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Geelong Deanery |
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Report from the Deanery Resource Co-ordinatorI took up my position as Deanery Resource Co-ordinator in the middle of March this year with mixed feelings about the role and relevance of the ‘Deanery’ concept in our Church today. Having worked in parishes for a number of years I was acutely aware of the importance people place on ‘parish’ as the primary source of nourishment for their faith and the love many people have for their particular ‘Mass community’. I believe very strongly in the importance of the need to belong to a welcoming, affirming community that reaches out to, and is inclusive, of all. At the same time there was something within me that said that if we are to survive as a Church we need to look beyond our own ‘backyard’ and the more involved I have become this year in deanery the more convinced I have become that there is a place and a need for the deanery concept in our Church today. What that place is, I believe, will only become clear as we strive to function as a Church with fewer and fewer priests. It is only then, when our parish resources are stretched to the limit, that we will appreciate the importance of our small communities being involved with other parish communities around us. It is only then that we will realise our gifts and strengths can be shared more widely, without losing that special sense of identity we have with those in our smaller parish communities. It is only then will we realise that we need to work together to ensure our survival. This means, of course, that a great deal of discernment and cooperation has to take place, not only at a leadership level, but also amongst those ‘in the pews’. If, for example, four parishes were asked to share two priests, some questions would need to be asked, beginning with, ‘How much are we going to expect from our priests?’ Realistically, with our ageing priest population, we cannot expect them to do any more than they are doing already. ‘Are we prepared to fund Pastoral Associates to help with the workload?’ If so, ‘How much can we expect of them?’ and ‘Are the priests prepared to work collaboratively with them?’ ‘Are we prepared to share preparation for baptism, RCIA and other sacraments with other communities?’ and if so, ‘How do we ensure that those going through these programs are still made to feel a part of, and welcome in their smaller parish community?’ And the list goes on ... This year my role has been to resource the deanery on the Great Jubilee tasks and I hope that those who have come to the nights have benefited from the experience. I have also tried to get to know the leaders of each community a bit better and to bring together parish and school leaders to look at issues relevant to them. The pope has declared next year the year of the Great Jubilee. I see it as a year of challenge for the Catholic parishes in the Geelong deanery to take stock and to decide how seriously we take the call of Jesus. What sort of priority are we prepared to give to our faith? Are we (both clergy and laity) open to looking at new ways of being church in order that our communities not only survive, but be living witnesses of the Word? Are we prepared to risk looking further than ‘our own backyard’ for the sake of the whole? We can no longer leave the task to the select few or to those who have been carrying the burden for many years. By our baptism God has called each and every one of us to minister in some small way. Are we each prepared to ask ourselves what we are called to do? If we are, our Church will flourish, if not, then we will not have anything to celebrate in the upcoming year of the Great Jubilee. Denise James |
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