishes may find it fruitful to make use of the
‘What’s On?’ and church sections of local newspapers, and to target notices of
Mass times on hotels, guest houses, caravan parks, etc,
ababababababababab
Earthen Vessels
We are called to bear to
others the treasure of Christ himself and his saving presence.
‘It is not ourselves that we are preaching,
but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
It is the same God that said, ‘Let there be light shining out of the darkness’,
who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s
glory, the glory on the face of Christ.
We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it
clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us’ (2
Corinthians 4.5-7).
A tremendous amount has been asked of parishes so far in
this document. At first, this could seem
daunting, overburdening and draining, but we are always faced as Christians –
alone and together – with the tension between idealism and realism, between the
vision and the practical. We must never
allow our limitations and weaknesses to impoverish the fullness of the ‘Good
News’ that Jesus Christ places in our hands, but that Gospel should never
become a heavy burden rather than a gift to be shared.
Faced with such an awesome vocation from God, we can feel
deeply inadequate, but if we allow the Risen Christ to take our mere ‘five
loaves and two fish’ he will take what we offer, bless it, and do great things
through us in

God can never be tied down to plans of any kind, no matter
how detailed. He will always have surprises in store for us. In him we place
our trust.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
TOGETHER
IN TRUST AND
PARTNERSHIP
A central theme which emerged throughout the discussions on
‘Forward & Outward Together’ was the need for trust.
·
Trust in our Lord, who is always with us,
whatever our difficulties. He says to our
diocese, to our parishes and smaller communities, to our families and to each
of us: ‘Do not be afraid; I am with you’.
There may be times when we seem like the apostles in their boat on the
stormy waters, with the ‘waves’ of the problems and challenges which we face
breaking into our boat and threatening to swamp it. But the Lord is with us,
and we have no need to fear (cf. Mark 4.35-41).
·
Trust in each other: bishop,
priests and deacons in the diocese; priests and people in each parish. Many parish responses included a plea to
parish priests to grant the gift of trust to lay people, and to be ready to
‘entrust’ to them certain parts of their work for which they remain ultimately
responsible as parish priest but which are not part of their specific priestly
ministry. There can be no fruitful
collaboration and working in partnership without the gift of mutual trust and
openness. Such trust is both a gift and
a task. We may begin by taking the risk
of trust, but that trust still needs to be earned and confirmed day by day.
‘There is a need for trust for all those
bringing about the development – for us to trust the bishop, the people to
trust us and for us to trust the people’
(Clergy of
‘Working together in partnership’ is essential to our way
forward together, at every level of our life in the Diocese of East Anglia.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Parishes working together
How is the universal Catholic Church structured? The whole people of God is divided into
dioceses, each entrusted to the pastoral leadership and care of a bishop. The
diocese is then ‘divided into distinct parts or parishes’ (Code of Canon Law,
374.1). Each parish is by nature an integral part of the diocese.
No parish family, therefore, is an isolated self-sufficient
unit. Our very catholicity demands an openness to one another, and a sharing of
life and mission. There is no room for
narrow parochialism in the Catholic Church.
Every parish is an integral part, a living cell, of the diocesan family,
and every parish must be open in faith and love to all the other parishes,
especially neighbouring ones. The universal Church is a ‘communion’ of
dioceses; our diocese is a ‘communion’ of parishes; each parish is a
‘communion’ of small local communities, families and individuals.
There are various ways of enabling cooperation and mutual
support among parishes.
ababababababababab
The Deanery
What is a deanery? ‘To foster
pastoral care by means of common action, several neighbouring parishes can be
joined together in special groupings, such as deaneries’ (Code of Canon Law,
374.2). Each deanery is led by a Dean appointed by the bishop to act in his
name. In a scattered diocese such as ours, with many small parishes, working
together in deaneries can be very fruitful, not only for the mutual support and
care of the clergy, but also for pastoral and spiritual collaboration at local
level.
In each deanery, there are regular
meetings of the clergy, priests and deacons, both diocesan and religious, of
that grouping of parishes. All are
expected to attend meetings and participate as fully as possible in deanery
life.
It is clear from many parish reports that there is little
understanding among lay people of the meaning or value of deaneries.
The current urban deaneries (e.g. Ipswich &
Peterborough) work better than rural ones.
This is because urban deaneries are more compact, with parishes closer
together. There needs to be flexibility
across the diocese in the way we structure cooperation between parishes, and
especially lay participation. In urban
areas, the deanery will remain a valuable forum for lay people meeting and
working together. In other areas, it may
be better to focus on ‘sub-deaneries’ (clearly distinct areas of a deanery) or
clusters of parishes. The best way
forward needs to be decided locally. The deanery will remain a key structure
for local coordination of both ordained and lay ministry (e.g. catechetics and
youth work), led by the local Dean.
(1)
The deanery remains a key structure for strengthening
the cooperation and ‘communion’ of local clergy and lay ministers.
(2)
There will continue to be deanery representatives on
key diocesan commissions (e.g. Youth, Evangelisation, Ecumenism, Marriage
& Family Life).
(3)
Each deanery is to have a Deanery
Coordinating Catechist whose role is to support parish catechists and to
contribute to the development of catechesis and adult formation in the diocese
as a member of the Commission for Evangelisation.
(4)
Each deanery is to have both a clergy and a lay
representative on the Diocesan Youth Commission. Their role is to help develop local youth
work, and pro-actively to encourage and support parish involvement in diocesan
youth events and activities.
(5)
Each deanery is to have a clergy and a lay
representative on the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission.
(6)
Each deanery is to have a lay representative on the
renewed Diocesan Commission for Marriage and Family Life.
(7)
There needs to be flexibility as to whether
the deanery, ‘sub-deanery’ or parish cluster is the best setting for joint
activities and events: e.g. adult formation and training, sacramental
preparation (especially Confirmation & Marriage), youth work, sharing
resources, days of recollection & retreats, social events.
