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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.
Aimed at providing a complete range of skills and services to parishes and other interested parties, the project brings together individuals from a range of backgrounds and experience. Its objective is to offer much needed support to parish priests and pastoral councils coping with challenging times in the Irish Church. It will offer not just the traditional pastoral training for ministry, but will engage communities on issues of financial sustainability and parish management. Shane Halpin, coordinator of the new service said: “This project aims to complement existing diocesan efforts that exist to some degree in each of the 26 dioceses. The benefit of this central national resource is that we can all learn from each other - what has worked, what is possible and more importantly what can be done to renew and invigorate the faith community at a national level. It will also aim to provide easy access for the ordinary parishoner, for example, who may be looking for a particular type of training, short course, public speaker and so on.” On the issue of structure, Halpin said; “PDSP offers a structure flexible enough to be self-sustaining in the medium to long term. As a bonus it should help cut out unnecessary expenditure. It is a win-win for all concerned.” Halpin is keen to stress that the project is working closely with a number of dioceses and pastoral agencies on an informal basis currently and is keen to develop further partnerships with more Irish dioceses, bishops, priests and newly formed pastoral council representatives. On the subject of fees payable, Halpin says that currently it is up to the individual facilitator or consultant to charge his or her fee depending on the piece of work undertaken. He adds that there is a considerable amount of work to be done at all levels and this he believes “is a small step in the direction of answering the call for greater involvement and indeed greater formation for lay people within the Church.” As well highlighting the website as a key resource, PDSP is now hoping to hear from individuals who are currently offering facilitation, training and parish development and who would like to be centrally marketed to all parishes in the country. He adds that there is currently no cost to the consultant to be part of the project's network of affiliates. The website address is www.parishdevelopment.com Shane Halpin holds a masters degree in Pastoral Ministry from All Hallows College, Dublin. He has recently completed a major consultation with the Armagh diocese on clustering rationalisation and new parish ministries and is currently engaged with Trócaire on a pilot programme to engage with pastoral councils during the Lenten period. He is a former public relations consultant, founder and publisher of The Big Issue project in South Africa where he lived for ten years and holds an undergraduate degree in international development. For Further information, contact: Shane Halpin: 086-2437790 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web: www.parishdevelopment.com |
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