The Welcoming Parish Document
Including the Synod Proposals
October 2002
The Diocese of Honolulu came together for a Synod on Pentecost in June 2000. The three-year process culminated in a two-day gathering during which the 400 delegates selected twelve proposals that would give direction to the work of the Church in Hawaii for the next several years. These twelve proposals have been incorporated into the Welcoming Parish document to give direction to the work of each parish as it continues to share in the mission of the Church in Hawaii and become even more a welcoming parish.
The Synod proposals are underlined throughout this revised document.
The other revision to the original Welcoming Parish document is in the inclusion of reflection questions after each section. As parishes are ready to undertake this second phase of the self-study, it is hoped these questions will be included in their reflection and study about their strengths and challenges as they continue to live the Gospel and carry on the mission of Jesus in the world today.
Dear Friends in Christ:
The essential role of a Catholic parish is to bring its members closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Five years ago, I published the document, “The Welcoming Parish: A Pastoral Vision for the Church in Hawaii,” as a guide each parish would use to fulfill its essential mission. Using this document, each parish conducted a self-study to see if it was fulfilling its parishioners’ spiritual needs. I met with each parish after its self-assessment and came to know you better as you shared both your strengths and challenges.
Our challenge for these past five years has been to work on those areas needing strengthening, so that every parish will become even more “welcoming.”
It is now time to take the Welcoming Parish process to a new level, for several reasons.
First, we have been handed by our diocesan Synod 2000 many new and exciting challenges. Second, we are embarking on a fresh course of parish clustering, in which parishes will be asked to work more closely together, sharing resources and meeting common challenges.
For these reasons, both the proposals of the Synod 2000 and the reality of the parish clustering have been incorporated into a newly revised Welcoming Parish document. With these new challenges, it is even more important that parishes examine the depths of their strengths and seek new avenues for continued growth.
The evolving Welcoming Parish process will help us continue this important effort.
I look forward to my return visit to each parish as you conclude your second self-study. Together we will grow in a renewed understanding of what it means to be a welcoming community committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and reaching out to a world in need.
With every best wish, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Our Lord,
Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo
The Welcoming Parish: A Pastoral Vision for the Church in Hawaii
The Call to Be a Welcoming Parish
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to all! I present to you the people of God of this Diocese "The Welcoming Parish: a Pastoral Vision for the Church of Hawai`i" as a model for organizing parish life. This vision has emerged from the shared wisdom and prayer-filled reflection of our Church as we have moved through the past 30 years of growth since the Second Vatican Council. Throughout our diocese, programs of evangelization and renewal in parishes and personal lives have led us to this present statement. This vision has developed through consultation with the people of God in the diocese and from the wisdom of the universal Church.1 Therefore, when I write "we" I hope it is clear that this "we" is the people of God in this diocese speaking with their Bishop.
I especially hope that we can make these words our own: "Whatever the form, a parish seeks to become ever more fully a people of God, sharing the mission of Christ, and developing the structure necessary for supporting its community life and carrying out its mission."2 So I am presenting a vision of the ideal as we continually seek to be faithful to the future, the goal we chose as our own during the 50th Jubilee of the Diocese. Such an ideal should direct our energies for renewal, guide programs of formation for parish ministry, and help identify priorities for our diocesan offices. This vision was expanded in the Diocesan Synod 2000. The proposals of the Synod are incorporated now in this letter’s second edition. I am happy to repeat again what I said when I accepted the work of the Synod: “Spread your enthusiasm, elevate your soul, lift your spirits. This is a church on the move.”
The Welcoming Parish: A Summary
The Welcoming Parish document outlines a vision for the Diocese of Honolulu as a model for organizing parish life. Developed through consultation with the people of God throughout the diocese and from the wisdom of the universal Church, this vision should direct our energies for renewal, guide programs of formation for parish ministry, and help identify priorities for our diocesan offices.
Following the example of the first community of believers, "The Welcoming Parish" describes today's parish in terms of four basic characteristics: community, worship, Word, and service.
Community
More than just a gathering of individual believers, the parish is a community where evangelization is a way of life for each member. Evangelization underlies all the activities of the parish. It begins within the family where disciples are developed to the benefit and strength of our parishes.
Evangelization develops further through small group communities which provide support both in times of crisis and in the everyday struggle to live the Gospel. However, those in small communities need to balance their experience with active participation in the larger parish liturgy and life.
Community life in Hawaii must be open to cultural diversity. Each culture has a role to play in the plan of salvation. Individuals of all cultures should feel welcome.
Worship
Basic to the faith life of the parish community is the act of worship. Liturgy is at the very core of parish life. Individuals are called to join the liturgy with an active and conscious participation.
The Word
Following the mission of evangelization, the parish responds to the call to make disciples following the commandment of Jesus Christ, the direction of the Gospel, and the teaching of the magisterium. This Christian formation is a life-long process whose ultimate goal is mature faith.
One important context for this discipleship formation is the family. To assist families in their responsibility, the Church developed a variety of structures and ministries. (e.g. religious education for youth and adults and Catholic institutions for learning.) These structures should work together to assist families in their faith development. Through this faith formation, members of the Church will be more aware of their responsibility for justice, the development of moral judgements and Christian decision making.