(8)
The same flexibility is required in organising
opportunities for lay participation in discussion and decision-making at
deanery level. The Deanery Forum may work better in urban deaneries than
rural ones. Elsewhere, such gatherings
might better take place at ‘sub-deanery’ or cluster level. It is essential,
however, that there be formal structures for such lay involvement within each
deanery.
(9)
Deans are encouraged to ‘exchange’ with parish
priests in their deaneries, so that local parishes can get to know their Dean
and the Dean gain a better sense of those parishes.
(10)
Each deanery will organise an annual event with the
presence of the Bishop. This may replace
the Lenten Station Mass, and be organised at a more suitable time during the
year when more people might attend. Such
an event could include one or more of a number of possibilities: e.g. Mass,
talk, social event. Each deanery is left
to liaise with the Bishop as to the most suitable event for the locality.
“It is clear that the majority of lay people
struggle with the concept of the deanery, and are much more comfortable with
the concept of smaller clusters working together… Clustering seems popular: people can identify
with it. It really looks as though it would be better to focus on clusters for
lay participation …’ (
“Sharing resources means sharing people. People are our main resource.” (St Mary’s
parish,
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The Cluster
Deanery and parish reports generally agree that there is
great scope for the clustering of parishes and sharing of resources.
Even if we were sure of having enough priests in the future
to keep our present parish structures, it would always be the case that some
parishes do not have the personnel or resources on their own to provide all
that is needed for a fully thriving parish life. These can range from simple
photocopying facilities to organising Confirmation or Marriage Preparation
programmes, the employment of a pastoral assistant, parish administrator or
buildings supervisor, or running a retreat for Readers or Extraordinary
Ministers of Holy Communion. Many of
these activities could be organised by ‘clustering’ neighbouring parishes and
sharing resources; others may be more appropriate at deanery level.
In our diocese at this time, however, such ‘clustering’ is
vital as a way to prepare for our future together. As our number of priests
declines, parishes will need not only to work together ever more closely, but
also eventually to be combined in some way.
We need to arrange most clusters in such a way that there is
real potential for eventual combination into a single parish. Such clustering can be difficult in rural
areas, and yet the combination of rural parishes may well become necessary over
the coming decade.
Our future together is likely, therefore, to be a two-stage
process. Firstly, the ‘clustering’ of distinct but neighbouring
parishes, each with their own parish priest, but gradually working ever closer
together, co-ordinating Mass times, and preparing for the time when they might
be required to combine into a single parish.
Secondly, the combination of two or more parishes into a single
canonical parish with one parish priest, assisted when possible by other
priests (newly-ordained, temporary visitors from overseas, retired, etc).
A fundamental principle is
that there are to be no ‘priest-less’ parishes in our diocese. However we organise our diocese in the
future, developing lay leadership of local Catholic communities and enhancing
the role played by permanent deacons, every community will be entrusted to the
servant leadership of a priest appointed by the bishop as ‘canonical pastor’.
(1) Within deaneries, or sometimes across
deanery boundaries, two or more nearby parishes are to be ‘clustered’ to
encourage the sharing of resources and to begin to prepare now for an imminent
future with fewer priests.
(2) Parishes in such ‘clusters’ are asked to
examine how many Masses are really needed each weekend, and if possible to
stagger Mass times so that neighbouring priests can ‘supply’ for each other
when needed.
(3) Parish priests of clustered parishes
could consider occasional ‘parish swaps’ on Sundays, allowing neighbouring
parishes to get to know the other priests in the cluster, and providing an
opportunity for variety of preaching, etc.
(4) If and when necessary, such ‘clusters’
will be the foundation of a new form of parish, with three current parishes
served by two priests, or two served by one.
Such clusters probably work best between similar kinds of parish (e.g.
‘rural’, ‘urban’, etc). There may be opportunities for communal living when
appropriate and desired. Further
consideration needs to be given to the possibility of a team of priests living
together and serving a city or area.
The agreed ‘clusters’ are presented in Part Two of this plan
(see page 63). Such ‘working and
planning together’ should begin immediately and develop over time. Some such clusters will need to become
combined parishes quicker than others.
Progress in clustering will be monitored locally by the
Deans who will report regularly to the Bishop through the
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Communities within each parish
Every parish is a community of communities, whether villages
or areas of a town or city. Although such local Catholic communities may not have
Mass each weekend, they should still be encouraged to develop their community
life within the wider life of the parish. This could include a local forum of
some kind, weekday House Masses, occasional Sunday Mass, Scripture and prayer
groups, and social events, giving much scope for developing forms of lay
leadership.
‘In the villages, what is needed is a way
forward in which the parish can develop and provide for people’s needs without
the requirement for Sunday Mass there. A working structure in a parish is to
build clusters of local communities, self-supporting and vibrant, with the
parish church at their centre and as their focus. Such clusters should become a
living presence of a lively Christian community, organising prayer groups,
ecumenical events, providing support for those with needs at home, providing
Christian education to all age groups, and communicating with others, both
directly and through the parish centre.’
(St Philip Howard parish,
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Working together in the parish
The sacraments lie at the heart of our Catholic life, and
these include the Sacrament of Holy Orders by which people are consecrated as
Bishops, Priests and Deacons for the service of the Church. However few priests
we may have over the coming decades, our priests will remain central and
essential to our Catholic communities. Nothing said in this Pastoral Plan about
the role of lay people should be seen as undermining the pivotal role of the
priest, and especially the parish priest, in the life of every parish. Sharing
the ministry of the bishop, the priest is a sacramental image of Christ the
Good Shepherd. No-one can replace him in
that role. Furthermore, the law of the Church gives the parish priest an
ultimate responsibility for all aspects of parish life (including finance and
administration, as well as liturgy, catechesis, pastoral care, etc) for which
he is answerable to the Bishop and the Diocesan Trustees.
