Friday Mass, Memorial of the Queenship of Mary

The principal celebrant for this Mass was Archbishop Paul Gallagher the Apostolic Nuncio for Australia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gallagher_(bishop)

http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bgalla.html

http://www.cam.org.au/News-and-Events/News-and-Events/News/Article/16457/Meet-the-Apostolic-Nuncio-Archbishop-Paul-Gallagher#.VCNy78scTIU

http://protocol.dfat.gov.au/Mission/view.rails?id=86

The readings were taken from Friday Week 20 Ordinary Time Year II

The first reading was from Ezekiel 37:1-4, a passage where God takes Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and commands him to prophesy over the bones. The bones change and become an immense army. God then tells Ezekiel that this is what He wants to do for His people who think all their hopes have dried up.

The responsorial psalm was not the one in the lectionary. It was Psalm 62(63) a.k.a. first psalm for Sunday Week 1 Morning Prayer with the response 'My soul is thirsting for You, O Lord my God'.

The Gospel reading was from Matthew 22: 34-40 where Jesus is being questioned by a representative of the Pharisees about which is the greatest commandment of the law, and Jesus answers him by saying that we should love God with our whole being and we should love our neighbour as ourselves.

This reading from Ezekiel is one of the options for the Vigil of Pentecost and one that prayer groups in recent decades have often prayed would be fulfilled in their lifetimes. To have that reading proclaimed to us gathered for the Conference on Our Lady's feast day of her Queenship in the presence of the Papal Nuncio and representatives of the Church throughout Australasia was thrilling beyond measure. To hear that promise anew spoken by God into such an assembly was a promise of a mighty action of God's Holy Spirit if we put into practice the new directions He is giving us through this conference. In many ways, it was also deeply consoling and encouraging after we had taken a good long look at all the bad news in the National Church Life Survey results for Catholic parishes.

Archbishop Gallagher : "The reading from Ezekiel we have heard today is more than sufficient for us. Sadly these great quantities of dry bones are a contemporary experience in all the killing fields and places of genocide in our world. They are a testimony to the cruelty of man and to the reality of evil. We would much prefer that they did not exist.

What shocking words these are 'these bones are the whole house of Israel'. These words resonate with me as a pastor and as a human being. We would not be here if everything was beautiful in the garden of the Church.

We struggle on many fronts. It is hard to be confident that flourishing will come, especially when we stare at the white haired imposter that looks back at us from the bathroom mirror every morning. Yet we all know elders of great vigour who put us all to shame.

The Church is injured by many self-inflicted blows. We must be grateful for this awareness that gives us such a cold shower of sobriety.

Be guardians of hope, that is what Pope Francis is telling us, by keeping aflame faith, love and zeal.  God takes the initiative. He has loved us first. Let us go out to the crossroads and invite and welcome everyone. Let us take the first step, and become involved in God's great work.

Like those bones in the valley, we need life, that life which comes from the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospel passage we see the Pharisees try to disconcert Jesus. The Pharisee who asks the question about the greatest commandment is implicitly asking Jesus to throw him a lifeline. In many ways it is a similar question to the young man who asked Jesus 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' The reply Jesus gives to the Pharisee is a challenge to us as individuals and as Church. Jesus will not give up until He has all of us, heart, body, soul and mind.

Following Jesus is not a soft option. I am in this for life.

I cling to the words of St Irenaeus, 'The glory of God is man fully alive'.

Let us beg the intercession of Mary, Queen and Mother, and Jesus, for the graces to become truly alive in Him to the glory of God the Father."

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The next blog-post will be about the workshop on the leadership of Pope Francis.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454

Some of the talks and workshops are now available from http://www.proclaimconference.com.au/resources.

Several video clips, transcripts, handouts and slide presentations are downloadable.  

What's working in other churches - Ecumenical Panel

Rev Edward Vaughan

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/edward-vaughan/9/409/436

http://www.stjohnsanglican.org.au/rector.html

Ed is currently the rector of St John's Anglican church in Darlinghurst. He is married with three children. Having studied at Moore College he ministered in parishes around Balmain and Rozelle for 13 years before moving to Ireland for a few years to be rector at an Anglican / Church of Island parish in south Dublin.

