Our Parish: Renew, Refresh & Relaunch
The Parish Pastoral Council is inviting all parishioners (church going and non-church going) to a Parish Renewal Weekend on the 5th & 6th November when we will have a Marquee in the Church grounds where all are welcome to join the parish team and their fellow parishioners for a ‘catch-up’ over tea / coffee and cakes after each mass and RENEW the sense of community our Parish has always celebrated.
While many parishioners have returned to our various sacraments and celebrations there are those who, for a variety of reasons, have been reluctant to participate in person and we are actively seeking to encourage as many as possible to celebrate with us.
The weekend is also an opportunity to mark the start of the journey we began as a Parish with our Building Hope Gathering earlier this year where many parishioners spoke of the importance of feelings of belonging, of having a voice, of inclusiveness and of acknowledging that everyone has something of value to contribute.
We are also looking to REFRESH our various Parish Ministries. We have over 30 Ministries, some of which will be very familiar to most, others less so, but all offer the opportunity to become involved in the life of the parish. Perhaps a ‘chat’ may lead to an unexpected journey over the coming months.
We are also hoping to RELAUNCH the spirit of our Building Hope initiative where many people expressed a desire to have better representation within our Church structures, particularly in leadership roles, and the process to establish the next Parish Pastoral Council will reflect that aspiration and be another step in this journey.
Another key theme from Building Hope was the recognition that the youth within our Parish should have their voices heard and should feel like valued members of the Parish Community. To that end we are hoping to take forward a Youth Ministry and are keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved. There are no set criteria for volunteering, except genuine enthusiasm, a positive outlook and ideally those with a Tik Tok or Instagram profile!
Wishing you all the best and hope to see you on the 5th and 6th November.