The priest does not lead and serve in isolation, however,
but rather in collaboration and partnership with the whole parish
community.
“The image of the parish priest as one who
“does everything himself” and who is “the king of the parish” must give way to
an alternative model of the parish priest “who works with…” despite
difficulties and obstacles”
(General Pastoral Plan for the
“The believing community is the natural place
for the life of the priest. It justifies his existence when he lives his
identity, vocation and mission in its midst. His life is life within the
community, with the community and for the community; and his greatest joy is
the accompaniment of the Christian community, patiently, gently and
persistently, so that it responds to its vocation and mission. This obliges the priest to reside always and
truly in his parish, in order to build it up and make it a community of charity
and participation”
(General Pastoral Plan for the
The primary reason for encouraging and enabling the development
in our diocese of greater lay participation is not in order to ‘fill in’ for
priests as they become more stretched, but because of the dignity and
responsibility which flows from Baptism and Confirmation.
“The Church is not “you” and “us” and “them”,
but rather all of us together, each one according to their place and vocation.’
(General Pastoral Plan for the
Parish and deanery reports suggest there is an enthusiasm
and a generous readiness among lay people in almost all parishes to take on
many tasks of administration and other forms of leadership so that the priest
can focus even more fruitfully on his role as pastor and spiritual leader. Although the parish priest is entrusted by
the Bishop with an overall responsibility for the whole life of his parish,
which he cannot hand over to others, there is tremendous room for developing
the partnership of priest and people in every parish, with lay people being
entrusted with the day-to-day administration of much of parish life as well as
leadership of local communities within the parish (villages, neighbourhoods,
etc), leading Scripture-reflection and prayer groups, catechesis, sacramental
preparation, adult education, youth work, sharing chaplaincy work in schools,
hospitals, prisons, universities and colleges, social events, welfare work,
parish visiting, and ongoing care for the sick, the housebound, and the
bereaved. A key role of priests and deacons is to discern the giftedness of lay
people and to encourage them to use those gifts, always sensitive to their
other responsibilities.
Encouraging lay people to take on such tasks is not simply a
matter of helping fewer priests to focus on their vital tasks; it is far more
about enabling lay people – women and men - to live more fully their call to
active and responsible participation in the life of our Church at every level
and in the Church’s mission to the world.
It is essential that the full dignity and equality of women
be recognised in our diocese, and we hope that lay women will play an ever more
fruitful role at the heart of our parish and diocesan life. The development of
lay leadership and other ministries (at cluster, deanery and diocesan level, as
well as in the parish) should provide opportunities for greater use of so many
unused skills and resources, especially the often untapped intellectual and
leadership skills of women in the Church.
Lay women are already generally far more involved than lay
men in ministry and service in the Church. We also need to ensure that lay men
of all ages are encouraged and welcomed into forms of leadership and
involvement.
It is hoped that the ‘Structures for Lay Participation’
established on pages 36-37 will provide opportunities for lay women and men to
be involved more effectively in decision-making in the parish, cluster, deanery
and diocese.
It is all too easy, however, as we seek to involve lay
people more in parish life, to put increasing pressures on people who are
already busy and burdened, and whose calling may be to live and share the
Gospel precisely in their home and workplace rather than by taking on yet more
parish activities. Sometimes the best way to enable people to live their true
Christian vocation is by reducing rather than increasing the number of
‘churchy’ duties they so generously take on.
The joyful privilege of belonging to God’s family involves duty and
responsibility, but it should not drain people of their little remaining energy
as they struggle to earn a living, bring up a family and cope with the strains
and stresses of our world. Many people
simply do not have the time to give more of themselves to their local parish,
deanery or diocese, and they should not be asked or expected to do so. There
are some people who give much of their limited time to the Church who perhaps
should be giving some or all of that time to their families as part of their
sacred vocation as spouse and parent. It is in their ordinary daily lives,
nourished each Sunday at Mass by the Word of God and the Bread of Life, that
they live and share their Catholic faith.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Needs and Skills Audits
Every member of our church communities has God-given gifts
and talents for the service of Christ in his Church and the world. Each is a vital member of the Body of
Christ. No-one plays the role of the
‘appendix’ in that Body! Everyone is
needed (see
Before anyone is invited to offer their gifts and talents,
each parish community must first explore what forms of ministry and service are
most needed for the development of its life, liturgy and mission. What are the
gaps in the parish, especially in the light of your local discussions on
‘Forward & Outward Together” and this Diocesan Pastoral Plan? A ‘Needs Audit’ should precede any ‘Skills
Audit’.
Once the needs have been identified, simple but clear ‘job
descriptions’ could usefully be drawn up so that those offering themselves –
and the church community they are to serve – know what to expect.
Our church communities are full of gifts and talents, and
they need to be revealed, discovered and used where possible, always with sensitivity
to the limits of people’s time and energy.
Once generously offered, every effort should be made to follow up and
use those skills.
A ‘skills audit’ of some kind, perhaps linked with a general
census, may be the best way of discovering what people have to offer and
inviting them to become more involved in the life of the church. Such a questionnaire might well include a
general question such as “What specialist skills do you have which you would be
prepared to put at the service of the Church?”, as well as a ‘tick list’ of
forms of service in which they might be interested, based on the ‘Needs Audit’
previously carried out. People should be asked to indicate a willingness to
train when appropriate for any ministry or service. Not all forms of service require training.
Some people will already have the skills and expertise required for those that
do.
(1)
We should not always wait for people to volunteer.
There are times when it is best pro-actively to invite people to offer
their time and talents for a particular service.
