KOINONIA

Koinonia is about knowing, loving and serving – God and each other

Communion is community in action

All we do is for the glory of God

A community needs to be both active and contemplative

Koinonia is both vision and process

Church is a sacrament and not an end in itself

Church is a sign and instrument of the kingdom ‘...only the kingdom is absolute...’ Paul VI

Koinonia, Mission and Evangelisation are intimately connected

Sacraments involve everyone and are central to our lives as Catholics

Koinonia difficult when so many ‘squeeze’ Mass into their weekend

Need to recognise that Sunday has changed for many – often a day of work or shopping with the family
 

Commitment to weekly Mass as an obligation has changed for many too

Acts 2:42 is fundamental to our understanding of Communion

As we receive Holy Communion, we need to celebrate communion with Christ and each other

Must acknowledge negative factors as well as positive

Communion is sharing the sacred

Community is sharing social activities and events

For Koinonia to exist we need to develop a sense of ownership / belonging – a sense of community

We live in a society where we are conditioned towards individualism

LITURGY

The Mass is at the centre of our lives in community

Fostering a love and passion for the Eucharist is central for formation and community

Need more formation on what the Mass is – reconnect with rich symbolism

Mass is about praise and sacrifice

We have too many Masses

Need to understand what we mean by ‘good’ liturgy

How do we ensure involvement / participation?

Preaching must connect to real life

Need to avoid long, boring,  mind-numbing sermons

Singing is a much neglected ministry

Children’s Liturgy of the Word very important

Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist take Holy Communion to the sick and housebound – they are sent with love from the gathered assembly
 

Priests are often so busy that celebrating the Eucharist can seem as just one duty among many – but priests also need the Eucharist. We should prepare carefully for the celebration of the sacraments as the way to revive and enliven the Church.

Need to reach young people through Christian music
 

PRAYER

Through everything we need an emphasis on prayer

Prayer is at the heart of all community

Need to encourage spiritual dimension to decision making – not just about maintenance

Concern about the prayer life of individuals and community

Parishes should be schools of prayer

Rosary and Benediction still have their place

Need to consider renewal of sacrament of Penance

House groups support prayer life
 

WELCOME

The whole area of Welcome needs developing

Need to be inclusive

Clergy need to feel welcomed by parishioners too – a smile instead of a frown would be welcomed sometimes

Baptism and other sacraments are opportunities to welcome people back

Social events help to get to know one another and give sense of community

We can come across as unwelcoming to those who are divorced / remarried / living together – many of whom are parents in long standing relationships
 

CHURCH

Church has moved from a ‘Fortress’ mentality to celebrating diversity, being inclusive and part of the local community - it is the Church in the world

Different ecclesiologies can be obstructive

Need to be a listening and a hearing Church

Need to encourage devotion to Mary as a very important model for the Church

There is a gap between the official Church and real life
 

CLERGY

Clergy need to feel confident about the future

A call for clergy to look at themselves – in danger of becoming demoralised, isolated and defensive – need to affirm and support one another

Without a priest there is no parish

Clarify and strengthen the role of the deacon

Deacons could have a clear role in reaching those on the margins

Some clergy miss opportunities to meet together – meeting together is important for a shared sense of ministry

Leadership style of a parish priest can get in the way of community development especially at handovers

We need to preach the Gospel more positively

Administration gets in the way – it over burdens us

Hand admin. over to qualified lay people –finance for this?

We’re often too busy with the wrong things

Clergy are very busy and must be allowed to set priorities
 

LAITY

Need to discern and engage gifts of all

Our parishes are resourced with committed, gifted laity we need to enable them to use their gifts

Over the years there has been a change of culture that says that being a Catholic is more than attending Mass and ‘helping’ Father

We need to encourage a culture of people working with us not for us.