While Ed was stationed in Dublin he took his family on a holiday to Donegal. (County Donegal is in the far north of Ireland). There they found a big church, and wondered which denomination it belonged to. They walked all around it and could not find a sign anywhere.  As they got to know the place, with its small local community, they realised that everyone knew which church it was, what the Mass times were and who the priest was. Here was a community that needed to discover its missionary imagination and to think beyond the locals to the visitors and holiday makers who didn't know such basic information. In times gone by they had no need for outreach because the whole community shared the same faith. Things are very different in Ireland now.

The Anglican parish of Darlinghurst is a very complex place. It is full of young secular people living alternative lifestyles, and has a large gay population. The most common response to Gospel overtures is indifference rather than hostility.

Before starting anything new in the parish, Ed led his parish through a discernment process and through times of waiting on God for direction. It took a whole year of listening not only to in the pews but also those not in the pews. Several prayer meetings were held where people were asked to bring their phones. After prayers they were sent off to various destinations around the parish. On the way they walked in silence and recorded their observations with the camera and sound recording functions of their phones. The idea was to listen to all the words being spoken, to what they heard, saw and smelt as they went around parts of the parish. Then they returned and reported what they had discovered.

From this they determined that God was calling them as a parish to be 'a people of freedom and a presence of blessing'.  One initiative that emerged from this time of discernment was a café for street people manned by parish volunteers. The café provides a safe place for street people and others to come, and a place to start conversations and to make real connections with them. The parish has also found the Alpha programme very helpful in their context.

Greta Wells

http://ac.edu.au/faculty-and-staff/greta-wells/

https://www.facebook.com/gretacornish

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/greta-cornish/66/647/7b2

http://www.theomag.com/author/gretacornish/

Greta would probably describe herself these days as a charismatic Pentecostal.  There is a wide variety of diversity under the 'Pentecostal' umbrella ranging from Church of Christ renewal movements to charismatic churches and to the more vivid expressions of the Holy Spirit found in Vineyard churches. Of interest is that new churches form flowing from new experiences of the Holy Spirit rather than splits over doctrinal differences.

Most Pentecostal churches follow a four-fold Gospel model

1. Jesus is Saviour
   
   
2. Jesus empowers us by the Holy Spirit (through personal encounter with Him a person is empowered to give witness to Him
   
   
3. Jesus is the Healer (we are empowered to ask for healing)
   
   
4. Jesus is the soon-coming King

1. 
   

The 1980s saw the rise of the mega-church. There are signs that long term thinking has begun in these churches. They still have that sense of urgency about proclaiming Jesus as the soon-coming King, but that urgency isn't as strong as it once was. Altar calls are still a common thing, but the follow-up to such altar calls isn't so good. Some churches are decentralising their congregations, and are conducting experimental engagement with the prevailing culture.

Pentecostal churches do have a population spike with the 15-29 year olds, but this comes at a cost which is generally the under representation of over 55 year olds. These churches do challenge us to be continually open to the Holy Spirit and to make the Gospel tangibly relevant now, today.

Rev Pete Davies

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/pete-davies/30/32a/261

Pete is an ordained Baptist minister, married with four children and several grandchildren. He currently serves as the Director of Church Development for the NSW & ACT Baptist movement. He has over 15 years of pastoral experience and 3 years of evangelisation training with Ambassadors for Christ International.

The Baptist churches consider autonomy to be a value, and thus have no hierarchical structure. This means that as I go visiting churches throughout NSW and the ACT I have the task of a bishop but not the authority that goes with it. Leading Baptists is like shepherding cats.

Baptists are very strong on the importance of making a personal decision for Jesus Christ. The majority of Baptists believe that the gift of faith is offered to all mankind.

Baptists have been known for their evangelistic crusades and big events with big tents which often happen on an annual basis. Sunday night appeals and altar calls remain common experiences in our churches. Personal evangelism has always been encouraged. We have found the Alpha programme very useful. By and large overseas immigration has kept our parish numbers up.