Service
The parish gathers disciples who are good stewards of the gifts of God. These gifts include the gift of creation -- time and life itself; the gift of redemption -- the Gospel and the Church; the gifts of empowerment -- gifts of grace and ministry.
This call to service brings action in social ministry, responding to human needs, whatever and wherever they may be. Our response as parishes may range from direct service that meets individual needs, to broad group action which addresses the root causes. This includes appropriate participation in civil and political affairs.
The call to service of parish leadership is a challenge to all parishioners to recognize and accept their responsibility as members of a welcoming community. Clear leadership is essential to the development of the parish. The pastor is the point of unity between the parish community and its activities, between the specific character of the parish, and the mission of the larger church.
The guidelines contained within this document will be used to measure the effectiveness of our parishes. Each parish will be asked to evaluate its strengths and weakness, based on this document, in its continual process of renewal. The central diocesan offices are available to serve the parishes in this regard.
Prologue
We remember how the Catholic Church came to this land:3 Catholic men and women leaving behind families and homeland, risked their lives to proclaim God is love.4 They chose as symbols of this mission the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.5 They proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus as the mission of the Catholic Church. They tried to live out compassionate love of neighbor and a love of God that overflowed into a perpetual prayer of adoration. Blessed Damien of Moloka'i embodies for us the extraordinary love shining in our first missionaries.
The Catholic Church grew here because it was welcomed by the people native to this land. These new Catholics risked persecution and death so that the Gospel might be proclaimed by the Catholic Church.6 The Catholics that suffered for their faith during the persecutions embody for us the extraordinary welcoming love of our first Catholics. Welcome has been extended throughout Hawaiian history to the many different peoples who have come here to make a home.
We celebrate the good news of Jesus by being a welcoming Church. Our parishes are welcoming parishes. In this document you the people of God have discerned together with me your Bishop what are the basic gifts given by the Holy Spirit to a welcoming parish. We believe the Creator Spirit7 blesses generous parishes with even greater gifts because a welcoming parish will be enriched and blessed by those it welcomes.
God's Call and Our Response
God has called all people into a relationship of love we name as covenant. The story of this call and our response makes up salvation history. God graces us with the gifts of the Spirit so that we can live manifesting God's creative love by sharing these gifts in relationship to others. We call this sharing good stewardship.8 Mary responded perfectly when she accepted God's call to be the Mother of God's only begotten Son. She received the fullness of the Spirit, who filled her with the presence of the Word, which bore fruit in her life and through her for the world: "The Word became flesh and dwells among us."9
This Word-made-flesh, Jesus the Christ, walked the earth continuing God's loving invitation , calling people into discipleship. We are enabled by God to respond to the invitation of being called and of being sent together to share with the world the WORD who gives life.
We remember the early disciples: "They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many signs and wonders were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and breaking bread in their homes. They ate meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And everyday the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."10
In One Word
The Church chooses a simple expression that summarizes all this as one word: Evangelization. We remember Pope Paul VI saying that evangelization is the "essential function" of the Church.11 He reminds us that the Church must first evangelize itself and experience "constant conversion."12 Then the Church can "convincingly evangelize the world."13 So we are not only a community, but an evangelizing community. We gather in worship for the sake of being evangelized and of being sent to evangelize the world. The Word calls us to share what we hear. Service is a fundamental witness to the reality of what we proclaim.
The Four Basic Characteristics
The early church is marked in four special ways: community, worship, Word, and service. These marks attracted people to the Church in the past and still have the power to do so today. These characteristics will structure the presentation of "The Welcoming Parish: A Pastoral Vision for the Church of Hawai`i." We hope to see each parish becoming a model of the apostolic community. The Church continues in history the community of disciples called and sent.
Community: The First Basic
Walk in Love . . .
A. Evangelizing as Community
We remember that the Second Vatican Council teaches: "God has willed to make [people] holy and save them, not as individuals without any bond or link between them, but rather to make them into a people who might acknowledge him and serve him in holiness."14 For the disciple, faith is not a private affair acted upon in isolation; it is a call to holiness within a community of people.15
The lives of our first missionaries and first Catholics witness to this communal reality. Welcoming others, evangelizing is an invitation into a community. It is not simply a program but a way of life for each member of the Church. Communion in the Church gives rise to mission, whose aim is bring others into the communion of the Church.16 What is the source of this communion?
The model and source of this communion is "God as Trinity, namely, the unity of the Son to the Father in the gift of the Holy Spirit."17 The God we proclaim is the "very means to achieve this communion: united to the Son in the Spirit's bond of love, Christians are united to the Father." Evangelization underlies all activities of the parish. Each parish by
-- living community;
-- worshipping together;
-- proclaiming the Word;
-- responding to the Word in service;
is an effective instrument of evangelization.18 Some ways to measure the depth of community would be found in parishes that:
1. Nurture a personal relationship between its members and God;
2. Deepen its members' knowledge of God's saving ways;
3. Encourage and empower its members to be evangelizers at home, in school, at work, in the neighborhood, marketplaces, and places of leisure;
4. Reach out to inactive/alienated Catholics, warmly welcoming them home;
5. Reach out to the non-English speakers, immigrants/refugees, to welcome them and invite them to join in the Church's life;
6. Develop a sense of vocation and stewardship among its members; especially by collaborating with efforts of the Diocese to promote vocations to the religious life, diaconate and priesthood [Proposal #10 of the Synod 2000].