Need to develop a model of collaborative leadership

The priest is the leader of the parish community – need to define this leadership

We need to formally recognise roles and responsibilities

Celebrate the work that is done by the quiet workers too

A shared vision for the community is needed

We need to encourage participation and enable a sense of vocation in the laity

Discernment needed in selecting lay leaders

Need training for lay leadership e.g. youth ministry

Need to consider paid posts

Our parishes have core of generous and committed people – only the same people ‘help’ – a small percentage – need to avoid overloading the willing

We must recognise that the people are the Church not clerics

Groups in the parish could work more effectively together

Clergy must recognise that lay apostolate is not to be found primarily in the parish – it is also in the family, the work place and society at large – we must support them in this
 

SCHOOLS

Stronger parish / school links needed

Children and schools are opportunities for community development

Children should be treated as individuals
 

CHALLENGES

 
The challenge of individualism, secularism, consumerism, relativism and the pursuit of happiness

Apathy – ‘we’re too busy’

Lack of loyalty to a community

Separate communities around each ‘Mass Time’

People seem to be working all the hours God gave them and have precious little time for their own family let alone parish

We need good quality catechesis for all

How to maintain Catholicity with diversity

Are we losing a sense of the sacred?

Allowing and empowering the laity

Lack of knowledge / formation

Lack of confidence on part of laity

Remembering to consider the less vocal

Isolation of rural parishes

Transport to Mass and other parish / deanery activities

Different models of church and views on liturgy can confuse

The challenge is to offer hope in difficult times

Finding finances for changes

Narrow minded, touchy people who obstruct others

Are people using Child Protection procedures as an excuse not to participate / lead / organise?

How to support the spiritual nourishment in our homes and families

Humane Vitae – an inability to talk about sex, broken and second marriages and sex outside the married state.

Breakdown of marriages

Attitude of soap operas

Immaturity of faith
 

Mixed messages – women are welcome... up to a point

Engaging with young people

Failure to develop collaborative ministry effectively

Ecumenism – all should be involved
 

FORMATION

Good quality formation needed

-         What community is

-         What the Church is for

-         Opportunities to grow in faith – CaFE etc

-         For elderly, young, sick, refugees, special needs

-         Based on the new Catechism of the Catholic Church

Christian Education Centre need to be more available at deanery level

Small group network in parishes can aid formation

Finance will be needed if deanery level catechetical leaders/

co-ordinators are appointed

Courses could be run across several parishes / deanery
 

DIOCESE

 
Ad Clerum communication vital for all clergy

People often don’t know what diocese they are in

Shape and size of the diocese is a challenge – as is urban / rural dimension

Sense of diocese maintained through diocesan Masses and celebrations – Wedding Anniversaries, Rite of Election, Chrism Mass etc

Could we have group Confirmations at the cathedral?

Area bishops can get to know parishes and clergy but do they distance us from head of diocese?

Deacons are not as included as well as priests

Diocesan Agencies need to reviewed in the light of an emphasis on Koinonia

Diocesan Agencies are too small for the size of the diocese
 

DEANERY

 
People don’t feel that they belong to a deanery

Need to develop a deanery identity

The deanery is good for clergy to get to know each other and work together – mutual support is very important

The Deanery Pastoral Council is attended by sincere people but something more is needed for deanery parishes to collaborate and co-operate more effectively.

A deanery newsletter, Deanery Masses would aid sense of community

Clergy already overworked so often deanery initiatives falter

What’s the deanery for and why support it?

What do bishops expect from deanery?

Need a shared concern for the deanery to come together

A deanery Confirmation ceremony?

Need to overcome compartmentalisation in parish and deanery
 

PARISH

Parishes are structures that enable

Parish Pastoral Councils / Teams are effective when members all work together

Parish should encourage lay groups

Parish provides opportunities to serve needy, sick, elderly, young etc
 

RESOURCES

We are blessed with many resources

-         Priests

-         People

-         PPC / Teams

-         School Heads and teachers

-         Chaplaincies

-         Catechists

-         Religious

-         Retired priests
 

Additional notes

 
What can we learn from Evangelical Churches and models of church abroad?

