Benedict Partnership

Transcription

1 VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT VISION The love of Jesus and the gospel are at the heart of our partnership. MISSION We come together as individuals and church communities to respond to the Lord s call to be disciples. We will value and build on the histories and strengths of our individual church communities. We will build on a strong foundation of spirituality, prayer and celebration. We will be an open and welcoming community where there is a place for all. We will encourage everyone to fulfil their unique potential providing support, formation and training. We will go out together with Christ to all! This Vision and Mission Statement is our working document and your thoughts and comments would be most welcome. Please speak to one of the team today or markchurchit@btinternet.com 1

2 The Diocese - Then and Now What were things like in 1958, 1968 and Estimated Catholic Population* / Mass Attendance** 252,941* 284,500* 31,905** Number of Parishes Number of Diocesan Priests including sick and retired Number of Priests Retired or on Sick Leave Senior Diocesan Candidates for the Priesthood (Seminary Students) ? 59 4 A note of caution with these figures and those of the individual parishes and churches. In 1958 and 1968 the figures for Mass Attendance were not shown in the diocesan statistics only the Estimated Catholic Population. In 2016 the Estimated Catholic Population is not shown only the Mass Attendance figures. Hence, these figures are not directly comparable but in 1958 and 1968 most of this Catholic population would be presumed to be attending Mass on a regular basis. 2

3 Our Partnership Area Then and Now What were things like in 1958, 1968 and Estimated Catholic Population* / Mass Attendance** 10,507* 13,362* 1,975** Number of Parishes Number of Partnership area Priests A note of caution with these figures. In 1958 and 1968 the figures for Mass Attendance were not shown in the diocesan statistics only the Estimated Catholic Population. In 2016 the Estimated Catholic Population is not shown only the Mass Attendance figures. Hence, these figures are not directly comparable but in 1958 and 1968 most of this Catholic population would be presumed to be attending Mass on a regular basis. From 6th October the number of parishes was reduced to 8 with the closure of St Mary, Easington Lane. 3

4 What was St Bede s, Sacriston Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr Robert Meyer celebrating Sunday Masses at 08:30 and 10:30. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 1,050 In 1968 the parish priest was Fr Malachy Mulligan still celebrating Masses at 08:30 and 10:30 The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 1,061. Today the parish priest is Fr Chris Jackson residing at St Cuthbert s, Chester-le-Street and celebrating Sunday Mass at 09:00. The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were

5 What was St Michael s, Houghton-le-Spring Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr Francis Tuohey assisted by Fr James Doherty celebrating Sunday Masses at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 1,936 In 1968 the parish priest was still Fr Francis Tuohey but now assisted by Fr Thomas Shore and still celebrating Masses at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 2,100. Today the parish priest is Fr William O Gorman assisted by Deacon Richard McLaughlin and celebrating a vigil Mass at 18:30 and Sunday Mass at 10:00 The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were 251. Fr O Gorman is also responsible for St Mary s Easington Lane. 5

6 What was St Joseph s, Birtley Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr Andrew Gibbons assisted by Fr Desmond Leonard celebrating Sunday Masses at 08:25, 10:00 and 11:00 as well as 10:00 at Ouston. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 2,000. In 1968 the parish priest was Fr Vincent Norbert Bill assisted by Fr Daniel Clement Herlihy and still celebrating Masses at 08:25, 10:00 and 11:00 as well as 10:00 at Ouston. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 2,409. Today the parish priest is Fr Mark Millward who is also parish priest of St John XXIII. Fr Mark along with Frs. Jim O Keefe and Paul Hopper celebrate 2 Saturday vigil Masses and 6 Sunday Masses in the 5 churches of the two parishes. They are assisted by Deacons Frank O Neill, Peter Lavery and Chas Ferguson. The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were

7 What was St Mary s, Easington Lane Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr J Coutts celebrating Sunday Masses at 09:00 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 560. In 1968 the parish priest was Fr Samuel Dickinson and still celebrating Masses at 09:00 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was 649. St Mary s closed on 6th October and is now incorporated into St Michael s, Houghton-le-Spring The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were 52. 7

