Parish mission
description
Transcript of Parish mission
Parish Mission
Research to make a difference to your work
Aims
• To draw together themes from previous modules
• To apply these themes to the work you do in Parishes
• To construct and conduct a research project (e.g. a survey) which demonstrates the student’s understanding of principles and their practical outworking in Parish life.
Learning Outcomes
• Clarity of purpose and expectations of your Parish work
• Measure how far these are achieved• Understand different research methods and
how to use them• Produce, analyse and interpret data from your
parish in the light of learning over past year
What do you mean by Mission?
What do you mean by Parish?
How is what I do Mission?
Parish as Territory
• Rooted in Place and History
Culture(s)DemographyNeedsPossibilities
• Balance of prioritiesPastoral CarePrimary EvangelisationNew Evangelisation(Cf GDC 58)
Parish as Territory
• CIC 102, 518: Territory in which people live
(NB Pre Vatican II juridical emphasis of Parish purely territorial)
• Still typical emphasis of CoE
Implications for parish Mission:
How do we serve this territory and all the people who live within it?
• What do we do for those outside or on the fringe of believing and belonging?
• How is what we do experienced/perceived by those outside or on the fringe of believing and belonging?
• Engagement with context, collaboration with partners (Ecumenical, Inter-faith, secular)
Parish as Portion of People of God
• CIC 515: Community of Christ’s faithful
• (Cf CIC 369 Diocese as ‘portion of people of
God’)
Emphasis on sacramentally initiated community
Implications for Mission:• Constructed of people who
choose to be part of Parish• Primarily care for regular
and occasional worshippers
• Witness to surroundings: Openness to allow others in
• Equipping insiders to engage in world.
Mission
Sending:
Sending of Divine Son and Holy Spirit
Sending of the Church
Mission
‘Evangelising mission of the Church’
Evangelisation Evangelism
Usual language for Catholics Usual language for Churches of the Reformation
The bringing of the Good News to all that is human, which includes but is not limited to making new Christians
Primarily verbal proclamation with aim of making new Christians
Mission In the Church's evangelizing activity there are of course certain elements and aspects to be specially insisted on. Some of them are so important that there will be a tendency simply to identify them with evangelization. Thus it has been possible to define evangelization in terms of proclaiming Christ to those who do not know Him, of preaching, of catechesis, of conferring Baptism and the other sacraments.Any partial and fragmentary definition which attempts to render the reality of evangelization in all its richness, complexity and dynamism does so only at the risk of impoverishing it and even of distorting it....For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new.
EN 17,18
Mission
• To live, share and celebrate the Good News of Jesus
Proclamation Missio Dei Transformation
Cf Constants in Context
Mission
Missionary activity is nothing other and nothing less than the manifestation or epiphany of God's plan and its fulfilment in the world and in history; in this history God, by means of missions, clearly accomplishes the history of salvation.”What paths does the Church follow in order to achieve this goal?Mission is a single but complex reality, and it develops in a variety of ways. Among these ways, some have particular importance in the present situation of the Church and the world.
RM 41
Mission is a single but complex reality
Mission• Witness
Life of missionary, families, communitiesConcern for people, charity to the poor
• Initial Proclamation of Christ the Saviour• Conversion and Baptism• Forming Local Churches• Incarnating the Gospel in cultures• Dialogue with brothers and sisters of
other faiths• Promoting Development
Forming Consciences
• Works of CharityRM 42-60
The What of Mission
– Witness and proclamation– Catechesis and formation– Liturgy, prayer and
contemplation– Justice, peace and the
integrity of creation– Interreligious and secular
dialogue– Inculturation– Reconciliation
The How of Mission
• Spirituality of MissionSpirituality OF x Spirituality FOR
Dialogue:– Discovering how the Reign of God
is already present
Prophecy– Discovering how the Reign of God
is Not Yet Present
• The Practice of Mission• Table Fellowship as Goal of
Mission in its fullness– Daily Life, Eucharist, World
What is your mission?
• What do you aim to do for the evangelising mission of the Church through the work you do?
• Write a concise (max three sentence)
“Mission Statement” for your own ministry
Research Methods
• More from Dr Birute Brilute next week
Quantitative Qualitative
Research Methods
Statistical analysis
Quantitative Qualitative
Numbers (Quantity)
Measurable/Empirical
Closed Questions
The stuff you can put in a graph
Research Methods
Quantitative Qualitative
Numbers (Quantity) Words, images, ideas
Measurable/Empirical Stories, thoughts, feelings
Closed Questions Open Questions
The stuff you can put in a graph
The things you can best describe in an essay
Statistical analysisDiscovery, explanation, directions
• How many RCIA candidates did you have in 2010?
• Why was RCIA good this year?
Most worthwhile research has elements of both Qualitative and Quantitative
Typical Research process
1. Awareness of area that needs study
2. Possession of some initial questions
3. Review of what is already out there in the field
4. Prepare survey/questionnaire– Draft– Pilot
5. Introductory letter (Ethics and legalities)
6. Roll out survey/questionnaire
7. Analyse results8. Qualitative reflection
Some examples of Mission Research
• Analysis of Mission Trends(Literature Review)
• Questionnaire:– 1,200 Parishioners (5,000
distributed)– 450 Parish Priests (1,250
distributed)– 60 Bishops and Diocesan
Officers and Staff
• Interviews and ‘lenses’• Recommendations
Some examples of Mission Research
Some examples of Mission Research
• PAK undertook audit– Produced Questionnaire– Information entered into
Database– Face to face interview
with Each Dean– Examined Demographic
Data from ODPM and Local Government
– Wrote report
Audit Questionnaire
• Mix of closed and open questions
• Mostly numbers which could be fed into spreadsheets
• Bare numbers cannot tell whole story, needed to hear people’s stories and feelings
Have a look yourself.Quickly fill in Section 5 about
your own Parish as best you can.
Audit Questionnaire
• What sort of questions were being asked?
• What sort of information would the answers give?
• Why ask these things?• Who can use the results?
Some examples of Mission Research
• Time frame too ambitious
• Too many ‘stakeholders’ wanting too many questions
• Lack of focus• Not enough action in
consequence
Some examples of Mission Research
• No Questionnaire!• Completely Qualitative!• Gathered people for
colloquium‘Talking Together’Listening to storiesCritical FriendMirroring back and
signposting
• Diversity and Vitality
Some examples of Mission Research
1. Commission from Edinburgh 2010 Study Process
2. Discussion by ecumenical research team
3. Web analysis4. Questionnaire and
analysis5. Interviews with sample of
those who filled in the questionnaire
Some examples of Mission Research
1. Survey Introduction– Page 1 and 2 of
questions
2. Interview – Letter to interviewees– Focussed questions for
interviewer
What do you want from your research?
• What context/situation needs examining?
• What is the background in existing thinking (literature review etc.)
• What information do you want to find out?
• What learning are you seeking?
• What questions do you need to ask?
• How do you need to ask them?
BibliographyStephen B. Bevans Constants in Context: A Theology of
Mission for Today (Orbis Maryknoll 2004)Roger P. Schroeder What is the Mission of the Church: A
guide for Catholics? (Orbis Maryknoll, 2008)Philip Knights and Andrea Murray Evangelisation in
England and Wales (Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales , 2002)
Philip Knights Changing Evangelisation: Themes and Stories from Catholics in local Mission (CTBI, London, 2007
Anne Richards et al Foundations for Mission (CTBI, London 2010)