Need to explain our culture of church to those from overseas so that they could be more comfortable e.g. that we do talk in church before and after Mass

Listening 2004 identified that the Church was not seen as listening – a lot of time and effort went into that process – to what effect?

Are we still excluding people?
 

PRAYER AND SPIRITUALITY

Need to be rooted in the Holy Spirit

Where and how do we offer enriching prayer experiences?

Need to build prayerful and prayer-filled communities

Need to reconnect with principles of the early church – see Acts

Profound interior renewal is needed

Do we provide opportunities for people to access the love of God in our parishes?

Dismissal at Mass is a call to action

Need to develop the visible holiness of the Church

Parish missions and retreats welcome all
 

Sacramental celebrations, funerals and major feasts offer real opportunities for meeting people on the edges and beyond

Families are central to mission and evangelisation

-         Support parents as first educators

-         Encourage simple prayer practices at home

-         Encourage a Sacred Space at home

Church needs to be more pro-family

Offer more support where one spouse is not Catholic

Need to aim at self-development under the guidance of the Holy Spirit which in turn will lead to recognising the Holy Spirit in the life of others. This recognition will prevent the danger of not recognising or using the charisms of the Holy Spirit
 

EVANGELISATION

Evangelisation is ‘...the fundamental task of the Church...’ Ad Gentes

Generally our Church is not an evangelising presence in this country

Church structures not oriented towards evangelisation but to maintaining what we have

We witness by example

Laity witness at work and in society at large

Should not only encourage laity to take on more ‘clerical roles’ and ‘church work’ but also live their vocation in the world

How eager are people to evangelise?

All in community can be involved in mission

Need to express the love and presence of God

Message = The commandments are life giving

Evangelisation is an ongoing task for all generations

Evangelisation is sense of joy in Spirit filled New Testament Church 
 

St Francis – ‘...preach the gospel at all times and where necessary use words...’

St Teresa – ‘... Christ has no body now but yours...’

We need to respond rapidly to requests for baptism and entering the Church

We need to show our humanity and friendship – get out of the office!

We are instruments for evangelisation – leaven in the dough
 

OTHER DENOMINATIONS & FAITHS

Reaching out and offering friendship very important

Many priests and laity interested in promoting greater understanding and are active in groups such as

-         3 Faiths Forum

-         Council for Christians and Jews

-         Wimbledon Inter-Faith

Priests and parishioners can be active on local councils in their events, groups and committees

There is little awareness of any dialogue in some areas

We could pray together and visit places of worship

Opportunities not activated in some parishes

We could share facilities

Reach out in times of stress or trial to other faiths e.g. removing graffiti on Moses Montefiore Synagogue

Silent prayer could be a way of attendees praying together

Priests could encourage participation

Attend fraternal minister meetings

Do what we can together

Can be easier to get together with those of no faith – sometimes other faiths often just want to tell us how wrong we are

 We can stand together with other denominations and faiths against secularism and for the family and clear moral and social teaching
 

SOCIETY

There can be a perception of implicit ‘badness’ in institutional religion

Secularisation is not neutral – it is anti-Christian

Need to be wary of being ‘lumped’ into the ‘something spiritual’ group and losing our identity as Catholics

Walks of Witness are often routed down back streets

Secular marketing - sell first themselves, then the product, then the company – we often seem to do this in reverse
 

WELCOME

Inclusion is vital for community and mission

Develop a sense of belonging

Celebrate diversity and be inclusive

Celebrate the multi-cultural diversity of parish life

Use inclusive language in Mass

Reach out to immigrants

Message = all are valued and included

Social activities very important

Discourage cliques

Engagement and integration of so many is a challenge

Offer parish facilities to wider community

If we cater for everybody are we in danger of catering for nobody?