(2)
An annual ‘Parish Opportunities Fair’, with
stalls advertising various opportunities for service in a parish, can be a
fruitful and fun way of encouraging people to sign up for ministries and
service. It could be organised on the
lines of the beginning-of-year ‘Freshers Fairs’ at universities, perhaps
combined with a parish fete or social activity.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Greater lay involvement
& lay leadership
Lay people need responsibility, opportunity and
encouragement. For some, this means
deeper involvement and participation in the life of the life, liturgy and
mission of the local church community. For others, it will mean sharing in
leadership.
Several deaneries and parishes suggested greater use of lay
pastoral assistants, coordinators and administrators, but no consensus on this
has yet emerged. For some parishes, the
possible funding implications are a disincentive, although it should be noted
that Brentwood Diocese operates a widespread system of voluntary pastoral
assistants with an established training two-year programme.
Once again, flexibility is required. The parishes in our
diocese are often very different to each other with regard to the size and
average age of the congregation, financial resources and general needs. Some parishes are already well-served by a
team of volunteers. A few already have
full-time or part-time lay people supporting the life of the parish, including
pastoral assistants, parish secretaries, site managers, administrators. One thing is certain, however. In every parish, lay people should
increasingly be entrusted with many if not most of the administrative tasks, as
well as participating more fully in pastoral care and outreach. In developing job descriptions for those who
take on such roles, it is important to distinguish pastoral ministries of
evangelisation, catechesis, care, etc from roles of administration. Both are important to any parish; some may well
be combined in one person with multiple responsibilities; but they are
different roles requiring different skills and different training.
It is diocesan policy that
we develop different forms of lay leadership in every parish and across the
diocese.
Besides the possible use of full or part-time pastoral
assistants, administrators, etc, this should include the leadership and
coordination of:
(1) smaller communities within parishes
(villages, neighbourhood groups, etc),
(2) adult formation and catechetical
programmes including sacramental preparation
(3) evangelising
teams
(4) youth work
(5) pastoral care of the sick, housebound,
bereaved, etc
Some concern was expressed in parish reports that such lay
leaders should not take over the distinctive role of the priest. This concern is echoed in Redemptionis
Sacramentum, but any true working in partnership in the Catholic Church
will always involve ordained ministers and lay people exercising their
distinctive roles, in full harmony and with full respect for each other.
Such involvement by lay people should be as wide as possible
in each parish, rather than focused on a handful of key people. ‘Working
together’ is as vital for lay leaders among themselves as it is for priests
among themselves and with deacons and lay people.
There are parishes where a few people seem to do
everything. On the one hand, their
generous dedication should be welcomed with gratitude: most parishes need such
people. On the other hand, those few are
in an important position to draw others into deeper involvement in the parish
community. The more people who are
actively involved at the heart of parish life, the happier the parish community
will be. The service of the ‘faithful few’ will only change if everyone is made
to feel they are a vital part of the life and work of the church, with their
own gifts and talents to offer.
“Lay leadership supported by good training should be key to the overall development of the diocese” (individual response)
“Lay leadership is crucial and must be taken seriously” (Costessey parish)
Formation and training for ministry and service
Prudent selection and careful formation is very important
for both lay and ordained ministry.
For some of these services, professional training will be needed. Some parish and deanery responses suggested,
for certain forms of leadership and ministry, a formal diocesan programme of
training, validation and commissioning.
Because of the nature of our diocese, and the flexibility
needed, it may not be easy to develop a simple diocesan programme for formation
and training for such lay people taking on key positions of
responsibility. We will need to develop
a flexible programme which can be of support to people in very different
situations.
There clearly needs to be further discussion before we
embark on a diocesan programme of any kind.
We must identify the areas of need, and develop a programme which is as
flexible and user-friendly as possible.
(1)
Between September 2004 and July 2005, further
parish, cluster, deanery and diocesan discussion is required to clarify our
training needs and what can most usefully be contributed by a diocesan
programme.
(2)
Most reports suggest a diocesan programme
delivered locally, either at county, deanery or cluster level. Appropriate funding must be found.
(3)
There seems to be general agreement that such a
programme should be flexible, modular, and incorporate distance-learning
and on-line methodologies. Twice-termly Saturday sessions and/or ‘Summer
Schools’ were also suggested. It is difficult for busy people to spare time for
in-depth training: any programme needs to be realistic about people’s ability
to commit themselves to regular meetings.
(4)
Any training must be appropriate and effective. Although there was no complete agreement on
this, there appears to be a balance in favour of some form of validation and
certification on completing all or part of the programme. In some cases, a diocesan commissioning would
be appropriate.
(5)
The development of such a programme needs to take
full account of the official Bishops Conference ‘Catholic Certificate in
Religious Studies’ (CCRS) which was
designed in part to answer the needs expressed above and which is usually run
on the lines proposed in point 3. The
CCRS is currently under review, nationally and in the diocese. There should be
no unnecessary duplication of programmes.
(6)
Where appropriate, any diocesan programme will be
developed in liaison and cooperation with the Margaret Beaufort
Institute, the Cambridge Theological Federation, etc.
(7)
If people are to give their time and talents to such
special training and formation, we need to ensure that whenever possible they
are offered opportunities for service and not ignored.
(8)
Those who give their time and talents need to be thanked
and encouraged. Some parishes
organise an annual Mass and social event for parish workers.
‘Volunteers
are one of the Church’s most valued
assets, and as such should be cherished’
(individual response)
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Limited terms of service
We need to be very sensitive about placing undue pressures
on lay people who are already busy, and especially those whose sacred vocation
to marriage and family life may suffer from too much involvement in church
affairs.
Nearly all deanery and parish responses agreed that a
limited – though renewable – term of office should be adopted for all forms of
lay ministry and service in the church.
This would help to ensure that people do not feel ‘trapped’ in a
role, and also that new people can be given opportunities for service. A limited term of office might encourage
people to take on a responsibility without the fear of having to carry it on
for life! On the other hand, it would be
good if all were ready cheerfully to hand over ministries (e.g. Reader,
Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Catechist) and other forms of service
to others after a certain time, perhaps to take up other forms of service
instead.
