Diocesan Pastoral Strategy Group

Pilgrim Steps: Journeying together in faith June 2005

Full Document Contents



Letter from Bishop Buckley



Background



Introduction



Five themes



Implementation Plan



Appendices

Five themes



Parish as Pobal Dé



Parish Identity and Pastoral Areas



A Praying and Worshipping Community



Education, Formation, Evangelisation



Leadership and the role of the Diocese

Parish as Pobal Dé



The Church is a community of faith with a shared responsibility for the building of the Kingdom.



Making this vision a reality at parish and diocesan level should inspire all pastoral endeavours.



The wide variety of Church documents issued over the last 40 years supports this view.



There is a deep hunger among the faithful for such a model of the Church.



The number one strategy must be to bring this model of the Church in our parishes and diocese into being.

Parish Identity & Pastoral Areas



People have a strong sense of identification with their parish and their priests.



Parishioners do not want to lose their parish identity or a priest of their own.



Many priests want to work in co-operation with parishioners and other priests.



The setting up of pastoral areas is seen as the best way forward.



Phase One would involve developing co-operation where there is little or none at present.



Phase Two would involve piloting ways of developing more formal co operation and sharing of resources.

A Praying and Worshipping Community



Liturgy is about coming together as a faith community (Pobal Dé).



People yearn for the personal and intimate experience of a special liturgy.



Everyone has an important role in making our celebration of Mass life giving.



We need to recapture our sense of the sacred.



Central place of the Eucharist.



Meaningful alternative liturgical celebrations and occasions of prayer.

Education, Formation, Evangelisation



There is spiritual hunger today in our country and in our diocese.



People need to be helped to share and live the Good News in their own families and lives.



Parents, teachers, parish or community leaders need to be cherished and supported.



Adult faith formation is urgently required.



Formation, training and support will be required for collaborative and team ministry.



Many other proposals in the document have an education and formation component.

Leadership & the role of the diocese



A diocese is a community of communities journeying together in Christ.



This understanding needs to be reflected in

– –

An inspiring and uniting vision; The model of leadership used at both diocesan and local level;

–

The availability of resources across the diocese, so that this vision can become a reality.

Implementation Plan



Locally



Strategy Implementation Board

–

Board will assist the bishop in implementing the recommendations of the Strategy Document

• • •

4-year term Review Diocesan Pastoral Council

Implementation



Diocesan Pastoral Team

– – – –

Director of Pastoral Strategy Co-ordinator of Parish Pastoral Development Co-ordinator of Liturgy Co-ordinator of Faith Development

Report distribution



Full document



Extract



Website



Evening Echo