The Catholic Parish Today What are some Vital (and some not so vital) Signs?

What is the style of your parish? When you say its name what word comes to mind?

Reflect and share your ideas.  What makes the parish alive, creative, involved, and the very sign of Christ among us?  If “home” is a place worth coming to, how can the evangelization effort to bring people back home to the parish be most effective?

How can we build dynamic parishes of faith?  What do they look like?  Is leadership collaborative (parish staff, pastoral council, ministries)?  What about prayer and faith sharing?  What do we believe? How can we break open the “truths the save?”  How do we experience our rich Catholic traditions?

How can we build dynamic parishes of hope?  What are our sources of hope?  How does the diocesan Vision intersect with our parish life?  Can we find God in our midst? Can we see Christ present among us?  Can we sincerely respond to, “Who do you say I am?”  Are we living as disciples?

How can we build dynamic parishes of love?  Can we help everyone to work at liturgy – so “we celebrate the sanctifying love of God?”  How do we proclaim the gospel (or evangelize) in our parish?  How do we live the gospel (with compassionate outreach)?  Do we want peace, work for justice, build the reign of God?  Do we dialogue with other Christians and non-Christians beyond the parish?

 Let’s listen to the story of a Northern New Jersey parish that is revitalized in recent years!

“Why have a parish at all?” 1 “It’s the place where the expression of our deepest longings are made manifest in communal prayer and worship, in faith enrichment and development, in outreach to the poor and needy, in the call to just and moral behaviors.” 1 Fr. Thomas Sweetser. Keeping the Covenant.

What do the US Bishops say?  “The parish is where the church lives.  Parishes are communities of faith, of action, of hope.  Parishes are where the gospel is proclaimed and celebrated, where believers are formed and sent to renew the earth.  Parishes are the place where God’s people met Jesus in word and sacrament and come in touch with the source of the church’s life.” Communities of Salt and Light November 17, 1993

What does Canon Law say? “A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop.” Canon 515

What does a pope say? “The parish is not principally a structure, a territory, a building. The parish is first of all a community of faithful… that is the task of the parish today; to be a community… Make yourselves builders of communities in which, after the example of the first community, the Word lives and acts.” Pope John Paul II

Some vital signs in parishes  Ministry is shared, collaborative, consultative  Co-responsibility  Sacramental signs point to vitality  Collegial and inter-dependent  All (the baptized) have a variety of gifts  Vision and spirituality  Wide scope  Social justice  Criterion: freedom  Community of smaller communities

Some not so vital signs in parishes  Sole performance by pastor and perhaps staff  An institution, self-contained  Hierarchical, independent  Very few involved in lay ministries  Service stations: in or out  Narrow (inherited) programs  Local charity  Criterion: obedience (all are expected to pay, pray, and obey)  Central headquarters

General styles of parishes today: 2 The “Sherman-Williams” Parish A little of this, a little of that, but not much of anything, - no real sense of mission. One thin coat covers all. 2 William J. Baush. The Total Parish Manual. 23rd Publications, p

The “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome” Parish This parish has many activities but no “center”. Everyone seems to run into one another with overactive, frantic, excitement that will wear you down. Is anyone in charge?

The Factional Family Parish The tone here is polarization. The pastor here is living under Vatican I while the associate pastor espouses the life of church from Vatican II. The people are divided and there is a lot of energy but it is all negative.

The “Nothing – Honey” Parish What’s going on in the parish? You’ve got it! Sacraments with bare-bones effort and ceremony. The staff seems to be dysfunctional.

The Charismatic Parish This is founded on the charismatic pastor who is gifted, exciting, open to new ideas while holding on to the best of the past. The parish is alive with his leadership. The trouble is, he doesn’t build foundations so that when he leaves, the whole enterprise collapses.

The Traditionalist Parish Here people are consumers. The pastor is the dispenser. Many people appreciate maintaining live as it “always was” in the past. There’s not much collaborative ministry shared in this parish.

The Collaborative Parish This style parish engages the talents and gifts of all the parishioners. The pastor declines to do others’ jobs or look over their shoulders. You’ll sense ownership, activity, prayerfulness, outreach, and interdependency. This is a vibrant parish.

What is the style of your parish?  Again, when you say its name what word comes to mind?  What style seem most prevalent?  How can we move toward a greater parish vitality?

What make the parish alive, creative, involved, and the very sign of Christ among us?

If “home” is a place worth coming to, how can the evangelization effort to bring people back home to the parish be most effective?