“A term of office is a very good idea. If
people knew they would only have to do something for a number of years, they
might be more confident about coming forward”
(
Once again, flexibility is required, as it can be difficult
in smaller parishes to find replacements.
The expertise gained through formation, training and experience should
not be automatically time-limited, but such gifts and talents can often be used
in many different ways.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Adult religious formation
All responses highlighted the need for a programme of adult
religious formation, in addition to any specific programmes for training for
ministry and service. Some parishes and
deaneries have already initiated local programmes of adult formation. A diocesan
input seems to be welcome, but delivered locally in some way (three centres,
one in each county; deanery; parish clusters; parish) rather than in one place
in the diocese.
(1)
Every parish is to have a Parish Coordinating
Catechist, working with the Deanery Coordinating Catechist to ensure
the best possible catechesis, adult formation, sacramental preparation,
etc. Those who have already trained as
‘Key Catechists’ are obviously very well prepared to take on one or either of
these key positions, as a resource for other catechists.
(2)
The ongoing formation of catechists throughout the
diocese is vital, and a priority for the Commission for Evangelisation
which includes all Deanery Coordinating catechists among its members.
(3)
The place of the ‘Catholic Certificate in Religious
Studies’ (CCRS) needs to be reviewed, in the light of the Bishops
Conference and the need for a diocesan programme for training for lay
leadership and involvement.
(4)
The Commission for Evangelisation will organise diocesan
training days on established programmes which may be of support to parishes
(e.g. CaFE).
(5)
The diocese also encourages the development of more informal
faith-sharing and Scripture-study groups in parishes and smaller
communities. Special attention should be given to lectionary-based groups which
gather to reflect on the following Sunday’s Scripture readings.
(6)
Deaneries, clusters and parishes are encouraged to
make greater use of days of recollection, retreats and missions.
(7)
Bishop Michael will continue to offer teaching
sessions.
Greater emphasis needs to
be given to the ongoing formation of parents as the first teachers of
their children in the faith. Parents are
the key catechists of their families.
Their children’s preparation for the sacraments of Baptism, First Confession,
First Communion and Confirmation, as well as the celebration of those
sacraments, are a prime opportunity for the deeper Christian formation of
parents. Such preparation programmes
should always include and involve the parents in some way, at least for special
sessions on the meaning of each sacrament.
The diocese and parishes must do more to promote and enrich the
Christian home as the place where Christ is to be found and encountered, and
the family as the ‘domestic church’, a holy place where prayer, Christian
witness and teaching, and loving care are woven into the fabric of daily
life. Parents‘ responsibility for the
Christian education of their children cannot be handed over to our Catholic
schools or our parish communities: our homes, schools and parishes must work in
ever closer partnership, but it is the vocation of parents to lead their
children in the ways of holiness, above all by their example and witness, and
by sharing their faith.
abbaabababababababab
Working together with
other Christians
All of this section so far has been about ‘working together’
within the Catholic community, but our common baptism calls us to work together
as closely as possible with our fellow Christians and their communities at
every level of the Church.
Ecumenism is not always easy, but it is not an optional
extra for Catholics. It is not only as individual parish communities, clusters
of parishes, deaneries or even as a diocesan family within the Roman Catholic
Communion that we move forward and outward.
It is with our fellow Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
When church leaders meet, so often we find that we have the
same challenges and problems. There is
so much can be done together, above all in our public witness to the Good News
of Jesus Christ to the people of
There are already very good and friendly relationships
between the church leaders in
Ecumenism is always a challenge, but especially so in
(1) Catholic communities should be as
involved as possible in local Christians Together or Churches Together. If there are not already effective clergy
fraternals, it would be good for Catholic priests to initiate and host such
fraternals. As so often, it is the
building of good personal relations which is often a vital step towards
effective ecumenism. Joint social events
with other churches can build good relations.
(2) Scripture-study groups and prayer
groups can often be organised on an ecumenical basis. Joint services are an established
practice during Christian Unity Week, but there are surely other opportunities
during the year to worship and witness together.
(3) Teaching can often be done
together (e.g. Bishop Michael and Bishop Graham’s teaching session on Baptism
at St John’s Cathedral in Lent 2004; this ‘Two Cathedrals’ event is now to
become an annual one). Several churches
could get together to run a series of talks and discussions on as common topic,
with plenty of opportunity for friendly airing of differences as well as
agreement). The various ‘agreed
statements’ between
(4) Several Anglican and Methodist churches
in our diocese already give a warm welcome to Catholics gathering for Mass
at the weekend. When a Mass centre or
church is too small for a congregation when we need to reduce the number of
Masses, it may make sense to move to a welcoming larger Anglican or other
church.
(5) There are several Local Ecumenical
Partnerships in the diocese, including special chaplaincies. Reference should be made to the
newly-published set of leaflets from the Bishops Conference on LEPs.
The Catholic Church is fully
committed to pursuing the path to full Christian Unity. As Pope John Paul wrote in his encyclical
letter Ut unum sint, ‘At the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church
committed herself irrevocably to following the path of the ecumenical
venture…’(4). Without in any way
abandoning or undermining our distinctive Catholic teaching, ecumenism must be
central to our Catholic life: ‘Thus it is absolutely clear that ecumenism, the
movement promoting Christian unity, is not just some sort of “appendix” which
is added to the Church’s traditional activity.
Rather, ecumenism is an organic part of her life and work, and
consequently must pervade all that she is and does…’ (Ut unum sint, 20).