Single people often left out

Everyone is welcome but they must respect the values of communion in liturgy and teaching
 

SCHOOLS

Have a really important role in outreach to others

Many non-RC parents attracted and involved

Need to encourage recognition that schools are centres of involvement in and with the community

They are centres for faith formation in partnership with home and parish

Some concern that not always sure of the content of the faith formation taught in our schools

Review content of faith taught in schools and re-establish connection between content of faith and object of faith

New Catechism should be the basis so that there is a clear vision of Christ and his Church proclaimed

How successful are our Catholic schools in encouraging attendance at Mass and involvement in their parish?

Need a priestly, pastoral presence in schools

Schools can have a very wide catchment area which can make contact and sense of local community with young people difficult

Have a wealth of experience of including other cultures, traditions etc
 

YOUNG PEOPLE

 
There is some excellent work by priests and catechists in sacramental programmes

Some parishes have lively youth groups

A parish has employed a youth worker

Recreational activities in parish are not up to the standard required or expected

Parish youth work presents challenges

We need our own Youth Ministry as a Church

One deanery looking forward to SCYS working with them soon

Could a deanery support a paid youth worker?
 

FORMATION

Formation needed to give people confidence in their gifts

Small groups can help to give confidence

Formation can help move people from a reluctance to a readiness to share faith

Needs to be formation for mission and evangelisation as well as catechesis

Church teaching on exclusion from Communion – too many think that they are excluded

Need to be more formation on justice and peace issues
 

THOSE IN NEED

Social teaching of the Church is not an add on extra

Charity work done by the Church has gradually been taken over by the state and requires a high professional standard – we could encourage laity to be involved in voluntary sector organisations

A lot is happening but not universally  - don’t need to reinvent just breathe life into existing structures

Catholic parishes are active in their local communities through activities such as

-         SVP                              - Legion of Mary

-         FISH                             - Manna Centre

-         Offering financial support

-         Vineyard Lunch            - Refugee Centres

-         Inter-faith Youth Project

-         Churches Together      - Pilsdon Community

-     Prison visitations

Catholic parishes are involved nationally and internationally through

-         CAFOD                         - Pax Christi

-         SPUC                            - CIIR

-         Progressio                    - Fairtrade

-     J&P Groups

There is still some ignorance on sanctity of life issues

As Mother Theresa said – we are not social workers – our mission is to bring Gospel to others through our actions
 

Additional notes

 
It is important for priests to be among the people and share their lives not simply provide a service. We need to find ways to facilitate interaction – it is a challenge to minister to people who are so busy

Priests are in need of greater confidence and this can be gained through closer intimacy with Christ. Unless we are men of communion we will not be able to provide a place of true communion for all.

Need to support our chaplaincies in hospitals, prisons, colleges and universities

We need to be stewards of creation and more involved in environmental activities

We need to focus on mission to renew identity of the Church

Our mission is to transform the world with Gospel values

Need to celebrate what is distinctive and what is unifying e.g. praying the Lord’s prayer in different languages at Pentecost

Q2 above excluded but should have included divorced, women and homosexuals

Need to highlight the ministry of women

Parishes can encourage new movements but be careful they don’t become elite institutions

Admin gets in the way of mission

Needs to be spiritual dimension to stewardship

How will we put all this into practice – priests are not really overworked but overwhelmed

Clarity needed on correct theological understanding of the ministerial priesthood and common priesthood of all Christians

Lots of great ideas but what will ultimately come out of this process?
 

HOPES

 
Not a time of crisis but of new growth, a new spring time – a wonderful opportunity to implement Vatican II

Considerable hope that parishes will become vibrant and holy schools of prayer through this Towards a Vision process

Early church didn’t know what was going to happen to them – one thing clear they were firmly rooted in prayer and fellowship

Young families are always a sign of hope

Clear signs, through the power of the Holy Spirit, of growth in faith and in communion with Christ and his Church – the clear vision, teaching and universal nature of the Catholic Church is reaching many

Hope that this process will empower laity

Hope that there will be goodwill throughout this process

Hope that more will step forward for ministry

Hope that Lay leadership will evolve from this process – but clergy must handover to people - let go!
 

