CALLED TO BE CHURCH
ON
SECOND TIME TO CONTINUE
DISCERNING HOW BEST TO INVIGORATE THE
CHURCH. THE TOPIC THIS MONTH WAS “SHARING THE GOOD
NEWS: EVANGELIZATION.” A SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION
FOLLOWS.
Final thoughts on Last Month’s Topic
The
small groups shared many ideas, such as the replication of outreach services
and the fact that we have more Liturgies than are needed.
Topic for February: Sharing the
Good News: Evangelization
Small Group
Discussions
Sharing impressions of the word ʻevangelization’
before reading the material in preparation for the meeting revealed notions
such as models
suggested
by the media, spreading the Word by preaching and teaching, and missionary
work.
After reading “An Introduction to Catholic
Evangelization,” participants shared their expanded views which included such
ideas as remembering
that
evangelization begins at home within the family; our lives evangelize by what
we say and what we do; reading and praying more to deepen our
spirituality;
tolerance towards those of other faiths; being enthusiastic about the mission;
and commitment to the community.
Large Group Discussion
The newer understanding of evangelization
means that everyone
(each baptized person) is responsible for evangelizing. Pastoral Planning
must
be concerned with evangelization because it is at the heart of the mission of
the church. In planning the people must
become more outward
looking,
seeing beyond traditional parish boundaries; work together to meet the needs of
the community, showing God’s love in action; become open
to
differing viewpoints and ideas; and becoming non-judgmental and accepting of
difference, so that everyone is welcome.
Pastoral planning calls
for
a seamless presentation, rather than a parish-by-parish endeavor.
This is a time for involvement, there is
no room for passivity.
Good leadership skills needed to foster cooperation:
listening skills, recognizing common goals, acceptance of divergent ideas,
and becoming sensitive to others’ needs.
Means of achieving a more evangelizing
church: praying together, especially
praying for openness, sharing resources, and reflecting
a “we” rather than individual parishes.
If evangelization is at
the heart of the mission, how can it become a “lens” to view everything?
All Catholics would evangelize wherever
they go, by their words and actions.
Evangelization would be a frequently recurring theme.
Two notable changes would
occur as a result of taking responsibility for evangelization:
Parochialism would disappear and all would
see themselves as a servant community, carrying out the mission of Jesus.
GOALS
OF EVANGELIZATION
Goal I: To bring
about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their
faith in Jesus, they freely
share it with others.
Local
planning groups and parishes are already carrying out this goal:
● Faith sharing groups
● Involvement in faith based groups outside the
church
● Laity witnessing to the Word
● Service opportunities
To
better fulfill these goals, we can
● Be more welcoming and less judgmental
● Emphasize our commonalities
● Celebrations within the church (photos,
newsletters, etc.)
● Collaborate more
Choral
groups
Collective
RCIA
Collective
outreach—food pantries
Goal II: To invite
all people in the
salvation in Jesus Christ so that they may come to join us in the
fullness of the Catholic faith.
The
population of our faith communities is changing in many ways:
● A larger aging population
● Movement to the suburbs
● More ethnic diversity
● Faith has less priority today; therefore less
participation
● Fewer traditional families
Our
local community should be reaching out to:
● Families with children
● Youth
● The elderly, sick, and homebound
● Inactive Catholics
Concrete
ways to invite these persons into our faith community:
● Intergenerational faith formation
● Change the way we presently evangelize
● Direct invitation of inactive Catholics
● Hold open houses
● “Welcome wagon” packets for newcomers
● Keep in touch with newlyweds and new parents
● Update liturgies to appeal to youth
● Relevant homilies
Goal III: To foster Gospel values in our society,
promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the
family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may
continue to be transformed by the
saving power of Jesus Christ.
Some
of the material needs we recognize in our local community are:
● Reaching out to immigrants
● Assisting the elderly and infirm
● Involving young people in their faith
● Helping the poor
● Educate entire community about local needs
and treasurers and resources available
We
can tap into our church, ecumenical and community resources to find guidance
for responding in service to the needs
of
the community by:
● Pooling the church community’s resources
● Senior outreach programs
● Using the larger diocese to help pool
resources of individual parishes
● Reach out to civic groups and local
government
Concrete
ways to implement goal III:
● Effective communications
● Finding someone to lead service groups
● Create simple easy structures to accomplish
initial goals; then work toward long-term goals
● Make all feel welcome, especially those we do
not know
Summary: How the evening has expanded our
understanding of evangelization:
● We need to
be more open minded
● Much work still needs to be done
● Continue what we are doing and add new areas
of faith formation and outreach
● Let us focus on the positive; negativity is
harmful
What’s Next?
The Local Planning group will meet again on
Parish Hall to discuss “Life Long Faith Formation: Early Childhood.” Please continue to keep the Planning Group
and the entire Pastoral Planning Process in your prayers.