In other words, we cannot be truly Catholic if we are not
actively committed to working for the full unity of all Christians. At local
level, we can pray and worship together, conscious of our unity in the Spirit
of Christ. We can study together,
learning to understand each other better and enriching each other in the
process. We can work together to bring
the Good News of Jesus Christ to our communities, both in explicit
evangelisation and in bringing God’s care, love and justice to the sick and the
sad, the poor and hungry, the oppressed and afflicted. We can be friends together, enjoying each
other’s company as fellow disciples and companions of the Risen Lord.
ababababababababab
Working together with people of other faiths
There is a growing opportunity in
The large number of Muslims moving into
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
“Parishioners who feel responsible for
engaging in the work of their parishes are acutely aware of the need for
priests to trust them more. The days of every single decision having to be
personally sanctioned by ‘Father’ have to end if parishioners are to become
responsible adults within the local church, rather than mere helpers to the
priest in his responsibilities. Without this, people only see a diminishing
Church and an exhausted clergy. This need for shared responsibility goes beyond
the concept of ‘collaboration’, as there is real concern that, at least in
places, there won’t be any priest to collaborate with if the present trend
continues.”
(St Mary’s parish,
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
The church is a family, and as in
any family, everyone should be as involved as possible in family life, each
according to their particular place in the family. In Catholic teaching, bishops and priests –
assisted by deacons - have a distinctive and irreplaceable role as making
visible the Risen Christ as our shepherd and teacher. But the whole baptised community is the royal
and priestly people of God, and our common dignity and equality is the setting
for the role of ordained ministers. It is therefore essential that lay people
be given every opportunity to play their full part in the life, liturgy and
mission of the church in the diocese, deanery, cluster, parish and smaller
communities, always in accordance with Catholic doctrine and Canon Law.
(1)
A Diocesan Council of Laity will
be established, with one lay representative from each canonical parish. Such a representative will usually be the
lay chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council or its equivalent, or that
person’s delegate. The Council will meet twice a year with the Bishop to
discuss, be consulted on and contribute to the planning of key aspects of the
life and mission of the diocese.
(2)
As and when such a gathering is judged necessary or
useful by the Bishop, in liaison with the
(3)
Occasional diocesan meetings will also
be held of lay people involved in particular aspects of diocesan life (cf.
those already held on youth work, justice and peace, people with disabilities,
marriage and family life). Such
specialist gatherings contribute another dimension to the process of diocesan
consultation.
(4)
There will be a forum or fora for lay
discussion and collaboration within every deanery. This
could be (a) one forum for the whole deanery (especially in urban
deaneries); (b) separate fora for parts of a deanery (for example, in
the Cambridge Deanery, where the Cambridge city parishes, Sawston and Ely might
meet separately from the four parishes of Buckden, Huntingdon, St Ives and St
Neot’s); (c) separate fora in more rural deaneries for clusters of
parishes, although still feeding into a single deanery report of some kind on
issues for discussion.
(5)
Whether or not cluster meetings are opted for above,
all clusters of parishes are strongly encouraged to hold occasional
inter-parish discussions so that lay people can contribute to the development
of the clustering process.
‘There is a need for a forum in each parish
at which people can express their views and put forward ideas, and feel that
their suggestions are being given due consideration. There is also an
occasional need for a more formal mechanism for consultation within the parish’
(OLEM parish,

(6) It is diocesan policy that every parish have an established public forum
of some kind to enable lay consultation and participation in parish pastoral
life and planning. Parishes are left to organise what kind of
arrangement is most appropriate, although this should be decided at an open
meeting of the parish rather than by the clergy alone.
The main
options for such a forum are:
(a) an
established Parish Pastoral Council,
with a constitution and members elected and appointed as agreed.
(b) an
open Parish-in-Council to which everyone is invited. This may require a
Steering group to ensure that agreed recommendations are put into practice.
Any parish
forum should meet at least twice a year, and be chaired by a lay person
who will normally be the parish representative on the Diocesan Council of
Laity.
(7) It may be appropriate for smaller
communities within a parish, especially those now or once centred on a
place of worship (whether or not Sunday Mass is celebrated there), to have
their own forum for supporting their local Catholic community life. Such a local community and its forum
should be fully integrated into the wider life of the parish. It is always the main Parish Pastoral Council
or Parish-in-Council which is to be seen as the primary forum. Local communities could well be
represented formally on any Parish Pastoral Council, or take a full part in any
Parish-in-Council.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

TOGETHER IN PRAYER
Several reports highlighted the danger of becoming so caught
up in structural and practical matters in the diocese and parishes that we fail
to focus on the heart of the matter: our call to grow into an ever-deeper
personal (but never private) relationship with our Lord as members of his
Church, the family of God. Our prayer
and worship are central to this spiritual growth and renewal. We are called to be people of prayer and
people of worship. The story of Martha and Mary in St Luke’s Gospel reminds us
that we should not become so engrossed in ‘activity’ that we lose sight of our
spiritual centre: we need Marthas in every church community, serving with zeal
and enthusiasm, but it was Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to
his word, who had chosen ‘the better
part’ (Luke 10.42).
We could all learn much from words often seen in
Catholic communities in
The suffering of
From this suffering comes
Great Compassion.
Great Compassion makes a
Peaceful Heart.
A Peaceful Heart makes a
Peaceful Person.
A Peaceful Person makes a
Peaceful Family.
A Peaceful Family makes a
Peaceful Community.
A Peaceful Community makes a
Peaceful Nation.
A Peaceful Nation makes a
Peaceful World.
May all beings live in
Happiness and Peace.
Each of us needs to be a prayerful person, as a member of a
prayerful family and a prayerful parish. Any deepening of our prayer life needs
to happen in our families and homes, and in our parishes, but the diocese may
be able to give support in different ways.
No parish can move forward unless its life and work is rooted in prayer.
(1)
The disciples asked Jesus, ‘Teach us to pray.’ Every Catholic community in our diocese
should be a ‘school for prayer’, helping us to pray on our own, with our
friends, in our families and with fellow disciples of Jesus.