There seems to be a trend in Baptist churches away from event evangelisation to process evangelisation.  This is recognising that it takes time for people to come to the point of giving their lives to Jesus, and that it takes time for the Gospel message to find a home in hearts. We are learning to be present to people better, and to do more listening and saying less than before.

We are finding DVDs very useful as teaching aids and discussion starters in small groups.

If you can get newcomers to stay long enough, grace will happen. There is a move to seeing evangelisation as something that the whole community has a part in and not reserved for the pulling power of an exceptional guest speaker. At the same time we are experiencing a shift in proclaiming the Gospel of salvation to proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom.

We are challenging people to be radically weird for the sake of Jesus, so that it is clear to others the difference that faith in Jesus makes in our lives.

It is Jesus' job to build the church. It is our job to make disciples.

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After this panel discussion we had a break for morning tea where we were invited to discuss two questions:

Q. Which idea you heard today could translate easily into your parish?

Q. What possibilities are there in your parish for denominational collaboration?

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The next issue will feature the homily from Friday's Mass at the Conference.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454

Some of the talks and workshops are now available from http://www.proclaimconference.com.au/resources.

Several video clips, transcripts, handouts and slide presentations are downloadable from that link.  

Finding a Way Forward – Dr Ruth Powell- Part 2

Between talking about the third and fourth trends in the National Church Life Survey, Ruth Powell took us on a tour of the Hillsong website and invited us to compare it to our own parish websites. http://hillsong.com/

When you scroll down the home page you get to a section which reads, 'Free this weekend? Join us in church!' and then shows a page of icons with locations around the world. This website is unashamedly set up with newcomers in mind.

So we'd click on Australia. http://hillsong.com/australia

And what message greets us? 'Welcome home. You belong here!' and 'Find your place' Followed by church locations grouped by state, options to check out the leadership team and options of special events coming soon.

Ruth then showed us the landing page for those who clicked on Sydney Hills http://hillsong.com/hills

Scrolling down you get service times, location with 'plan a visit' option, events coming up, what's available for children, youth etc, answers to frequently asked questions, a look at the pastoral team and more.

If you click on Plan a Visit http://hillsong.com/hills/plan-a-visit/ you find out about a concierge service which (if you fill in your details) will on your arrival show you around the place and introduce you to people.

Of course welcoming newcomers is important, but you also have to take steps to integrate them into the community or else they will leave by the back door and not be seen again.

Ruth then showed us the results of the NCL Survey for what Catholic parishes do to help people integrate compared with what Protestant parishes do. These are the main strategies:

1. Follow-up visit from clergy or laity
   
   
2. Invitation to join a social group or faith discussion/bible study group 
   
   
3. People extend hospitality and invite them to meals
   
   
4. Invitation to take up a task or ministry
   
   
5. Course for new Christians / orientation program
   
   
6. Other
   
   

Our Protestant brothers and sisters are twice as likely to provide follow-up visits (a), almost twice as likely to offer an invitation to join a group (b), over three times as likely to offer hospitality (c), a little less likely to tap them on the shoulder and give them a task (d), and four times as likely to offer a course for newcomers (e).

The fourth trend is an increase in acts of service. This trend is clear across both Catholic and Protestant churches where members are more likely to be involved in informal acts of service and church-based acts of service. Informal acts of service include lending money, caring for the sick, helping someone in a personal crisis, visiting a person in hospital, giving away possessions, donating money and contacting members of parliament.     

What the survey results cannot tell us is whether this increased busyness is feeding the consumer culture in our parishes or opening up avenues for conversations that lead to discipleship. Is it a case of 'look busy, Jesus is coming'?

These acts of service certainly build bridges between the parishes and the community, but it is worthwhile doing it strategically. For example, why start your own soup kitchen / help for new immigrant service etc when you could join your efforts to the church down the road that has already got a similar initiative up and running? 

