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Resourcing Pastoral Renewal
There are many wonderful resources available in the area of pastoral renewal. Each month we provide information and reviews of useful resources.
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 This excellent, down to earth and practical book is a recommended resource for personal spiritual growth and small group reflection. The topic is on issues of forgiveness and reconciliation and builds on two previous publications, “Design for Wholeness” and “Building Community”.
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New Online Initiative to Provide Resources for Parishes Nationwide |
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As the challenge to engage lay people in ministry continues to evoke thoughts of 'more action and less talk,' Shane Halpin, former graduate of All Hallows college in Dublin, has set the ball rolling with an online service for resourcing parish training, renewal and development throughout the country. Called PDSP, standing for Parish Development and Support Programme, the web-based project is a concept which is based loosely on the United State's national pastoral agency. |
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Evangelisation as the purpse of the parish community |
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The business associates at the adjacent table at the Chinese restaurant in Dundalk were hard to ignore, so loud were their voices as they spoke to each other. I remember little of what they said, but the little I do remember has stayed with me ever since. In his unmistakable American accent one of them proclaimed, "We have to evangelise!" What interested me was that he was using a religious word in a business context. What struck me was that he spoke about evangelisation with great passion and enthusiasm.
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Dear parishioners - letter 1 |
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Dean Colum Curry, parish priest of Dungannon, has been preparing his parishioners for the formation of a parish pastoral council. A gathering for the whole parish will be held on Tuesday 16th January. As part of the preparatory work he has been publishing some of his reflections on parish pastoral councils in the parish bulletin and has kindly shared them with us and therefore with you. The first of five is available here. The others will be available over the next four weeks.
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Dear parishioners - letter 2 |
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Dear Parishioners,
Last week I suggested that in the coming weeks we might use the Parish Bulletin to explore some thoughts in relation to the purpose and merits of a Parish Pastoral Council.
As a backdrop to that, I would like to offer a quotation from a very insightful book "Secularism and the New Europe", written by Bishop Donal Murray and first published by Veritas in 1990. In this book he refers to the challenges of living in a society that has little reference to anything spiritual and where there is a common perception that we don't need God anymore.
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Dear Parishioners - letter 3 |
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Dear Parishioners,
Continuing our reflections on the distinctive nature of a Parish Pastoral Council, we must always acknowledge and respect the tremendous work of many existing groups, committees, bodies and organisations that come under the Parish umbrella. Many of these are long established, others are more recent; all of them make a unique contribution to the pastoral, social and spiritual welfare of the parish. We thank God for the generosity of all such people who give of their time and their talents and we pray that the Lord will honour their fidelity and commitment. While a Parish Pastoral Council can compliment their work and liaise with them, it must never be seen to replace or undermine their specific purpose.
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Dear Parishioners - letter 4 |
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Dear Parishioners,
From what we have been saying over the past few weeks about Parish and Parish Pastoral Councils, I hope it is becoming clear that we are proposing a specific model of Church. In keeping with the mind of the 2nd Vatican Council, the Church should be seen as a community of the baptised. The word community implies equality and shared responsibility as we endeavour to be disciple of Jesus Christ and live according to the values of his Gospel.
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Dear Parishioners - letter 5 |
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Dear Parishioners,
I would like to thank those who attended the meeting on Tuesday night when Mr John Colgan from Newcastle gave a very comprehensive presentation on the background and development of Parish Pastoral Councils {PPC} and the important role of each baptised person in the local community. He described a PPC as a small group of people “drawn from the parish” who will work together in close co-operation with their priests by “praying, reflecting and planning together”. He suggested that time spent together at the outset in formation and training is a prerequisite for such a group.
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Volunteerism in the Archdiocese of Armagh |
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The government taskforce on active citizenship recently carried out a national survey on volunteerism. In conjunction with this work Fr Harry Bohen, on behalf of the taskforce, contacted Archbishop Brady asking him three questions with regard to volunteerism. Archbishop Brady asked me to respond on his behalf. Here is what I sent to Fr Bohen having surveyed a variety of people working in different roles in the diocese.
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 Think Big Act Small: Working at Collaborative Ministry through Parish Pastoral Councils is a really useful book on the practical working out of collaborative ministry through parish pastoral councils. The work itself is an example of what can be achieved through the collaborative process.
Written by Johnny Doherty CSsR, Oliver Crilly, Frank Dolaghan and Paddi Curran the book traces the process that began with a parish mission and lead to the establishment of a parish pastoral council by way of a parish survey and a parish assembly.
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What does it mean to be a Catholic? |
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 Breda O'Brien, lecturer and columnist for the Irish Times, was the keynote speaker at the Developing Parish Seminar at All Hallows, Dublin in February 2006. We are delighted to be able to make her address available to you.
Seamus Dooley of the National Union of Journalists once told me cheerfully that it took a monumental ego to be an opinion columnist. How could anyone possibly believe that they had something of value to say on a wide range of topics, fifty times a year for years on end? I am beginning to believe that it must have required a monumental ego to cheerfully accept an invitation to address the question, "What does it mean to be a Catholic?"
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A Handbook for Parish Pastoral Councils |
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 Jane Ferguson has worked in pastoral development in Ireland, England and beyond over many years and shares her extensive experience in this handbook. It is a wonderful resource for parishes that are beginning on the process of setting up Parish Pastoral Council for the first time and for Pastoral Councils that want to reflect on how they are doing and want to refresh themselves.
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Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church |
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 This year marks a great opportunity for Catholics all over the world to deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ as we celebrate, reflect on and enter into the sacred mystery of the sacrament of his body and blood. The late John Paul II demonstrating his own personal dedication to the sacrament to which he had given his life inaugurated the Year of the Eucharist. In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharista, 2004 he reminded the faithful that "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist…Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with confident hope." (Ecclesia de Eucharista § 1)
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Do This in Memory: A Parish Based Programme for First Eucharist |
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Do This in Memory is a resource for parish communities to help them in their preparation for First Communion. It complements the school –based work and takes place outside the classroom in the context of the parish Sunday Eucharist. It is continued in the home through the use of activities and resources for both parents/guardians and children.
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Parish 
Drumcree Parish, Portadown adopted a Come Back to Mass Sunday. Here Fr Michael O'Dwyer PP give some of the background to the initiative.