7. Identify critical issues and respond to help build a society where justice and peace prevail;
8. Remove barriers preventing persons with disabilities from taking part in parish life according to their need, desire, and abilities;
9. Reach out to the unchurched inviting them to join in the Church's life of discipleship as good stewards.
10. Establish youth and young adult boards with the primary purpose of developing youth and young adult centers, planning and coordinating opportunities for the youth and young adults to gather for faith sharing, worship and social activities, leadership training and community service. [Proposal #1 of the Synod 2000].
11. Establish a Catholic Family Ministry to help strengthen, nurture and sustain families and provide direct assistance or referral to support those in crisis. [Proposal #4 of the Synod 2000].
12. Receive and respond to the publicized resources provided by the diocesan offices for social ministries. [Proposal #9 of the Synod 2000].
Reflection Questions:
How does my parish challenge me to deepen my relationship with Jesus?
What resources does my parish offer me to deepen this relationship?
How do we encourage the “Sunday” Catholics to grow in their faith?
How do we reach out to Catholics who are not coming to church?
How do we invite those with no religion to come and join us?
How do we make people from other countries feel welcome and accepted in our parish?
How do we make people with disabilities feel welcome and accepted in our parish?
Do I feel connected to and known by others in this parish?
What activities or programs would I like to see happening in my parish to continue building up our community?
How are we inviting the youth of our parish to participate in the life of the parish? In programs? In ministries?
How are we encouraging families to encourage their children to consider vocations to the priesthood and religious life?
What could we do to help everyone who comes through our doors feel part of this parish community?
What could we do to build a more vibrant faith community in our parish?
Each of these areas contributes to the life of the parish as an evangelizing, welcoming community.
B. The Family as Basic to Community
Disciples are developed first in families
"The Christian family is so important and its role so basic in transforming the world, that the Council called it the domestic church."19 The family has the primary responsibility for the faith development of children. Pope John Paul II upholds the mission of the family guarding, revealing, and communicating love. He expresses the Church's view of the family as a reflection and sharing in God's love for all humanity. In Hawai`i, the concept of family is sacred. The spirit of family in our islands can pervade and strengthen our parishes. The family meal prefigures the eucharistic table. Families have the power to bless each other and to forgive each other.
Reflection Questions:
What family oriented programs do we have in our parish?
How do we help families grow stronger so they can deal with the stresses that might weaken their family life?
What are some of the strains on families in our parish?
What difficulties do parents face in trying to share their faith with their children? How do we help parents to share their faith with their children?
What problems do single parents have? How do we show our concern for the challenges single parents face?
What could we do to better help parents cope with the challenges of family life today?
C. A Community of Small Groups
We hear Pope John Paul II tell us of the growing conviction that evangelization can benefit greatly from the opportunities present in small communities.20 We also hear today's Catholics who tell us small communities are a great support both in times of crisis and in the every day struggle to live the Gospel. This same dynamic is found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
The New Testament Church is the foundation of such experience.21 Both those in the Church and those coming into the Church experience in small communities an opportunity to share the Good News, form Christian disciples, experience spiritual renewal, celebrate sacramentally, and participate in the Christian mission in Word, worship, community-building and service.
Undoubtedly, small communities will not engage all members of a parish. Those in small communities need to balance their experience with active participation in the larger, more inclusive parish liturgy and life. Small Christian communities are by their nature in relationship and service to the broader Church which is aided significantly by these communities in the work of evangelization. Because the small communities are simple they can be naturally integrated into the larger parish structure.
Reflection Questions:
What small groups exist in my parish? Which ones do I belong too? Do we welcome new members? How many members did we have 5 years ago? Today?
How does the parish provide opportunities and help for small groups to grow in faith?
What could we do to help all our parish small groups see themselves as part of the whole parish?
D. Culture and the Community of Faith
The Gospel is intended to be fundamental to our experience of nature, of the passage of time, of work and rest, of other people, of the purpose of life, and the meaning of death. These are the experiences that characterize a culture. The Gospel lived out in the Church touches the foundation of all cultures and also creates a culture.
How do particular cultures touch the life of the Catholic Church in Hawai`i? Our local Church is made up of people of many cultures. Each culture has a role to play in the plan of salvation.22 A large number of Catholics in Hawai`i actually live in several cultures and come from families of several cultures. Unlike many parts of the world, our time of worship together brings to one time and place, many different peoples united in one faith and one Lord.
We can truly pray the second Eucharistic prayer of Reconciliation: "...gather people of every race, language and way of life to share in the one eternal banquet with Jesus Christ the Lord." There are diverse experiences among our parishes as to what constitutes their basic culture. For a number of parishes the Hawaiian culture is the host and unifying foundation. Other parishes experience unity through other cultures.