8 What was St Cuthbert s, Chester-le-Street Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr Adam Johnson celebrating Sunday Masses at 08:30 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was In 1968 the parish priest was Fr James Scott assisted by Fr Michael Banks and still celebrating Masses at 08:30 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was Today the parish priest is Fr Chris Jackson and celebrating a vigil Mass at 18:30 and Sunday Mass at 10:30. The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were 304. Fr Chris Jackson is also parish priest of St Bede s Sacriston. 8

9 What was Our Lady Queen of Peace, Penshaw Like Then and Now In 1958 the parish priest was Fr Richard Bermingham, celebrating Sunday Masses at 09:00 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was In 1968 the parish priest was still Fr Richard Bermingham and celebrating Masses at 08:30 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was Today the parish has been incorporated with the three churches in Washington to form the new parish of St John XXIII - see next display. 9

10 Our Blessed Lady Immaculate What was The Catholic Church in Washington Like Then and Now In 1958 there was one parish. Our Blessed lady Immaculate - the parish priest was Fr. Daniel Verling assisted by Frs. William Bennett and Michael Connelly celebrating Sunday Masses at 08:00, 09:30 and 11:00 but also at St Bede s School, Usworth - 07:00 in summer and 09:15 in winter The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was In 1968 there were 2 parishes. Our Blessed Lady Immaculate - the parish priest was Fr Thos Raymond McLaughlin assisted by Fr Desmond McGivern and celebrating Masses at 08:00, 09:30 and 11:00. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was St Bede - the parish priest was Fr Godfrey Bryce celebrating Masses at 08:00 and 10:30. The Estimated Catholic Population of the parish was

11 Washington Continued In 2016 there was 1 parish - St John XXIII with the 4 churches of Our Blessed Lady Immaculate, St Bede and St John Boste in Washington and Our Lady Queen of Peace in Penshaw. The current parish priest is Fr Mark Millward assisted by Frs. Jim O Keefe and Paul Hopper celebrating 2 vigil and 6 Sunday Masses including those at St Joseph s Birtley. Also assisting are Deacons Frank O Neill, Chas Ferguson and Peter Lavery. The weekly Sunday Mass attendance figures for 2016 were 959. St Bede St John Boste 11

12 What is The Partnership Development Group? (The PDG) The PDG is a group of people who have been invited to represent their parish, church, school or group within the Benedict Partnership. The PDG meet on a regular basis to plan for the future of the partnership, discuss ways in which the members of the partnership can work more closely and decide on actions that may need to be taken to enable us all to fulfil the mission of the church. It is intended that membership of the PDG will last for two years. Photos of the current members of the PDG are shown on the next few panels to help you identify them. They are more than happy to answer any questions you may have about their role, as they see it, on the PDG. 12

13 Fr Mark Millward Parish Priest, St John XXIII and St Joseph and Dean of the I'm one of the priests in the Benedict Partnership and the Bishop appointed me as the Dean of the Partnership, so that's my role and why I'm involved. My hopes are that we'll be imaginative, that there'll be inspiration to do good quality things; I think from the meetings of the partnership development group we've been to recently that certainly looks to be the case, that our parish representatives are committed to creating things and to creating them well. My fears are that we will not communicate effectively to people, who often feel a bit outside of the process, or a lot outside of the process. How we interact and communicate with each other is vital to attain a vision and encourage each other to have the courage to pursue it and let go of the way we have always done things. I also fear the negative response we may get when we start restructuring; the usual things; mass times, places, those types of things are what can cause people great distress. There are also great tensions in change when it means rethinking some of the things we do successfully. I really worry about saying to a community that's thriving and vibrant, that we're going to have to do something drastic with your Sunday mass time because of calls on our pastoral and sacramental care in other churches. This is why it's so important that we don't just decide what we do to accommodate the shortage of priests but that we also encourage lay leadership and involvement. We need to use our imaginations, allow ourselves to be inspired and be willing to let go of some of the things we have known. Someone recently said to me that the Holy Spirit doesn't make mistakes; the challenges we are facing are also opportunities for renewal! 13

