Diocesan Pastoral Council Meeting

11 March 2010

Around 40 members of the Diocesan Pastoral Council (DPC) met, together with Bishop Declan, on Saturday (6 March) at our administrative offices Alexander House, to talk about the reception and implementation of the diocesan pastoral guidelines, ‘Called to be a People of Hope’.

Bishop Declan began the day by reminding us that we are about something that is of the Gospel.  We are the disciples that the Lord has called for today and we are resourced for our task by the Holy Spirit.  This meeting was to be an opportunity to enter into a conversation - to talk to each other and to listen to each other.

The Director of our Department for Adult Education and Evangelisation Father Christopher Whitehead reminded us of the documents we had received since the ‘Called to be a People of Hope’ were published – ‘Called to be a People of Hope - Pastoral Councils Implementation Guide’, ‘Called to be a People of Hope - Guide to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults’, ‘Called to be a People of Hope - An Implementation Guide for Schools’ and ‘Called to be a People of Hope - Handbook for Priests’.  Our first session was therefore a conversation about how these had been received in parishes, deaneries and departments, giving us an opportunity to share what had worked well and where we felt support might be needed. We were asked to take back to our deaneries and departments the question ‘What do we need to equip ourselves for our task?’

Following this we heard from Caroline Williams and Father David Mills, members of the committee reviewing existing deanery and parish structures.  The remit of this committee was that it was to be a recommendation body, not a decision making group. We heard that the initial, draft document was produced after wide consultation throughout our diocese.  After further consultation following the publication of the draft document, a revised document was then drawn up.  This revised document is now with Bishop Declan for his approval.

Finally Anne-Marie Sparrow, our Marriage and Family Life Coordinator, explained a little of her work. She is hoping to establish a contact couple for every parish in the diocese who will receive and pass on relevant information.  She is promoting ‘Home is a Holy Place’ which is a forum to help all people develop an awareness of the holiness of everyday life.

The next meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council is scheduled for Saturday 22 May. 

cliftondiocese.com brought you the Diocesan Pastoral Council newsletter on Saturday and it’s still online.