Formation visit focuses on Church’s evangelising mission

Daniel Ang, director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, addressed bishops, diocesan staff, pastoral leaders and Catholic organisational leaders on June 16.

Writing on LinkedIn, Mr Ang said that “together, we reflected on what it means for evangelisation to become not just an activity among many, but the organising principle of diocesan and parish life – shaping how we lead, how we form others, how we support one another and how we steward the resources entrusted to us”.

“I returned again to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), where Jesus warns against fearful inaction,” Mr Ang said.

“In an age of uncertainty and change, it can be tempting – even understandable – for the Church to hold back, to protect rather than to invest. But the Gospel calls us to something more: not merely to preserve what we’ve been given, but to risk, to multiply, to act in faith for the sake of the Kingdom.”

Mr Ang added that “we also wrestled with the deep cultural shifts shaping our context, from Christendom to a more secular age, and what this means for how we plan, lead and structure our communities”.

“As we have experienced in [the] Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation these past years, structures are not the mission, but when they are living and responsive, they can serve it well – like fresh wineskins capable of holding and carrying the vitality of the Gospel.”

Mr Ang said that what moved him most about the Palmerston North gathering “was the spirit of openness and courage among those present – a shared desire not simply to maintain what has always been, but to rediscover the Church’s deepest ‘why’ and respond to it with hope”.

A Central Catholic Facebook post noted that “powerful insights” were shared “on how we can prioritise mission and evangelisation in the Church today”. Mr Ang’s “passion for parish renewal, leadership development and forming faith-filled disciples deeply resonated with all present”, the post stated.

Emily Sit, director of mission and evangelisation at Palmerston North Diocese, said the formation day was aimed at “creating space for diocesan leaders in New Zealand to reflect, reimagine and realign their leadership in service of mission. We need to share more openly, deepen trust and our reliance on the Holy Spirit who convicts of the urgency of evangelisation as a priority for the Catholic Church here in Aotearoa as elsewhere”.

The Catholic Weekly reported that, during his visit to Aotearoa New Zealand, Mr Ang visited New Plymouth’s Catholic parish.

A June 17 evening talk with key leaders looked at the character and implications of servant leadership, and the following morning a breakfast talk examined the need for culture, clarity and conversion in local communities, stressing that the experience of growing parishes is that renewal requires more than tactical shifts.  

At an afternoon talk, the conversation delved into the need for ministry teams to reconnect with the deeper meaning behind their work. This was followed by a public parish mission night, at which parishioners, leaders and guests gathered for a keynote titled “Evangelisation: It’s Not What You Think.”

The next day, Mr Ang met with parish pastoral council members in New Plymouth over breakfast for a session titled “Mission at the Centre”.

FULL STORY

Day of formation in Palmerston North (By Daniel Ang/LinkedIn – sign in required)

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A movement of renewal grows across New Zealand | The Catholic Weekly (The Catholic Weekly)