(2)
As and when appropriate, the diocese will provide prayer
cards and special liturgies (e.g. those produced for Pentecost 2004).
(3)
Times of prayer should be part of nearly
all sacramental programmes, children’s and adult formation, talks, etc in a
church setting.
(4)
The development of a range of prayer groups is
encouraged, both within a Catholic setting and with other Christians.
Opportunities should be provided to learn different ways of praying, and to try
them out in a supportive environment. These groups should always lead members
back to parish life and liturgy.
(5)
A parish lending library with
carefully-selected books on prayer would be a help to many.
(6)
A prayer intentions board or book at the
back of the church, regularly checked and referred to by the priests and people
as a source of intentions, provides a further focus for prayer.
(7)
Celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours
(especially Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer) is encouraged in parishes,
smaller communities, groups and families.
(8)
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is
strongly encouraged in every parish.
Silent adoration should be the main form of prayer, and adoration should
always be arranged in such a way that it is seen to flow from the Celebration of
Mass and leads us back to it. Every
parish is asked to try to arrange at least one hour of public Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament each week. Longer
periods of Adoration may be possible with a rota of adorers. One great advantage of such adoration is that
the church can be kept open during that time even in those places which are
usually locked.
(9)
As already mentioned, Scripture-reflection groups are
strongly encouraged, especially when the readings for the following Sunday are
read and explored in a setting of prayerful reflection. ‘Welcoming the word of
God’ lies at the heart of our call to welcome the Eternal Word in person into
our lives. As St Jerome said, ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of
Christ.’
(10)
Several parishes already organise days of
reflection, times of quiet and retreats for parishioners. Diocesan events for young people involving
prayer and reflection are already being organised. There is much room for the
development of such events at diocesan, deanery, cluster, parish and community
level.
(11)
We should make full use of the centres of prayer
which already exist in our diocese: the National Shrine at Walsingham, Clare
Priory,
(12)
Pilgrimage is an important part of our life
of prayer. Annual diocesan pilgrimages
already take place to
(13)
Spiritual direction should be encouraged for
lay people. The diocese should build up
a living resource of spiritual directors available for people across the
diocese. Our religious communities may
be in a special position to offer such a ministry. Lay people can also be trained for this
service of accompanying others in their spiritual journey through life.
“Raising the profile of prayer and spirituality for lay people seems to be key”
(individual response)
“The Mass is our greatest
prayer”
(Kings
ababababababababab
LIVING THE SACRAMENTS
By our baptism and confirmation, we are together a priestly
community, above all when we come together to celebrate the Eucharist, the
Sacrifice of the
(1)
“Knowingly”: further education on the meaning
of the liturgy should be central to any diocesan and parish programme of adult
Christian formation.
(2)
“Actively”: we should work towards being as
inclusive as possible regarding the liturgy. No-one should feel excluded, and
all should feel welcome. Active participation is the norm for all. Every parish is encouraged to establish a
Liturgy Committee to contribute to the overall development of liturgy.
(3)
“Fruitfully”: we can do more to celebrate the
liturgy in a way that encourages and inspires people, and allows God’s
transforming love to be at work within the whole community and each
individual. The liturgy is only fully
fruitful if we grow in personal holiness, in love for each other, and in deeper
involvement in the Church’s mission to the world. Mass and mission, worship and witness belong
inextricably together.
“The liturgy actualises salvation, making it
real for every believer and every community of believers which celebrates
it. In the liturgy, Christ, the one who
is living, dying and rising from the dead, is present and active in the
faithful. He fills them with divine life and makes them his people. The liturgy is the act of Christ gathering
his Church, building it up, sanctifying it, revealing it and making it a sign
and instrument for all humanity.”
(General Pastoral Plan for the Holy Land, p. 41)
‘People can be put off church by bad
liturgy. Conversely, people are more
likely to maintain regular Sunday attendance if their experience of the liturgy
is a good one.’
(Diocesan Liturgy Commission)
TOUCHING THE HEART
Liturgy is an encounter with the living God in the midst of
his family, the Church. It should be a deeply personal encounter, renewing and
enriching our relationship with the Lord.
Catholic liturgy should touch the heart of each person
present. The whole human being takes
part in liturgy - body, mind, heart and soul - and there is a long and rich
tradition in the Catholic Church of reaching the invisible inner person through
the visible and tangible: through art and music, sight and sound, through
touch, smell and taste (e.g. laying-on of hands, incense, etc).
Although we must never reduce the experience of God to our
emotions, we should not ignore people’s desire to ‘feel’ something of the
peace, warmth and joy of God’s presence in the liturgy. The disciples came away
from their meeting with the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus saying, ‘Did not
our hearts burn within us?’ If only
everyone could come away from our liturgical celebrations saying the same!
Through both Word and Sacrament the Lord comes to touch and
transform our hearts. True religion is a love relationship with God, a thing of
the ‘heart’ (in the sense of our deepest inner self), and we should try to
celebrate the liturgy in a way that touches the heart. Our liturgy must address
the spiritual hunger and thirst of God’s people. We come together to lift our
hearts to the Father, to be nourished by the Risen Lord who is the Word of God
and the Bread of Life, and to drink of the Living Water that is the Holy
Spirit.
Our parish communities and our liturgy should be the
fountain, the living spring, the well from which people can quench their
spiritual thirst with the joy of salvation.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
RITE OF CHRISTIAN
INITIATION
Becoming and being a Christian is a journey of faith that
takes place within the pilgrim community of the faithful. Indeed, this process
of welcome is sometimes called ‘Journey in Faith’ rather than RCIA.
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the
“exemplar and rule for all Christian initiation” (Bishops of England, Scotland
and Wales, 1988). It is the normative
way for adults to be welcomed through Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion
into the Catholic Church. Such a process
aims to integrate new members into the faith and life of the parish community
and the diocese.