In the dialogue between these parishes with different experiences, individuals of all backgrounds should feel welcome.23 Our living out of culture and faith places the concrete experience of people at the core of parish life. Since it is a matter of fact that many Catholics in Hawai`i are born into families of several cultures, they should experience the parish as valuing their situation. No one need feel that they must choose only one culture among the others in their family.
We acknowledge that this question of faith and culture can arouse fear of the other. While fear of the other is perfectly natural to each culture, perfect love casts out fear. What Jesus Christ has done for us creates a welcoming parish. We trust that our elders will be especially helpful in this dialogue and understanding. We are committed to the program that Pope John Paul II teaches: "For full catholicity, every nation, every culture has its own part to play in the universal plan of salvation. Every particular tradition, every local Church must remain open and alert to the other Churches and traditions and, at the same time, to universal and catholic communion; were it to remain closed in on itself, it too would run the risk of becoming impoverished."24
Reflection Questions:
What cultures are represented among our parishioners?
Does our parish include some of their cultural practices in our worship? In what ways?
How do we welcome those from other countries to participate in parish life? In ministries? In programs?
What help do we provide people from other countries to better understand American culture? To find employment? To learn English?
What could we do to better include people from various cultures in our parish life?
Worship: The Second Basic
Lift Up Your Hearts
Basic to the faith life of the local parish community is its great act of worship, the liturgy. It challenges and celebrates our relationship with God, with one another, and with the world. Liturgy is at the very core of parish life. We believe as the Second Vatican Council teaches: Liturgy is "the summit towards which activity of the Church is directed and the font from which all her power flows."25
At the core of our call to holiness and to mission is the Paschal Mystery of Christ celebrated in the Eucharistic liturgy.
We must strive to understand and appreciate what this means: It is into Christ's dying and rising that we are baptized. In Christ we value our own daily dying and rising and offer ourselves in Christ as worship. This same mystery of our existence in Christ lies at the heart of the morning and evening prayer of the Church, the celebration of the sacraments, other prayers and devotions.26 So the very substance of our human life is what we offer in worship to God. Because of this we are called to join in the liturgy with an active and conscious participation as a right and obligation.27
Our accountability as a worshipping community will include these elements:
1. The primacy of the Sunday liturgy is seen calling for the formation of a parish liturgy committee dedicated to the communal model of the Church identified already as a characteristic of discipleship.
2. The inclusion of people trained in liturgy and representatives of all liturgical ministries.
3. The collaboration of this committee with the pastoral leadership in assessing the needs for common prayer of the assembly.
4. Promoting liturgical catechesis; improving the quality of participation by parishioners of all ages in Sunday Mass; the calling of men and women to liturgical ministries; the training of liturgical ministers both spiritually and functionally; improved use of music as normative to liturgical celebrations; and renovation of sanctuaries and assembly space for maximum participation in worship.
5. Provide resources for the preachers of the parish so that they can respond to the Office of Clergy’s efforts to provide for continuing education in homiletics. [Proposal #11 from the Synod 2000]
6. Full implementation of the process of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults as the normative means for serving those inquiring into the faith and those seeking initiation into the life of the Church.
7. Encouragement and support for parish liturgical ministers to meet as small communities for their ongoing formation and reflection in the Word of God.
8. Designating and training a director of liturgy in each parish or cluster of parishes in the vicariate so that worship might be coordinated for the parish.
This will mean that certain practices still prevailing but counter to the participation of the assembly and to the structure of the renewed liturgy will be given up. For instance the following should be normative:
9. A proper understanding and use of rubrics and a ritual style that is prayerful.
10. Attentive listening to the Word.
11. Prayerful preparation and delivery of a homily that flows from the lectionary.
12. Celebration of the Communion rite that allows for both species and the consecration only of bread and wine that will be used in a particular celebration.
13. Responding to the service mandated by the Synod: “the Diocese of Honolulu, through the Office of Worship, will actively promote and provide ongoing liturgical education to all the parishes. [Proposal #6 of the Synod 2000]
A welcoming parish is founded in the liturgy and from there is sent on mission as disciples.
Reflection Questions:
How do our parish liturgies help our community grow closer to Jesus? Understand our faith better? Understand our role in the mission of the Church?
Who participates in the planning for Sunday mass? For special celebrations such as Easter and Christmas?
Does the music invite people to participate?
How does our parish help people to better understand the meaning of the Mass and of the sacraments and of their role in the liturgy?
How are we educating and encouraging people to receive the fullness of Eucharist by receiving both the body and blood of Jesus?
Do the homilies help people to better understand their faith through the readings of the Sunday? Does the priest invite parishioners to give him feedback about his homilies?
Is our church accessible to those with physical disabilities? People who use wheelchairs? Older people with arthritis or other ailments? People with visual or hearing impairments?
How does our church invite persons with disabilities to participate fully in the liturgy? In the Sacraments? In other parish worship services? Do we make accommodations so persons with disabilities can be lectors, eucharistic ministers, greeters, etc.
How can our church be more welcoming to persons with disabilities?
How are people encouraged to go forth from Mass to live their faith in service to others?
What training programs does our parish offer to prepare people for various liturgical ministries?
What aspects of our liturgical preparations and celebrations call for growth?