Then there are many works of church based service that function like non-government organisations and never tell people the reason they serve is because the love of God impels them to. The way forward requires an integration of both words and works, since we know from experience that 'word only' and 'deeds only' doesn't work. A way forward is to get better at testifying to the reasons why we act in Christian service.

The fifth trend is a decline in inviting people to church. Here are the results of how Catholics answered this 2011 NCL Survey question:

Q. Would you be prepared to invite to a church service, here, any of your friends and relatives who do not currently attend a church?

1. Yes, and I have done so in the past 12 months (27%)
   
   
2. Yes, but I have not done so in the past 12 months (34%)
   
   
3. No, probably not (18%)
   
   
4. No, definitely not (2%)
   
   
5. Don’t know (20%)
   
   

The decline is happening in Protestant churches too. Some of the decrease in Catholic willingness to invite others to church may be attributed to the Royal Commission into Child Abuse. It is the e) Don't know category that has gone up and the a) Yes, and I have invited someone in the last 12months category that has gone down, the rest are more or less stable. Overall 3 out of 5 people in Catholic pews would be willing to invite someone along compared to 4 out of 5 people in Protestant pews (with 2 of those 4 actually doing so).

The research has not found any single stand out value that attracts newcomers. Rather it is a range of things that together make an impact. The good news is that working on even one of these values will have a positive flow on effect to the whole church community. For example…

1. Discover a sense of vision and direction
   
   
2. Promote a strong sense of belonging
   
   
3. Focus on those beyond church life (on the fringe)
   
   
4. Encourage those that  attend to invite others to church
   
   
5. Be an empowering leader
   
   
6. Nurture growth in faith and movement toward commitment
   
   
7. Aim for joyful, inspiring services
   
   
8. Introduce contemporary worship
   
   
9. Encourage informal acts of helping
   
   
10. Look after the young
    
    
11. Be willing to try new things
    
    

Summary

1. With the notable decline in society's belief in God it is important to learn about what authentic and effective evangelisation looks like in this time and in this place. Churches need to reflect and to experiment.
   
   
2. Happily there has been an increase in willingness to share faith with others. Since family members are so significant for sharing faith, how is your parish supporting them and equipping them for this role? There are people whom God has called and gifted to be evangelists in your parish. So identify them, support them, celebrate with them, and learn from them.
   
   
3. Healthy, growing churches have been orienting themselves to newcomers. For many parishes doing this will require a major cultural shift and this shift will take a long time to do.
   
   
4. There has been an increase in acts of service. They help build bridges between the church and community where authentic connection can happen. However we must guard against being busy serving consumers rather than being busy building relationships as we serve and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise to invite those we serve to discipleship.
   
   
5. There has been a worrying decline in people inviting others to church. We need to find out what is stopping them from inviting others. If some of those reasons are parish based, we need to find out what needs to change and do something practical about it.
   
   

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The next blog-post will be about the panel discussion on what is working in other Christian churches.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454

Some of the talks and workshops are now available from http://www.proclaimconference.com.au/resources. Several video clips, transcripts, handouts and slide presentations are downloadable.  
 

Finding a Way Forward – Dr Ruth Powell  

Dr Ruth Powell is the director of the National Church Life Survey and Associate Professor at Australian Catholic University. The National Church Life Survey is conducted at 5 yearly intervals and the 2011 Survey involved 22 denominations, 3000 parishes, over 260,000 adult attenders and around 6000 clergy.  

http://www.proclaimconference.com.au/resources/item/88 will get you to the 35 min video clip of the keynote talk and to the 40 slides she used in her talk. Thankfully you will be able to go through those slides much slower than we did. Some of those slides contained cartoons which brought home the message stronger than the graphs and numbers were able to. The cartoons came from Chris Morgan at CXMedia, http://www.cxmedia.com/ . His work is free to share for personal use, and can be licensed at very reasonable rates by churches and institutions by the image or by an annual fee.  

Ruth began her presentation by talking about her father-in-law's ministry, which in equal measure inspired her and filled her with guilt and embarrassment. He could talk to anyone anywhere about Jesus. In particular he loved to pick up hitch-hikers and would take them anywhere they wanted to go – on one condition – that they let him tell them about Jesus.  