14 Maria Ashburner Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Penshaw St John XXIII Parish Hannah Bartlett St Joseph, Birtley Vice-chair of PDG Maria Byrne Our Blessed Lady Immaculate Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish Andrew Cox St John Boste Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish 14

15 Catherine Davison St Leonard s School, Durham Mick Davison St Joseph, Birtley Chair of PDG Joan Formosa St Bede s Church, Washington, St John XXIII Parish Secretary of PDG Deacon Chas Ferguson Our lady Queen of Peace Church, Penshaw St John XXIII Parish 15

16 Mark Harris St John Boste Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish Fr Paul Hopper St John XXIII, Washington and Penshaw and St Joseph, Birtley Ian Hunter St Bede, Sacriston Fr Chris Jackson St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street And St Bede, Sacriston 16

17 Tony Joy St John Boste Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish Joe Lavelle St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street Deacon Peter Lavery St John XXIII, Washington and Penshaw and St Joseph, Birtley Anne Marie McKenna St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street 17

18 Deacon Richard McLaughlin St Michael, Houghton le Spring Barbara Reilly-O Donnell Primary Schools Chris O Neill Our Blessed lady Immaculate Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish Deacon Frank O Neill Our Blessed lady Immaculate Church, Washington St John XXIII Parish 18

19 Fr William O Gorman St Michael, Houghton le Spring And St Mary, Easington Lane Fr Jim O Keefe St John XXIII, Washington and Penshaw and St Joseph, Birtley Jim Taylor St Robert of Newminster School And St Joseph, Birtley 19

20 Sophie Taylor St Joseph, Birtley Lorraine Thompson St Michael, Houghton le Spring Emma Waldock St Bede, Sacriston Ian Willis St Michael, Houghton le Spring 20

21 Sub-groups within the PDG To facilitate the work of the PDG a number of subgroups have been established. All sub-groups are made up of one or more members of the PDG and representatives from the churches and parishes in our partnership. Many of the following sub-groups are actively looking for people to join them so please look at each group and think about how you can play your part in the life of the PDG Mission and Vision Statement group Aim - to produce the PDG Mission and Vision Statement Pastoral Care group Aim - to establish pastoral teams within each church. We will encourage and support all the valuable work both seen and unseen that is already being undertaken in our churches. We will look to the future pastoral needs of our communities and identify the resources, training and formation needed to meet these needs. Communication group Aim - to improve communication within the Partnership, including production of a quarterly Partnership Newsletter and provide recommendations on future developments. Young People group Aim - to help the young people in our parish communities experience a personal faith in Jesus and to provide opportunities for formation in how to live their lives to the full. 21

22 Prayer and Spirituality group Aim - to develop prayer and spirituality in our parishes to encourage people to get involved Liturgy and Celebration group Aim - to encourage, co-ordinate and facilitate Liturgical and Celebration events within the partnership. Discipleship and Evangelisation group Aim - to build up communities of disciples in order to reach out to others as commanded in Matt 28:18 Social Justice and Environment group Aim - to raise awareness within the Partnership about the poor and marginalised and to encourage people to work towards equality and justice for all, to seek to raise awareness of environmental issues and the responsibilities of the Partnership in exercising proper stewardship of God s creation. Finance, Property, HR and Admin group Aim - to develop Partnership-wide arrangements for the effective use of resources in supporting the delivery of the Partnership's Vision and Mission. Social, Fund-raising and Fellowship group Aim - to offer opportunities to gather as faith communities in a social capacity. 22

23 A Celebration of Partnership Saturday 29th September 2018 Over 100 people attend the Day of Reflection for Eucharistic Ministers and Lay Leaders at St Robert of Newminster School facilitated and lead by Jo Boyce 23