The Word: The Third Basic
The Word of the Lord!
The essential mission of a welcoming parish is evangelization. This is the way that the parish responds to the Risen Lord who told us to "make disciples of all nations and to teach and observe all"28 that he commanded. This process of making disciples very soon received the name of "catechesis."29 From the Gospels to the contemporary Church, we find a consistent and continuing directive to include the four-fold dimension of parish life: community, worship, Word, and service in Catholic religious education just as in all evangelization. Christian formation is a life-long process whose ultimate goal is mature faith. Every aspect of discipleship formation is oriented in some way to adults "who are capable of a full response to God's Word."30
One important context for this discipleship formation or catechesis is the family.31 To assist families in their responsibilities, the Church developed a variety of structures and ministries through the parishes:
-- religious education programs for youth and adults;
-- Catholic schools, colleges and universities;
-- seminaries;
-- other catechetical institutions.
These structures should be collaborative and the ministries relational. This means that all Catholic schools and parishes need to work together to assist families in their faith development. It is in the parish as the local community of faith that we find the basic experience of sharing faith and being formed for mission. The settings and structures should be formal and informal. We respect the various ways in which our experiences, histories and cultures can open us to a more profound sharing of the Word. If we are successful in the ministry of the Word, then the baptized will be aware of the universal extension of their mission to witness to what God has done for them as Church. They will be aware of their responsibility for justice, the development of moral judgments and Christian decision-making. They will take up opportunities for the study of Scripture, growth in prayer, and service in ministry. They will promote Christian unity and be faithful to the ecumenical mission of the Church.
To measure the effectiveness of the local parish ministry of the Word, we could look at these practical considerations:
1. Promotion of family faith development and family spirituality through cooperatively designed processes and programs for all families within the parish community. This collaboration extends to all Catholic schools.
2. Promotion of full incorporation of youth and young adults into the life of the parish through ministry programs and the inclusion of young people in parish activities, organizations, structures, and ministerial communities.
3. Working toward ongoing faith sharing communities. The faithful of all ages and cultures should have access to a small community. These communities might emerge from RENEW and the RCIA process and should have as their basis relating Scripture to daily life. Religious communities of men and women could serve as a model for this in some parishes.
4. Developing and supporting a ministerial community of teachers, catechists, and others involved in Christian formation.
5. Designating and training a Director of Religious Education or Parish Coordinator as well as a person to coordinate youth ministry for the parish or parish clusters. This youth minister collaborates with a vicariate Youth and Young Adult Council. [Proposal #2 of the Synod 2000].
6. Providing for the systematic and continuing religious education and formation of parish catechists, whether teaching in the parish elementary school or parish programs.32
7. Providing for all parishioners, with particular emphasis on the family faith development, ongoing catechesis so that they may have "deeper and more systematic knowledge of the person and message" of our Lord Jesus, deeper reflection on the Sunday readings.33
8. Providing catechesis for those with special needs and so encourage them to participate in programs according to need, desire, and ability.
9. Providing a visible commitment to the Word of God by encouraging prayer and cooperation for greater Christian unity as well as dialogue with other various religious traditions.34
10. Responding to the diocesan programs mandated the Synod: “The diocese will develop, for implementation at parish level, concrete programs for Religious Education for all post-confirmation Catholics, to include ethnic groups and people with disabilities.” [Proposal #5 of the Synod 2000] and “Each parish under the appropriate Diocesan offices, must ensure that catechists are trained, certified and effective as catechists for each age group.” [Proposal #3 of the Synod 2000].
11. Responding as “part of the Church of Hawaii” to the common search for “creative ways to promote, financially support and encourage Catholic faith formation and quality education in Catholic Schools.” [Proposal #7 of the Synod 2000].
Reflection Questions:
How does our parish give families the help they need to teach the faith to their children?
How are parents involved in the religious education and sacramental preparation programs in our parish?
Are our children receiving religious education that helps them develop a living relationship with Jesus?
How does our parish provide religious education and sacramental preparation for those with special needs? Developmentally disabled children and adults? Their parents? Hearing or visually impaired children and adults?
How are we inviting youth and young adults to participate in parish life? In the programs? In the ministries? Are they responding?
How does our parish help parents deepen their understanding of their faith? Older adults?
Do we help people make the connection between their faith and their everyday experience at work, school, home, or in the marketplace?
Do we pray for and with each other?
Do we pray with and have other opportunities to get to know people from other religious traditions as a sign of our commitment to the Word of God for greater Christian unity?
What programs do we have to train lay ministers to teach the Word of God?
What does our parish provide in the way of programs, lectures, retreats, reflections, or other to support the development of adult faith life and spirituality?
How does our parish work together with our Catholic schools to develop family oriented religious education and spirituality programs?
Does our parish support Catholic education and help our parish children to attend a Catholic school?
If we do not have a school in our parish, how are we working with the Catholic schools our children attend to maintain the parish connection?
Are our parishioners encouraged to become involved in the life of our school?
Do the schools our children attend encourage the involvement of parents? In what programs?
Is our parish committed to Catholic school education? How do we express our commitment?
Does our school express its commitment to the parish by encouraging the students and their parents to get involved in parish life?