FEARS

Exhaustion – too many demands already

Too much upheaval - many clergy are at a time in their life when they want to slow down

That any changes will be piecemeal – reactive

Unrealistic expectations of parish communities

About how the future vision will unfold – what will happen to all the responses?

A fear that nothing will happen

Only fearful of the future because we’re living in the past – highlighted by Vatican II documents being ignored

Fewer hospital and university chaplains

Trained lay people are invaluable but will they get quality access to the sick?
 

SPIRITUALITY

Deanery retreats would encourage people to work and pray together

Could we use SCYS facilities for scripture study too?

Baptism preparation needs integration into the community

Reconciliation is still an isolated sacrament and needs much catechesis

Could we establish a centre for all our students? Perhaps a university church?

New movements such as Youth 2000 and Neo-Catechumenate add to choice for spiritual development

Parishes need to be places where people are spiritually fed so the liturgy and music need to be right
 

PRINCIPLES

Subsidiarity

Collaboration

Co-operation

Co-ordination

Respect for Canon Law
 

MASSES

 
Number of Masses in deanery needs to be reviewed especially for Sundays

A system for deanery priests celebrating Mass in different deanery churches would promote a wider sense of community for both priest and people

Need a systematic look at the size of church buildings

We have too many churches – closures will be necessary

Suggestions

-         No priest to celebrate 2 vigil Masses as his normal commitment

-         No priest to celebrate 3 Sunday Masses as his normal commitment

-         During Holy Week – one priest one service per day

-         Look again at Chrism Mass and hold earlier in the week

Any change of local Mass times should be sanctioned from on high
 

CLERGY

 
Role of clergy with emphasis on Eucharist and preaching needs clarification and development in an emerging new clergy / laity relationship

Re appointment of priests to parishes – there should be some form of consultation developed for parishes to ensure continuity of life and mission – or at very least some form of a more structured ‘handover’

During interregnums – deanery priests to ‘cover’ until proper conversations have been had and avoid too hasty an appointment

Assistant priests could be appointed to a deanery with specific tasks assigned

Clergy will have to learn to delegate – trust parishioners to do what they have authorised them to do – this is a different change of emphasis for some parish priests

Proper attention needs to be given to our accommodation and not rush to compulsory sharing of houses

Need greater support and use of our deacons

Chaplaincies do a wonderful job and need to be maintained – lay ministry could be expanded here 
 

Ethnic Chaplaincies could be further integrated into parish life

Need to define the roles of priest / deacon / laity

It should be remembered that priests serve the parish and not vice versa

Priests need to live in and as part of community
 

LAITY

Many gifts and sense of commitment are untapped resource for parishes

Increasing awareness of the importance of role of laity

Early retired people are a great resource

Effective PPC essential to manage change and developments

Need to give lay leaders responsibility

Greater use of  Lay Administrators and Lay Assistants needs to be explored

Approaching laity often difficult as they seem stressed and overstretched already

There is a reticence to commit

Only a certain number are willing

Multiplicity of appeals especially financial can put a burden on parishes and people
 

FORMATION

Formation a high priority and need to be of a high quality

Needs to be a well funded diocesan strategy

Training needed for priests to manage ‘all this’

Need well trained catechists for all levels to ensure Catholic teaching taught correctly

CEC courses not just at Tooting Bec but in parish clusters too

Deanery parishes to come together for programmes

Larger parishes often fund formation – smaller ones can’t afford to

Selection of appropriate people for formation courses essential
 

SCHOOLS

Time to have a conversation about the contribution of our schools?

Look at pastoral provision offered by schools

Need to maintain pastoral provision in our schools, colleges and universities – need a focus on chaplaincies

Schools are a wonderful resource for faith formation

Schools have facilities to share

Need to be careful that popular schools do not become a law unto themselves
 

COLLABORATION WHERE NO RESIDENT PRIEST

Need to reduce, re-organise, rationalise weekday and Sunday Masses

Deanery zones could help here

Do we need to reshape / resize our deaneries?

