Parish Social Ministry

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Parish Social Ministry

• Call and Response

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Questions for sharing

• Name some experiences that have shaped your
  commitment to Social Justice.
• What lasting contribution would you want to leave
  with your parish community?
• In what ways do your actions reflect your beliefs
  /values?

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Challenges before Us

• World where affairs are soul size.
• Faces of those denied freedom and struggle
• under restricted exercise of human rights.
• Impact of globalization..ethnic conflicts
• Poverty..Immigration..all the isms.

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Qualities for leadership

• Visionary/ wisdom
• Competent/ intelligent
• Risk Takers/ creative
• People of prayer
• Committed to Transformation / enfleshing the
  Reign of God.

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Reflection

• What is the operative image in your faith
  community in relation to its social mission?
• What vision do we have for our parish social
  mission?
• Your hoped for image?

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Call to Transformation

• The church exists in order to evangelizethat is
  carrying forth the Good news to every sector of
  the human race, so that by its strength, it may
  enter the hearts of all and renew the human race
  and indeed all of Gods creation. (GDC)
• Implications for us..?

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• Implications for us
• What to do?
• Lead all to personal relationship with Jesus.
• Open up hearts to a sense of Community.
• Reverence all of Life..note interconnectedness.
• Foster Values promoting the dignity
• of the human person.

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What to do (cont)

• Stress the importance of households of faith.
• The common Good.
• Option for the Poor.
• Economic Justice

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Process of Weaving Justice/faith

• Form and nurture Identity ..Our identity must be
  that of people growing to become global citizens.
• Our faith formation efforts must prepare
  Christians to participate in the life/mission of
  the church.

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Weave justice/faith (Cont)

• B. Inform. Inform (head and heart) in the whole
  story of Christian and Social Agenda..
• Implications..study, faith sharing, stories.

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Weave Justice / faith (cont)

• C.Transform
• Encourage life-long conversion..bring faith
• to life and life to faith.
• Engage the gospel in dialog with post-modern
  culture.
• Only by correlating life and faith can faith
  come alive. (207).
• Catechesis must bridge the gap between belief
  and life, between the Christian message and the
  cultural context. (GDC)

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Incarnation Central to our Ministry

• In Jesus, Gods love, care, compassion is
  incarnated.
• IncarnationMission brought down to earth.
• Incarnation not past tense..but we can miss the
  presence.. The Cobbler.
• AgendaLuke 4
• Ascension..Jesus returns left commission..
• Go..make disciples..I am with you..

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Our Call

• Not yet!! This is where we come in..
• What are we to do be?
• Kingdom now and not yet..
• Name some challenging social issues in your
  community of faith, in your families, workplace?

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Response/ Strategies ..

• Go teach..love stronger than hate..
• Ask the hard questions
• Are we enfleshing the reign of God?..
• Are our faith formation processes/
• liturgies really looking outward, confronting the
  issues?
• Catechizing communities are not afraid to grapple
  with the real issues of peoples lives..issues of
  immigration, peace, violence, inclusivity .

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Strategies(cont)

• Need to confront dead symbols..allow the message
  of Social justice impact the structures of
  society, church, peoples lives.
• Recognize that Christian discipleship happens in
  the context of Culture..Must bring the positive
  hope-filled message of the gospel to our
  culture..

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Strategies

• Must develop a critical consciouness in learners
  and help make them aware of the contradictions
  and tensions between mass culture and what the
  parish, family stands for.
• Catechesis , culture and social teaching are
  not just trendy phrases but integral parts of the
  ministry of the Word.(GDC)

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Strategies (cont)

• Inspire and invite wholehearted participation in
  the mission of Jesus.
• Dialog and help build mutual understanding,
  relationship, forgiveness.
• Strengthen communication

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Strategies

• Raise consciousness around mindsets and
  oppressive structures.
• Conscience formation..
• search..think..open.pray
• Question 2..reflect-act

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Theological Reflection

• Engage in Theological reflection and social
  analysis..
• A. Open up the experience /situation
• Pray for light to discern the presence of the
  spirit in the situation.

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Theological Reflection

• Develop specific questions for discussion.
• Connect to scripture or church documents
• relevant to the theme.
• Questions..what deepens Gospels values. What
  undercuts these values?

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Theological reflection

• Where is Jesus present here? What is the sin in
  this situation?
• What is the role of the church here? What is the
  challenge to the community?
• Prayerful discernment over the lessons learned
• Pray for strength to move into action.
• (Peter Henriot)

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Response

• Scenariosreflect ..Story of Jim
• What does faith in action mean for you?
• How have you seen it expressed?
• Tell about someone who lives life in a way that
  reflects his/her faith and values.

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Eucharist and Social Justice

• The table spread with gifts and hosted by Christ
  is a table of many connections.
• The primary connection the connection with
  Christ.
• Out of this center comes the connection with all
  of humankind and our responsibility to be agents
  of freedom, justice, right relationship.

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Eucharist and Social Justice

• Does the final Missa Go in peacereally
  constitute a sending into the world or merely the
  end of a ritual experience.
• From the Eucharist the church draws the spiritual
  power to carry out the mission.
• How do we encourage, ritualize and call forth the
  connection between sacraments and life?

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Rooted in Spirituality

• Grounded in holiness. (Col26-7)
• Joyful Ministers.
• Cost of discipleship.
• Spend time..waste time with God.
• People of hope

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Potential of the community of faith

• We have only begun to imagine
• the fullness of life,
• How can we tire of hope
• So much is in bud. D. Levertov

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Potential

• A compassionate and healing agent in the world..
• Of communicating and living Gospel values
• Shared faith
• Of willingness to serve as signs of hope/love.

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Question

• If I could change anything in the world, what
  might it be?
• When the last chapter of your life is written,
  how would you want to be remembered?

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