How do we help the children of our Catholic school and the children in our religious education programs build a sense of community as members of one parish?
What do we need to do to strengthen our religious education programs for children? For youth? For young adults? For parents? For older adults? For those with disabilities and special needs?
What do we need to do to strengthen our commitment to Catholic school education? To strengthen the commitment of our Catholic school to parish life?
Service: The Fourth Basic
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord
The welcoming parish gathers gifted disciples who believe and celebrate that they have been gifted freely by God and are called to freely give what they have received. A welcoming parish gathers disciples who are good stewards of the gifts of creation, redemption and empowerment. The gift of creation is the gift of time, of life itself. It is the gift of talent, that is, the gift of our hearts, minds, and strength. It is the gift of treasure, those material goods that we possess as well as the earth and its cosmic environment pointing to and dependent upon God, the Creator. The Gospel and the Church are the gifts of redemption. The Gospel is the self-revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Only in Jesus can a right understanding and relationship with God be restored. Through Jesus we see how God is present to us in the midst of suffering and through the resurrection of Jesus, we see that our ultimate destiny of communion with God has been achieved. The gifts of empowerment are the gifts of grace and ministry. In these gifts we are built up by the Holy Spirit as the people of God. The gifts of ministry call us to express our care and concern for the human community in service. The core of stewardship is service because of Jesus who is among us as one who serves.35
Reflection Questions:
How does our parish educate parishioners about the social justice teachings of the Catholic Church?
Does our parish foster an awareness of the lay person’s role in the Church’s mission to the world?
How does my parish help me better understand the connection between the mission of the church and my family? My community? My work life?
Does my parish encourage stewardship of time, talent and treasure and encourage me to use my gifts to respond to the needs of the parish and the community?
Does our parish budget express our commitment to the social teachings of the Church?
A. Social Ministry
We remember how the Synod of Bishops declared: "Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in others, of the Church's mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation."36
The Bishops declare our responsibility to continue the mission of Jesus who began his ministry anointed in the Spirit by proclaiming as his own the words of the prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for Yahweh has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord."37
Laity are called to work for a just society within the context of daily life at home and in the marketplace.
We remember what the Second Vatican Council teaches: "This mandate concerns even the most ordinary everyday activities. For while providing the substance of life for themselves and their families, men and women are performing their activities in a way which appropriately benefit society. They can justly consider that by their labor they are unfolding the Creator's work ... and contributing by their personal industry to the realization of the Divine Plan."38
The parish likewise is called to the social mission of the Church. The parish should give this mission a special kind of life and focus. "The parish exists not for itself, but for the mission of Christ." Therefore, "the staff and members of the parish must be willing to take the time individually and together, to heal, console, listen to, and help people in need. Within the parish, people are seeking God's kingdom; here they find refuge, support and assistance. In a special way the parish belongs to the alienated and poor as a community of love and understanding. As such, the parish is an advocate for truth and justice, however uncomfortable this advocacy may become."39
Parish social ministry responds to human needs, whatever and wherever they may be.
Hawai`i has its own challenges in this regard besides the ever present conditions such as hunger, lack of housing, illness, loneliness, unemployment and under employment, and fair wages.40 Challenges to us include Hawaiian sovereignty, the needs of immigrants, land distribution, environmental degradation, education, family violence, the integrity of the family, a fragile non-diversified economy, dependence on military spending, and respect for human life from conception until death.
Our response as parishes may range from direct service meeting individual needs to broad group action on the causes of the problem. This includes calling the civic community to its responsibilities. However it is done, parish social ministry is organized and deliberate. It is communal, planned and directed by a group and not simply as an individual response.
We should be accountable for the following elements of effective parish social ministry:
1. Catechesis and preaching of the Church's social teaching and the responsibility of all Christians of every age to be involved in work for justice, bringing the principles of justice and peace, respect for the life and dignity of all into everyday life and work.
2. Providing within each parish or cluster of parishes assistance to battered spouses and children and alternatives to abortion for women faced with an unplanned pregnancy.
3. Cooperating with other parishes, churches and organizations in developing ministry with persons with disabilities.
4. Designating and training a parish team to organize, form, and coordinate a ministerial community for social ministry that
-- involves all parishioners in social ministry;
-- raises consciousness of human needs in all aspects of parish life and worship;
-- identifies and acts on local social concerns.
5. Providing policies for practices and wages within the parish that are just and appropriate.
6. Cooperating with other parishes, churches and organizations on local and global concerns.
7. Working in cooperation with the Hawaii Catholic Conference on legislative policies and procedures.
Reflection Questions:
How does my parish provide me with opportunities to meet Jesus in the poor?
In what way does my parish encourage stewardship of time, talent and treasure and encourage me to use my gifts to respond to the needs of the parish and the community?
In what way does my parish encourage members of all ages to get involved in work for justice and social concern?
How does our parish budget express our commitment to the social teachings of the Church?
What are the main social justice issues affecting the people in the parish? Issues such as domestic violence? Child abuse? Hunger? Homelessness? Abortion? Unplanned pregnancy? Impact of the poor economy?
How are we as a parish dealing and responding to those issues?
