Archbishop invites reflection on parish and mission

In a message published in WelCom, the newsletter of the Archdiocese of Wellington, Archbishop Martin said a number of parishes in are being asked to reflect on their properties, churches and parish structures.

“It isn’t easy to do this as we are all attached to what we know and love,” the archbishop said.

The archbishop referenced a reflection by Fr Dennis Nacorda of Wairarapa, who attended the Synod on Synodality for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“I think it would be good for all of us to reflect on our situations in the light of this,” Archbishop Martin wrote. 

The reflection noted that the Synod on Synodality’s final document stated that the Church isn’t just a mission, it is mission.

The Synod describes the parish not as a place, but as a community of missionary disciples sent out into a specific territory, the reflection noted. “The document makes it clear that the parish is the vehicle of Christ’s presence in that area.”

The Synod called for three core transformations at parish level. These are moving from maintenance to mission, from passenger to protagonist and from static bureaucracy to agile outreach.

Within each of these transformations, the reflection stated what should happen in terms of “reframing” and “shift”.

Under the latter heading, it was stated that “Success is no longer measured by how full the pews are on Sunday, but by how effectively the parish acts as a leaven in the wider civic community”, and “The parish’s job is to discover, form and activate the unique spiritual gifts (charisms) of its people. A synodal parish is an incubator that prepares the laity to go out into their workplaces, schools and neighbourhoods as missionaries”.

Another “shift” is “If keeping an old administrative framework or an underutilised property drains all the community’s time, money and evangelical energy, a synodal parish has the courage to let it go”.

The reflection also considered what “preserving our comfort” looks like in parishes. It does not mean laziness or luxury. “Usually it looks like nostalgia, habit and emotional safety.” But a parish focused on this sort of “comfort” slowly transforms into a “pious museum”.

Various forms of mission-oriented parish priorities were suggested, such as directing funds and energy to youth ministry, family formation, regional outreach and formation of lay people.

The reflection also advocated setting up structures that don’t “bottleneck the parish priest”, but empower local leadership teams to care for their neighbourhoods.

FULL STORY

WelCom Issue 12 out (Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington)

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