A bonus was that parishioners from all five towns in the Wairarapa parish worked together for the first time since the parish was formed in 2015.

Ministry formation is necessary because most of us think of our involvement in the Church in the same way as volunteering in the community, says Wairarapa's new parish priest Dennis Nacorda.

"We need to understand that involvement in the ministry in the Church is far deeper than that.

"To be involved in any ministry is a response from the common call we share, whether ordained or lay, in baptism."

Nacorda says ministry formation is one way the Church equips parishioners and prepares them to serve in various ministries.

"This process helps parishioners discern and cultivate their unique gifts and charisms for the service of others.

"The formation process typically involves spiritual, intellectual, pastoral and human development, ensuring that individuals are well-rounded and capable of effectively ministering to others.

"It includes theological education, spiritual direction, practical training and ongoing formation to deepen one's relationship with God and grow in holiness.

"By engaging in ministry formation, individuals respond to the call to serve Christ and His Church, living out the Gospel in their daily lives and witnessing to the love and mercy of God."

Enthusiastic response

Those at the ministry formation workshops were positive about their experience.

"The questions about what we're doing and why we're doing it really made me think. And the talk about safekeeping was important. Not everyone is up to speed with safekeeping, especially if they've been out of the workforce for a while" said one participant.

"It's good that we're all starting from a shared understanding" said another.

"It was a positive experience - warm and enthusiastic."

"It's wonderful we came together to learn and deepen our understanding of our ministries and faith as a parish family - and to know we'll keep meeting, greeting and learning."

Wellington Archdiocesan staff Kevin Plant and Lucienne Hensel led workshops.

Strong turnout

Delighted with the 50-strong turnout on a Saturday morning, parish pastoral chair Peter McCardle says the day marked the first of many combined parish activities.

"It's an exciting and significant moment" he says.

"Our parish plan for the next couple of years includes many lay activities which will see us join together much more often."

These activities include workshops and development opportunities to further extend parishioners' ministry and formation training.

Long term goal

Nacorda says the parish's goal for ministry formation is to practise synodality in the parish.

"When we start looking at the Church from the same perspective, it makes it easier for each one to work more collaboratively and in a synodal way" he says.

Source

• Archdiocese of Wellington
• Interviews

The year-long programme is based on the premise that ministry and service arise from a life of intentional discipleship, says Lucienne Hensel from the Church Mission team.

About the programme

Hensel says it is not an academic course. No qualifications are needed to apply.

"All you need is an open heart, a willingness to learn and a desire to serve" she says.

The adult formation programme aims to support lay people in parishes and encourage them in their parish roles.

"It is a direct response to the call for formation highlighted in the recent Archdiocesan and global synods."

The adult formation course objectives are to:

• Engage in opportunities to deepen our personal relationship with God, and to better understand our Catholic faith

• Learn basic pastoral skill such as collaborative ministry, synodal listening, safe practices

• Explore how to build parish community and develop supportive relationships in the context of small faith communities

• Explore the baptismal call to mission and evangelisation, and the challenge to be authentic witnesses in the Aotearoa New Zealand context

"Pope Francis says all the baptised are called to missionary discipleship, but many are not aware of this call" Hensel says.

"So this course aims to form disciples who have fallen in love with Christ and become 'men and women for others' ... ready to share their gifts to grow the Kingdom of God around them."

Course delivery

A variety of experts from the archdiocese will deliver the course.

Church Mission team members - including Hensel herself - and priests, religious, theologians and Launch Out graduates will share their expertise with participants.

"The programme will run from February until mid-November each year, starting with the Alpha Course followed by fortnightly evening seminars, monthly Saturday workshops and a weekend retreat mid-year" Hensel says.

"The combination of face-to-face and online learning means people wanting to participate can join in, wherever they are located in the Archdiocese."

It includes both one-on-one support and small group dynamics she says.

"When it comes to small groups, those attending online will probably be together in one or two groups depending on numbers" Hensel adds.

"My hope is that there will be a number of people doing the course, for example from the Nelson region, and these would occasionally come together for discussion and sharing."

Source

• Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington
• Supplied

He has asked parishes in the Archdiocese of Quebec to "pause" their catechetical programs and use the time to think of the future.

Lacroix says the last few months have given the Quebec church an "unhoped-for opportunity" to "begin anew."

"Fewer and fewer of our brothers and sisters in Quebec are Christians. This cannot leave us indifferent. It is urgent that we evangelize and form (people) to Christian life. We must realize that our methods and ways of doing things do not bear the fruits we expect."

He went on to tell parishes that if they haven't begun catechesis with children and young people to prepare them for the sacraments of Christian initiation, to take a break.

"Let's at least give ourselves the autumn to reflect together," he told them.

"Time and space" is necessary to discern the next steps to implement "the priority of formation to Christian life for adults," Lacroix told parishes.

"I know that this request is going to create a certain stir."

"But without this pause, we know that it will not be possible to make in-depth changes, changes that are necessary."

Although Lacroix would like parishes to take up his suggestion, he has not imposed a "moratorium" on catechesis.

He hopes the pause will facilitate a "transformation" in favour of focusing on "the Christian initiation of adults."

"We're going to give ourselves time to ask ourselves how we're going to work directly with adults, and by ricochet, with families," a spokesperson for the Archdiocese says.

This pause would not affect baptisms or marriages even if, one day, pastoral approaches to these sacraments is reviewed.

The director of Quebec's Catechesis Office calls Lacroix's request "daring."

Bishops don't usually ask to put catechesis on hold, she says.

The attention given to adults is important.

Catechesis is to be conceived beyond its stereotype of sacramental preparation, so it can be "for all ages" and become "an opportunity to listen to what resonates in oneself and in one's experience," she says.

A theologian who has worked many times on the sacraments of Christian initiation says he has hoped for such a move for many years.

"To put it bluntly, if, after the pause required by the archbishop," catechesis "does not start again having assumed these two changes — offering faith rather than just the sacraments, and deploying a solid catechesis for adults — then the pause will have been useless," Daniel Laliberte says.

He thinks the Church hasn't been able to initiate change mainly because few people are able to propose a plan that clearly indicates the objective and the steps to do it.

"Whether we like it or not, times have changed so much that the church, confined to its practices, has seen its credibility seriously eroded, so much so that it is at odds with today's world," he says.

A "missionary church" committed to fraternal love and dignity is made visible, he says.

Source

• Catholic News Service
• Image: The Catholic register