How is my parish responding to the needs of persons with disabilities, to the needs of our elderly with regard to issues such as transportation, financial needs, bereavement access?
In what ways do we as a parish invite and include persons with disabilities and the elderly to full participation in parish life, i.e. sacramental access, liturgical ministry.
What actions have we taken to insure that just policies regarding fair practices and wages exist within the parish and/or parish schools?
How are the principles of Catholic Social Teaching integrated into all aspects of parish life, i.e. liturgy, education, finances, administration, etc.
Do we have an active social concerns/ministry committee which oversees all various aspects of parish social ministry, i.e. direct service, public policy, advocacy, justice and peace education, community organizing, etc.?
How does our parish better involve all parishioners in outreach to the poor and needy locally, nationally, and globally? Does our parish support the efforts of Catholic Relief Services and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development?
B. Parish Leadership
Parish leadership challenges all parishioners to recognize and accept responsibility as members of a welcoming community.41 Parishioners strive to be open to conversion and growth in holiness. Parishioners witness within and outside of the Church as evangelizers and good stewards.
Clear leadership is essential to the development of the parish. Leaders clearly articulate the particular mission of the parish and call others to leadership by supporting the many gifts the Holy Spirit has provided in the parish.
To accomplish all this, pastoral leadership encourages the fullest possible collaboration of clergy, religious and laity in the common mission of the Church. This is possible only if appropriate structures support participation in decision making and facilitate involvement in community, worship, Word, and service.42
These structures can take many forms, but the parish pastoral council remains the most promising if proper steps are taken to ground it in faith and worship while forming it and training it for its responsibilities as the principal visioning element. This training is especially mindful of cultural differences in communication and decision making. Its work is enhanced when its members include those actually carrying out the ministry of the parish.
Such a council has very clear functions: to develop the parish's mission and formulate policies so that the necessary directions of the ministry can be carried out.
The foremost leader of the parish remains the pastor. The pastor is the point of unity between the parish worship and its activities, between the specific character of the parish and the mission of the larger church. The pastor shares in the ministry of the diocesan bishop who has appointed him for this task.
The pastor's leadership is "greatly enhanced by the continual development of the skills and structures that encourage open dialogue, shared decision making and effective action."43
The goal of leadership is not simply to serve the people of the parish, but to enable them to minister to one another, to become part of a welcoming people, and to extend their Christian commitment into all aspects of their lives. The training necessary to be effective in this should be offered.
The collaboration of priests, religious, and laity in all areas of the parish life are fostered by these practices:
1. Formation of a parish pastoral council as encouraged by Canon Law.44 The pastoral council becomes the model community within the parish. It advises the pastor on the mission and direction of pastoral efforts. It is grounded as a prayerful and discerning community of the people.
2. The establishment of a finance council as mandated by Canon Law.45 It advises the pastor on the administration of the parish's temporal goods.
3. The development of a mission statement for the parish that clearly establishes the centrality of evangelization in the parish and working toward that end in every task and ministry of the parish.
4. Formation of parishioners in an understanding of stewardship as responsible personal and communal use of time, talent and treasure within the Church and all of life.
Reflection Questions:
What service does our parish pastoral council provide our parish? Our pastor?
How does the council invite parishioners to contribute to the decision making within the parish?
How does the council communicate its work to the parish to let people know how the mission of the parish is being lived out by parishioners?
How are pastoral council members selected? Are the members of the council known to all parishioners?
How does our parish help parishioners identify and use their gifts?
What training does our parish provide lay people so they can use their gifts wisely and well?
How does our parish seek out and train potential leaders for the future growth of the parish?
Does our parish help the finance committee understand their role in connection with the mission of the church?
What opportunities are there for parish leadership to engage in prayer and reflection together?
How does the staff work with the council? The finance committee? Other parish ministries and programs?
Are staff roles clearly defined and are parishioners aware of staff roles?
How can our parish strengthen our lay leadership program?
Where does our parish need to grow in the area of decision making? Communication?
Conclusion
As Bishop of the Diocese, I prayerfully commend to you this pastoral vision which names evangelization as the central mission of the parish and the diocese. May it promote the experience and values of Christian community within the parish as an especially important structural resource for ongoing conversion and mission. May it be a resource which enables the parish leadership to bring the mission of evangelization more fully into community, worship, Word and service.
Implementation of "The Welcoming Parish"
Our vision, as named in the "Welcoming Parish" is drawn from Scripture, Church teaching and Tradition, and very importantly, our experience of Church in our own Diocese.
The process of moving toward the vision of a welcoming and evangelizing community will be long-term and differ in each parish.
The first step for every parish is prayer. No one, not even the most talented of teachers or pastoral ministers can renew a parish and make it a welcoming community. Only God can do that. We can pray and attempt in our fragile human ways to support God's work in our parishes.
With prayer as the foundation, the parish's task is to honestly look at itself in the light of the challenges of this vision. After claiming and celebrating the many ways it is already a welcoming community, it can decide on one or two areas of focus for the immediate future.
Our diocesan offices will work closely with the parishes to assist in this assessment and planning process. They will stay in touch with the parishes as they plan and develop local activities to support the vision of a welcoming community.
