Ministry
of Church Life
(In
collaboration with the other five Ministry Areas:
Faith Formation, Family Life,
Finance and
Administration, Liturgy and Social Action)
The
parish offers an outstanding example of community apostolate, for it gathers
into a unity all the human
diversities that are found there and inserts them into the universality of the
Church.
Decree
on the Apostolate of
the Laity
Second
The Ministry of Church Life is
focused on the communion of all persons in the parish and the relationship of
that parish to the community in which it lives. One of the insights of the
Second Vatican Council was that all the baptized members of the Church share in
the responsibility to build up the “Body of Christ, the People of God, and the
The Constitution on the Church (LG #37) states, “A great many benefits are to be
hoped for from this familiar dialogue between laity and their pastors [here
“pastors” is referring to diocesan bishops]: in the laity, a strengthened sense
of personal responsibility, a renewed enthusiasm, a more ready application of
their talents. In this way, the whole Church, strengthened by each
one of its members, can more effectively filfill its
mission for the life of the world”
Canon Law describes a parish as “a
certain community of the Christian faithful stably constituted in a particular
church (diocese) whose pastoral care is entrusted to a priest as its proper
pastor under the authority of the diocesan bishop” (Canon 515). The Ministry of
Church Life serves the overall health of that community, ensuring that all members of the community are drawn into its life and
activities. The Ministry of Church Life recognizes and affirms the diversity of
all members of the community and seeks creative ways to embrace them all.
The Ministry of Church Life not
only serves the internal communion of the Church, but serves as a catalyst for
outreach to those who are unchurched, alienated from
the church, or marginalized in society. Its goal is to reach out and welcome
those who have been estranged. The Ministry of Church Life also takes the lead
in finding ways to enhance ecumenical and interfaith activities in the larger
community.
The overall purpose of a parish’s
Ministry of Church Life is to develop stronger bonds within the parish, deanery
and diocese.
RESPONSIBILITIES
• To
welcome all into the faith community with warm hospitality.
• To
reach out to and welcome the unchurched and those
alienated from the Church.
• To
develop, plan and evaluate parish programs that will enable the entire parish
to grow into a true spiritual home for its parishioners.
• To
analyze the communal needs of the parish community and to identify areas in
need of development.
• To
incorporate (to embody) and then to celebrate the diversity of peoples in the
communal life of the parish (e.g., ethnic groups, age groups, the homebound,
people with disabilities)
• To
create opportunities to expand all ministries to more freely involve the
diversity of the parish, reaching out in a particular way to any marginalized
groups.
• To
ensure good communications among all groups in the parish, deanery, and
diocese, and to provide effective publicity for events.
• To
initiate and support the growth of mutual understanding and common action among
different faiths (ecumenism).
• To
prepare a budget for the community-building needs of the parish.
• To
encourage ever-increasing levels of participation in the life of the parish,
deanery and diocese.
You
cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where
exclamations
are
cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more:
the
union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the
priests.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
• Create
opportunities to expand all areas of ministry to more freely involve the
diversity of the parish, reaching out in a particular way to any marginalized
groups.
• Encourage
and develop small group communities within the parish.
• Prepare
various means of communication for parishioners: welcoming booklets and video,
newsletters, annual report on parish activities, parish membership directory, parish book of available ministries.
• Conduct
surveys to obtain views of parishioners on various aspects of parish life.
• Provide
assistance in conducting parish census.
• With
approval of pastor, provide information on parish activities to the news media.
• Design
and provide a variety of parish social events to enhance the bond of unity.
• Design
and implement programs that reach out to those who are not attending church or
who feel abandoned by the Church.
• Coordinate
with other ministry areas joint religious services, inter-faith study groups
and other common programs to address social justice needs in the community with
other churches and synagogues in the area.
SUPPORT FOR THE MINISTRY
• Diocesan
Office of Pastoral Services
Contact: Diocesan
Staff at 563-324-1911 or Rev. Drake Shafer through his administrative assistant
Ruthann Castro on ext. 225 or
3
• The
International Catholic Stewardship Council
Contact: 202-289-1093,
The
laity will continuously cultivate the ‘feeling for the diocese, “ of
which the parish is a kind of living cell; they will be always ready on the
invitation of their bishop to make their own con tribution
to diocesan undertakings. Indeed, they will not confine their cooperation
within the limits of the parish or diocese, but will endeavor, in response to
the needs of the towns and rural districts, to extend it to interparochial,
interdiocesan, national and international spheres.
This widening of horizons is all the more necessary in the present situation, in
which the increasing frequency ofpopulation sh?fls, the development of active
solidarity and the ease of communications no
longer
allow any one pan of society to live in isolation.
Decree
on the Apostolate of
the Laity
Second