God Needs You!

Section 03. Parishes: Missions, Resources and Small Groups

The parish remains the ‘grassroots’ experience of Church and is a vital location of evangelisation. Not least it is the organic and natural Christian life lived in parish communities that is the primary witness to the Good News of Jesus in England and Wales. The unprogrammed, normal activity of parish life is the best evangelising tool that the Church possesses. People living the Christian life, celebrating the Sacraments, caring for others and being visible signs of the Gospel in the midst of their family, friends and neighbours are the greatest evangelisers in our nations.

This section gathers together information on various styles of parish and area missions, various resources and programmes primarily intended for parochial use and various ways small groups can be structured to enable the people of God to be more missional.

At certain times, according to the regulations of the diocesan bishop, parish priests are to arrange for sermons in the form of retreats and missions, as they are called, or in other forms adapted to requirements. Canon 770 of the Code of Canon Law

There are many approaches to parish missions in the Church today. Some have the internal life of the Christian community as their primary focus. These often express their aims in terms of parish renewal or parish development. Often these combine a preaching week with a time of preparation in small groups. In terms of evangelisation, the emphasis is on evangelising the evangelisers. Other methods seek to bring in less active Catholics on the fringe into a greater level of practice. Still others are deliberately aimed at those completely outside the Church. Some parish missions emphasise a process of discernment and development, auditing the local circumstances and parochial needs, and equipping parishioners through the practice of faith sharing. Other parish missions are more ‘event focussed’ with a series of high profile mission services and activities to which the fringe, unchurched and dechurched can be invited and addressed. Often parish missions include a period of visiting in which people in their homes (be they core, fringe, unchurched or dechurched) are visited. Many parish missions also combine several elements and thus can often have both process and event aspects, being both for the renewal of the existing congregation and for those on the fringe and outside.

We have also listed here some initiatives which offer missions to particular areas, such as cities or neighbourhoods.

Also included in this section are a number of primarily parish-based resources and initiatives. These include courses and programmes for parish formation and outreach as well as brief descriptions of a number of ‘new ways of being Church’ applicable to the parish context.

Sub-Sections

The Evangelisation Directory is also available in a printed format. It costs £5 plus p & p. To order please send your full name and postal address here

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