Parish

NEWRY PARISH DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2000-2003

1. INTRODUCTION

Last year a Core Group was set up to prepare a parish development plan. The Core Group consulted widely and have now produced the plan which is summarised here. A full copy can be had by leaving your name in the parish office. There will be a parish meeting in September to launch the plan.
The plan recognises that much is already happening in our parish and while it proposes a number of new initiatives and structures it is based on the need for the work that is already happening to continue and grow.
The purpose of the plan is to give a new direction to the parish but by itself the plan will achieve nothing. It needs the support and involvement of all the people of the parish and so the Core Group invites everyone to take up the challenge which the plan presents. There are real opportunities now for all to play a part in renewing our parish.
The Core Group thanks all who helped with this work over the past year.

2. PARISH MISSION STATEMENT
The Catholic Parish of Newry is a Christian faith community which is based on our love for God and for all our people and which is committed to serve all in our parish.

3. OUR VISION FOR OUR PARISH IN THE FUTURE

•   We are building a parish where we strive to:

•   live out the message of the gospel

• value good relationships with all other local Christian churches

•  recognise and value the gifts of all and foster and promote all vocations in our church

• continually seek ways to involve people in the life and activities of the parish

• develop and celebrate our faith joyfully so that our parish is a sign of God’s love for his people

•  welcome everyone and respect diversity

• care for all those in need in our parish and contribute to the care of those  in need who live outside our parish, especially those in developing countries

•  reach out to all those in our community who are disadvantaged or marginalised or who feel excluded in any way

• have a life-giving liturgy which is inclusive and highly participative and in which our young people play a full part

• support family life and values

•  cherish all our young people and support them as they grow into maturity, whether at home or away

•  recognise the great gift that our priests and religious are to us

•   ensure our faith is rooted firmly in Christ.

4. OUR GOALS AND ACTIONS

This section sets out what we plan to achieve and how we plan to do it. There are six main goals and each of these is described below together with the actions considered necessary to reach the goal.

4.1              Caring for our people:

• A Parish Caring Forum is to be established to bring together all the caring organisations in our parish; this will look at the gaps in the services available to people in need and decide how those gaps might be filled.

• A Parish Social and Hospitality Group will be set up to organise social functions at a parish level, to offer refreshments after Masses and to welcome new parishioners.

• A special day will be organised to allow all parish groups to display details of their activities and to invite new members to join them

• Priests will work within their pastoral areas and consult with people to identify new ways to create more contact between priests and people

• A Family Ministry Group will be set up to support families; this will, for example, offer parenting courses, organise initiatives to support married couples and opportunities for prayer for families

4.2              Support for our young people:

• An open group of parishioners, adults, young adults and young people will meet to develop retreat programmes and activities for the young  and over 18 age group

• A Parish Youth Ministry Worker will be employed

• A pool of worthwhile projects for young people will be created

•  Parish Youth Day visits will be organised

• Young people will be encouraged to take a more active part in liturgies

• A folk group in the Cathedral will be established and if requested in other churches

• A special “Sending forth” liturgy will be held for young people leaving the parish to study or to work

• Contact will be organised in Belfast for young Newry parishioners

• Contact will be organised for young workers in local places of employment

4.3              Developing the faith of our people

• A Spiritual Development Committee will be set up to co-ordinate and support existing groups engaged in faith development and to organise classes in aspects of faith development such as the importance of the Mass and the Sacraments

• Scripture classes and courses will be organised

• Research will be undertaken to expand the range of religious books on offer in Newry

• Linkages between parents and school religious education will be fostered

•  Liturgical actions such as the Celebration of the Word which can take place in houses will be organised

• Courses in Lectio Divina will be offered

•  Consideration will be given to the establishment of the Partnership in Faith Programme

•  Groups from different faiths in Newry will be drawn together for discussions and sharing

• Efforts will be made to organise a programme of twinning between the different churches in Newry

• Information will be gathered on courses on faith development available outside the parish and this information will be disseminated locally.

4.4              Developing a living liturgy

•  A Parish Liturgy Committee will be established

• Training will be provided for all those involved in liturgies

•  The times of Masses will be reviewed to meet changing needs and levels of demand

• Special children’s liturgies will be organised

• Arrangements for the reception of Baptism are to be reviewed

• Efforts will be made to involve parents more in the preparation of their children for First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation

4.5              Developing and managing parish resources

• A list of all the opportunities for service in the parish will be prepared

• A list of all the people with talents and gifts they are prepared to use within the parish will be prepared

• An audit of existing staff resources, including volunteers, will be carried out

•  Training courses will be offered to everyone who wants to be involved but would like some more skills or knowledge

• An audit of all parish buildings will be undertaken to identify levels and range of use and operating costs

• The potential for a parish pastoral resource centre will be researched

• A Gift Aid scheme will be developed

4.6              Communications

• A communications committee will be set up

• A parish web-site will be developed

• An Information Board will be placed in all churches with details of parish organisations, opportunities for service, times of masses and confessions, names and photographs of priests etc

• More use will be made of the media

• A welcome pack for new parishioners will be produced

• The Parish Assembly will be organised annually

• The parish newsletter will be continued.

5.                  IMPLEMENTATION

In order to take the plan forward Canon Hamill has asked the core group to stay in place for one more year. It ha s also been decided to enlarge the Core Group a little and so anyone who would like to be involved, especially young people, in the Core Group is invited to send their name to the Secreary of the Core Group at the parish office. The committees identified in the plan will be set up in September and again, anyone who wishes to be involved will be very welcome. A part-time plan co-ordinator will be employed as soon as possible.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLAY A PART IN THE RENEWAL OF OUR PARISH AND HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS WITH THE PARISH OFFICE OR ANY OF THE PRIESTS OR CORE GROUP MEMBERS AND WE WILL CONTACT YOU.

REMEMBER, THIS IS ONLY A PLAN. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN UNLESS YOU GET INVOLVED!

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?

  I HAVEN’T THE TIME; time is not always easy to find but we can usually make the time for the things we really want to do.

I HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER; yes, you have. Everyone has skills and talents and there is plenty of work for you no matter how little you think you can contribute.

I WOULD NOT BE WELCOME; we cannot say it strongly enough, absolutely everybody is more than welcome to get involved.

I DON’T KNOW ANYONE; there’s only one way to put that right so come and meet us and get to know us.

I WOULDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO; don’t worry, none of us are experts but there are plenty of people to help you.

ALL THIS IS ONLY FOR THE HOLY JOES; not one of us is a saint! Yet!

THERE’S NOTHING IN IT FOR ME; yes, there is. We guarantee good craic and the satisfaction of knowing that you are making a difference to the lives of others.