Masses need to be at least 1½ hours apart to allow for cover

When reorganise make provision for sickness and holidays – have some slack in the system
 

There is always such an enormous fuss when a Mass time is changed

Laity need to be consulted, listened to, encouraged, trained and empowered

Every attempt should be made to ask the community what it wants to do

Mass community needs to be prepared for absence of a resident priest

Mass communities must not be seen as an add on but an integral part of community

Deanery based paid catechetical team / co-ordinator

Deanery RCIA Centres

It needs to be recognised that it is ‘all the Baptised’ who are the greatest resource, not just the clergy

Collaboration is the only way forward

Sacramental programmes can be shared

Foster a network of sharing

Older and younger parishioners need to collaborate

If a community is without a priest or a Mass what’s left?

Fewer Masses will lead to fuller churches

Return to ‘daughter’ ‘Mother’ church model

PPC needs to be stronger

Need to share delegation and responsibility

Could there be a co-ordinating pastor to work with several clergy?

Clustering does not always work – look at experiences in other countries
 

ADMINISTRATION

AND MAINTENANCE

 
Release priests to be priests

What costs to parish to do achieve the above?

Priests feel overburdened by admin

Fewer priests seems to mean more admin

Deanery level of administration needs investigating

Possible need for paid workers at deanery level

Financial implications are huge – laity require training, formation and fair remuneration

Need to ‘unearth’ local experts including trades

Diocese to have a facilitator to oversee buildings

Could empty Mass centres become centres for deacons or religious to work from?
 

VOCATIONS

Need to actively promote vocations to the priesthood

Priesthood need to be presented in a positive way

-         It is a calling to follow Christ and

-         It is a professional way of life

Priesthood  is normal, ordinary and full of beauty and credibility

What is each parish doing to promote vocations?

Schools and university chaplains could promote vocations more

Parents need to encourage vocations too

Work of the Vocations Team in the diocese is to be commended and should be supported more

Need to invite priests from overseas – some Polish priests have been invited but declined invitation

Vocations from overseas often a very positive experience for parishes

Some seminaries overseas cannot take all they wish to train – could some train here in exchange for a period of time in our parishes?
 

Give post-confirmation young people greater opportunities for service and faith experience e.g. World Youth Day that could lead to vocation

Encourage more men to come forward to the diaconate

Must recognise that you no longer need to be a priest or religious to be seriously involved as a Christian
 

FINANCE

Money needs to be set aside at the outset for

-         Training and formation of catechists

-         Spiritual development of all

Finance difficulties can paralyse or enliven a parish

Guidelines on appropriate contributions could be published by diocese

Finances can be difficult when small parish congregations dwindle, people go to Mass of convenience or elsewhere when Mass times are changed this can lead to a threat of closure
 

Additional notes

Priests and parishes need to ‘loosen up’ and support each other pastorally and personally

Need to distinguish between people as Church and buildings

Need to understand that pain as well as joy is experienced when changes are made

We need to ask the fundamental question – What is a parish for? Many of us have inherited a model from the days when Catholics lived in ghettos and relied on their church and school.

A radical approach is needed to bring Church in touch with modern reality

There are 7000 Mass attendees in our deanery – there are challenges and difficult decisions but it must be done

Diocese could look at effective models and good practice in the American Church 
 

Need an informed discussion about

-    Married priests
-    Role of women
-    Deaconesses

Consideration needs to be given regarding parishes that are run by religious communities

Impact of Housing Policy on parish planning is an ingredient too – e.g. the Aylesbury and Heygate Estates are being converted to 70% one bedroom dwellings

‘Aspiring parents’ move out of areas to get children into schools of choice

We are over supplied with church buildings

Some churches will close  - but we must be careful that we don’t encourage participation to build up communities and then break them up

Bishop in Kent is necessary

Needs to be special provision made for multi-cultural issues and multi-lingual issues