The completion of the planning process will culminate in a day-long visit with the Bishop through a liturgical celebration followed by a meeting with him to share and discuss the experience of their history, current reality and future plans and hopes.
The Episcopal Visitation Process can be a very important and affirming step on each parish's road to becoming a more open, welcoming and holy community. It is accountability certainly, but most especially, it is a way for the parish leadership and Bishop to come to understand and live out our common stewardship to God as we become Church.
Appendix: Diocesan Resources
Diocesan offices are able to provide assistance to parishes as they strive to implement this Pastoral Vision. Listed below are tasks with which a parish might need assistance, and the diocesan offices and resources available to you:
Developing the parish as an evangelizing community:
Priestly Life and Ministry Committee
RENEW
Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
Servant Leadership Education Program
Office of Worship
Diocesan Theologian
Ethnic Ministries
Office of Clergy
Office for Social Ministry
Implementation of RCIA:
* Office of Worship
Development of small communities and small community leadership:
* RENEW
Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
Development of liturgy committees, liturgical catechesis, and identification and training of a parish director of worship:
Office of Worship
Promotion of family-centered Christian formation:
Religious Education Department
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Women's Concerns Committee
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Chancellor
Hawaii Catholic Schools
Tribunal
Hawaii Respect Life
Natural Family Planning Program
Engaged Encounter
Marriage Encounter
Incorporation of youth and young adult ministry into the parish:
Religious Education Department
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Newman Center UH-Manoa
Office of Youth Ministry
Designating and training a religious education director and youth minister:
Religious Education Department
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Providing systematic formation of catechists:
Religious Education Department
Hawaii Catholic Schools
Adult catechesis:
Religious Education Department
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Hawaii Catholic Schools
Tribunal
Promoting prayer and ecumenism:
Office of Worship
Diocesan Theologian
Ecumenical Commission
Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Development of stewardship
Development Office
Social ministry development:
Office for Social Ministry
Catholic Charities
Hospital Ministry
Hawaii Respect Life
Developing ministry with persons with disabilities:
Office for Social Ministry
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Bishop's Advisory Board for Persons With Disabilities
Hospital Ministry
Development of pastoral councils, ministerial communities, and mission statements:
Diocesan Pastoral Council
Servant-Leadership Education Program
Development of parish finance council:
Diocesan Finance Committee
Chancery Business Office
Development of public policy and legislative awareness:
Catholic Charities
Office for Social Ministry
Hawaii Catholic Conference
Hawaii Respect Life
Footnotes
1. In particular, I have drawn on these documents of the larger Church: the 1980 position paper, "The Parish: a People, a Mission, a Structure," issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Catholic Conference, Pope Paul Vl's 1975 apostolic exhortation, "Evangelii Nuntiandi," and the Holy Scriptures, especially the Acts of the Apostles.
2. The Parish, #8.
3. The SS.CC. men in 1827; SS.CC. women in 1859.
4. Fr. Bachelot died at sea, 1837. Bp. Rouchouze and 24 SS.CC. men and women lost at sea in 1843.
5. The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and Perpetual Adoration, SS.CC.
6. R. Schoofs, SS.CC., Pioneers of the Faith, 1978.
7. "Veni, Creator Spiritus."
8. Bp. Joseph Ferrario, Faith in Action: Catholic Social Teaching and The Church in Hawai'i, 1992, #86-91, "Becoming Caring Stewards."
9. John 1:14.
10. Acts 2:42-47.
11. Paul Vl, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 15.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Vatican 11, Constitution on the Church, ch. 2 #9.
15. Faith in Action. #76-79, "Being Active Disciples."
16. John Paul 11, Lay Members of Christ's Faithful People, # 32.
17. Lay Members of Christ's Faithful People, #18.
18. The Parish, #22.
19. Familiaris Consortio, #12.
20. Pope John Paul 11, Lay Members of Christ's Faithful People, #29-31 .
21. Cf. Luke and Acts of the Apostles.
22. Roman Liturgy and Inculturation, #49ff. Faith in Action, #20.
23. Pope John XXIII Pacem et Terris, #55.
24. Pope John Paul II XI th Centenary of the Evangelizing Work of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, #27.
25. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #10.
26. The City of God, 10, 6 St Augustine. Cf. Liturgy of the Hours, IV, pp. 397-8.
27. Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, # 1 4a.
28. Matthew 28:18.
29. "The Relationship Between Evangelization and Catechesis," NCCD study paper, p. 2.
30. Sharing the Light of Faith, #32.
31. Vatican 11, Decree on Christian Education, #3.
32. On Catechesis in Our Time, #19.
33. On Catechesis in Our Time #68.
34. Pope John Paul 11, "That All May be One", #40.
35. Luke 22:27.
36. Synod of Bishops. 1971, "Justice in the World".
37. Luke 4:18f.
38. Church in the Modern World, ch. 3. #34.
39. The Parish, #20. #21.
40. See Faith in Action for Bishop Ferrario's 1992 analysis.
41. The Parish, #29.
42. The Parish, #31.
43. The Parish, #32.
44. Canon 228.
45. Canons 537, 532,1280.