Far from being an imposition aimed at making becoming a
Catholic more difficult, the RCIA or ‘Journey in Faith’ is a positive way of
enriching and deepening the identity of a parish community, and is one of the
special gifts to the Catholic Church of the Second Vatican Council.
Although the RCIA team of the priest and catechists plays a
vital role in this process, the whole Catholic community has a responsibility
to welcome and support those on their journey to initiation or reception. This
needs to be made visible especially in liturgical celebrations. When these
celebrations do not happen, or are reduced to a bare minimum, both the people
being welcomed and the parish community are deprived.
It is diocesan policy that
the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (sometimes called ‘Journey in
Faith’) is the normative process for welcoming unbaptised adults as well as
baptised adults seeking reception into full communion with the Catholic Church.
The Rite allows for flexibility in special circumstances, but every
parish or cluster of parishes should have an RCIA programme in place. This is already well-established in most
parishes in our diocese. Smaller
parishes without such a programme could organise RCIA with neighbouring
parishes, and share resources.
Unless there is a very strong pastoral reason why this
should not be the case, initiation or reception should take place at the Easter
Vigil.
There are four main stages in the process of initiation. How
these are organised will vary from parish to parish depending on the length of
the programme (e.g. one year or two):
(1)
Enquiry: people expressing an interest in
becoming a Catholic explore together what this might mean. In a one-year
programme, such a period might last from the Summer or Autumn until Christmas,
leading to the Rite of Acceptance or Welcome in the parish at the
beginning of January.
(2)
From the Rite of Acceptance, enquirers become either
a Catechumen (if preparing for Baptism) or a Candidate (if a
baptised Christian preparing to be received into full communion with the
Catholic Church). This leads up to the Rite of Election with the Bishop
at the Cathedral on the afternoon of the First Sunday of Lent. Unless there are insuperable practical
difficulties, all Catechumens and Candidates from across the diocese should
attend this celebration with their priests, sponsors, families, friends and
members of their parish communities.
(3)
The period of Lent is for catechumens (known as ‘the
elect’ after the Rite of Election) and candidates a special period of Purification
and Enlightenment, during which they are given more intense spiritual
preparation with the prayerful support of the parish community. For the
catechumens, as full a use as possible should be made of the rites provided
(Scrutinies, presentation of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, etc). This leads
to the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and
Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil. The
newly-initiated with their sponsors and families could be invited to a simple
social event immediately after the vigil (whether just a glass of wine or a
parish party).
(4)
From the Easter Vigil until Pentecost, there follows
the period of Post-Baptismal Catechesis (or Mystagogia) during
which the newly-baptised (neophytes) and the newly-received deepen their
understanding of the mystery of Christ and his Church, and are helped to be
integrated into the daily life, worship, devotions and mission of the
church. The group usually continues to
meet during this time.
BAPTISM
By our baptism, we are immersed into the life of God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and so made new people, delivered
from the power of sin and set on the path to holiness. We are immersed into the mystery of Christ
and his Church, as beloved daughters and sons of the Father in his family, as
sisters and brothers of one another in Christ, and as the living temple of the
Holy Spirit. That is both an awesome
gift of grace from God, and an awesome responsibility for parents to take on
for their children. It is clear that we
can be much better prepared for baptism, much more involved in all baptisms in
our parish communities, and much more committed to welcome the newly-baptised
into the lives of our parish families.
“It is essential that baptism be preceded by
an appropriate preparation, in at least one meeting or more with the family and
godparents…in order to make them aware of the meaning of presenting their child
to be baptised and their responsibility in this. Baptism might even be an
opportunity to revive the grace of baptism in the family, among the godparents
and in the parish”
(General Pastoral Plan for the Holy Land,
p. 44)
“It is also important to include the parish
in this occasion in some way (publishing the names of those being baptised in
the church and offering prayers for them, for their parents and godparents
during the eucharistic celebration on Sunday, celebrating the rite of baptism during
a Sunday Mass) because baptism not only concerns the family and godparents but
also the entire Christian community which receives one of its new members”
(General Pastoral Plan for the Holy Land, p. 44)
Baptism preparation
It is diocesan policy that
every parish provide a full and adequate preparation programme for infant
baptism, and that attendance be required for parents having their first child
baptised, as well as for others when appropriate. Godparents should also attend
when possible.
Baptism is a wonderful opportunity to renew links between
parents and the community of the Church, and it is a missed opportunity if
there is no more than a filling-in of forms and the service itself. Each parish has different resources
available.
(1)
Couples or individuals expecting a baby are
encouraged to come forward for a blessing for pregnancy. This would be a good time to enrol for
baptism preparation.
(2)
The diocese recommends a baptism preparation
course of two or three evenings, or if necessary a longer weekend session,
perhaps made available every few months, and led by lay catechists with
involvement by a priest or deacon. Parents (and godparents when available) of
children being baptised in the coming months meet together. Parishioners could
be available to provide tea and coffee, and look after any children. The
parents should still complete the forms with the priest or deacon so that
personal contact can be made; it is good for the priest or deacon baptising the
child to visit the family in their home before the baptism to go through the
details of the service. In some small
parishes, the course could be led by clergy.
Alternatively clusters of neighbouring parishes could organise
preparation together.
(3)
The course should include discussion of why they want
their child baptised; an understanding of the heart of the meaning of baptism,
as being immersed into the mystery of the life of the Triune God and into the
mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection, and so delivered from original sin,
as well as initiation into the community of the Church as God’s family; and an
understanding of Christian initiation as a journey of gradually deeper
belonging, leading to First Communion, Confirmation and a life-time of active
sharing in the life and mission of the Church.
The Rite itself can be used as a way of leading the parents to an
understanding of its meaning.
(4)
Suitable audio-visual materials can be
effectively used in such a programme.