Forming a Family Leadership Team

On Tuesday 3rd June in St Paul's Pastoral Centre, we held the third and final preparation meeting ahead of forming our Family Leadership Team.

The priests from our parishes will now spend some time in prayerful discernment and discussion to identify and invite one or two representatives from each parish to form the team as well as at least 1 representative Clonard.

The Family Leadership Team will comprise up to 12 lay members, serving our faith community in partnership with the clergy. The names of those appointed to serve on the Team will be announced on Sunday 29th June, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. 

A reminder that the third and final conversation around forming a Family of Parishes Leadership team will be on Tuesday 3rd June at 7pm in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre, in the grounds of St Paul’s Church. You are welcome back if you have attended either of the previous meetings but you are equally welcome to join the conversation at this stage too. Please consider coming along and being part of this important conversation. Everyone is welcome.

Developing a Family Leadership Team

One Tuesday evening 6th May, 40 people from across all the parishes of our family came together to further the work of developing a leadership team to help guide us into the future. We are moving steadily and prayerfully, without undue haste, and our meeting on Tuesday was a key part of that movement. Following prayer, we had conversations about the nature and priorities of the leadership team we will form. We heard the following: 

  • our team will be made up of people of prayer,
  • who will be able to listen and communicate well. 
  • They will be people who are able and willing to give their full commitment to the task. 
  • They will be welcoming and inclusive. 

In terms of priorities, we thought that the following would be a good start:

  • A Church that goes out
  • Young people and families
  • Reaching out to vulnerable people
  • Empowering the mission of the laity, while caring for our clergy
  • Quality liturgy right across all of our parishes
  • Creating a welcoming community where people feel they belong

Those who came along expressed that it was a positive experience and there was a sense of hope as we move towards forming our leadership team this side of the summer.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 3rd June at 7pm in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre. All are welcome.

The second of our three meetings to form a Family Leadership Team in the Falls Family of Parishes will be held on Tuesday, 6th May at 7pm in St Paul's Pastoral Centre (beside St Paul's Church). The meeting will consider the gifts, talents, and skills needed by those who will serve on the Family Leadership Team, which is scheduled to be in place by the end of June. The meeting will also explore the pastoral priorities for our family of five parishes. If you weren’t able to be at the previous meeting in April we really encourage you to be a part of the conversation this month. All are welcome.

On Monday night of this past week, parishioners from all five parishes in our family of parishes came together for an evening of listening and speaking together. It was organised as a “Conversation in the Spirit”, a very specific and prayerful way of holding a conversation where participants try to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us about how we should go forward.

Our conversation focussed on the challenges and benefits of becoming a family of parishes. Three themes and one question emerged on the night:

1. We are starting from a place of hope. While there are challenges, there is no shortage of creative ideas that will be of great benefit.

2. It will be very important and of benefit to find ways to share our resources and talents if we are to work well as a family of parishes. This will create a culture where everyone feels cared for in this time of change.

3. We need to develop better communication so we can reach as many people as possible, especially those who might not feel becoming a family of parishes is a good idea.

Q. When will we be at the point of taking some concrete action that will signify that our family of parishes is working?

This last question is one that several people asked. Coming together as the five parishes to hold Conversations in the Spirit is in itself a form of action that will lead to more action in the future. 

Our next Conversation in the Spirit meeting will be on Tuesday 6th May at 7.15pm in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre. Please consider coming along. Everyone welcome.

On Monday night of this past week, parishioners from all five parishes in our family of parishes came together for an evening of listening and speaking together. It was organised as a “Conversation in the Spirit”, a very specific and prayerful way of holding a conversation where participants try to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us about how we should go forward.

Our conversation focussed on the challenges and benefits of becoming a family of parishes. Three themes and one question emerged on the night:

1. We are starting from a place of hope. While there are challenges, there is no shortage of creative ideas that will be of great benefit.

2. It will be very important and of benefit to find ways to share our resources and talents if we are to work well as a family of parishes. This will create a culture where everyone feels cared for in this time of change.

3. We need to develop better communication so we can reach as many people as possible, especially those who might not feel becoming a family of parishes is a good idea.

Q. When will we be at the point of taking some concrete action that will signify that our family of parishes is working?

This last question is one that several people asked. Coming together as the five parishes to hold Conversations in the Spirit is in itself a form of action that will lead to more action in the future. 

Our next Conversation in the Spirit meeting will be on Tuesday 6th May at 7.15pm in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre. Please consider coming along. Everyone welcome.

As Bob Dylan sang, the times they are a-changing. This is a time of change for all of us, and as you are aware, also a time of change for the Church. We all have a role to play in responding to that change, and we need to hear your voice. We started to journey together before Christmas when we gathered in St Paul’s to discuss the future for our parishes. We want to continue that conversation, focusing on how we use our gifts and our talents in the service of God in the Falls Family of Parishes.  We warmly invite you to join us for that conversation at 7pm on Monday 7 April in St John’s Parish Hall, on Tuesday 6 May in St Paul’s Parish Pastoral Centre, and on Tuesday 3 June in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre.  Please register to attend with your Parish Office.

Following on from the meetings organised by Pathways to the Future to consider the development of the Families of Parishes within this area there will now be three follow up meetings. These will take place in the evening time on Monday 7th April, Tuesday 6th May and Tuesday 3rd June. Please give careful consideration to attending all three.

What might be the benefits of coming together as a Family of Parishes? Thank you to our parishioners who attended the Pathways meeting on Wednesday evening past in St Paul’s Pastoral Centre. It was really encouraging to see such a good turnout of parishioners from all five parishes in our Family of Parishes. Great energy was generated by the question posed by the facilitator Jim Deeds – What might be the benefits of forming a family leadership team in our family of parishes ? Feedback from the lively small group discussions included how the pooling of resources could mean less duplication, clear and consistent communication, the freeing up of time, energy and capacity, support for one another, developing ideas and increasing creativity, managing a changing situation well and enriching one another with our different gifts and talents. It was also noted that for some there is fear and resistance around this process of change. A second session will take place on Tuesday 26th November from 7.30pm to 9pm in the Pastoral Centre at St Paul’s Church. If you weren’t able to make the first session you are more than welcome to come along to the next session.

 

Is God calling you to use your gifts in the service and leadership of our Family of Parishes, St John’s, Corpus Christi, St Paul’s, St Peter’s and St Mary’s as a member of a new Family Leadership team? Join us on Wednesday 13th November from 7.30pm to 9pm in the Pastoral Centre at St Paul’s to learn more about the role and responsibilities of a Family Leadership Team. This information session will help those who may be interested in this leadership role to understand what it entails and to discern if this is a role for them in the life of their Parish. Please register to attend with your Parish Office.