1996 was the first time Catholic parishes participated in the NCLS. There is now enough survey data to talk about trends.  

The first trend is about the context in which we evangelise. There has been a notable decline in belief in God, in Christian identification and in church attendance. 20 years ago 4 in 5 people would be familiar with Christian concepts if you spoke to them, now it is 3 in 5 people and dropping. This is not just an Australian trend. We now have a big cultural gap between the churched and the unchurched. This means that you have to reconsider where and how you fish for souls.     

The second trend is about readiness to share your faith with others. One of the 2011 NCL Survey questions went like this:

Q. Which of the following best describes your readiness to talk to others about your faith?

a) I do not have faith, so the answer is not applicable

b) I do not like to talk about my faith; my life and actions are sufficient

c) I find it hard to talk about my faith in ordinary language

d) I mostly feel at ease talking about my faith and do so if it comes up

e) I feel at ease talking about my faith and look for opportunities to do so

15% of Catholics answered e) and 52% answered d). Results over the 2001 to 2011 period showed a small increase in e) and a small decrease in b). What this means is that in any given parish you have 15% of your parishioners who are gifted evangelists. The interesting thing is that the average e) answer for Protestants was 18%. The numbers are so similar that you could infer that the Holy Spirit gifts people to be evangelists at a constant rate across all believers. With the good news that these people are already in your pews, the question then becomes 'What are you doing to train these people with the talent to be evangelists to be better and more effective evangelists?'

To the 2006 NCL Survey question 'Has this parish offered significant training for lay people in outreach/evangelisation roles in the past 2 years?' 11% of Catholics said yes, 28% of Pentecostals and 24% of Baptists said yes. There is a major opportunity here.  

Evangelisation requires the whole community working together. You need to think in terms of fishing nets not fishing lines. Your parish is the fishing net.

The churches that have been effective at evangelisation have some core qualities:
Internal : Worship, Faith, Belonging
Inspirational : Vision, Leadership, Innovation
Outward : Service, Faith-sharing, Inclusion  

The third trend is that effective churches are orienting towards 'newcomers'. A newcomer is classed as someone who wasn't attending church 5 years ago, and this includes both first-timers and those returning after a long absence.  

What does the average Catholic newcomer look like? The results from the 2011 NCL Survey tell us that she looks a lot like Nerida. Nerida is 46 years old, married, employed and has a university degree. Her mother was a significant faith influence, but Nerida hasn't been to church for many years. However, lately in her life she has been feeling that something is missing, and she would like her children to know something about God. She didn't shop around for a church, but went to the local parish church because a friend invited her. She is not sure what she believes in, but she goes to Mass to worship God, to share in the Eucharist and to get some time to pray and reflect. Nerida has been growing in her faith this year, and she puts that down to the life and witness of everyone at her parish.  

In any congregation the average population of newcomers is 5%. That's a bit lower for Catholics at 3.4% and higher for the Pentecostals at 11% (Ed. Strong correlation here between outreach/evangelisation courses and newcomers).  

Half of all Catholic newcomers are in their 30s and 40s. The average age of a Catholic newcomer is 46, for a Baptist newcomer it is 40 and for a Pentecostal newcomer it is 35.  

Catholic newcomers are 56% female, 68% married, 36% university educated, 68% Australian born.

The average Catholic Mass attender is 39% male, 6% separated/divorced, 33% have degrees.

Catholic newcomers are close to the average Australian, at 44% male, 10% separated/divorced, 39% have degrees.  

What else do we know about Catholic newcomers?  

The most significant people in their lives to show them what faith is about were mothers 77% fathers 48% followed by grandparents/spouses/other family all at 16% and teachers, friends, clergy, chaplains at lower levels. This tells us that the role of parents and family is crucial for faith development and that childhood involvement in church is the best predictor of future church attendance in adult life.  

Unlike our Protestant brethren, Catholic newcomers do not shop around when looking for a church to attend. In the 12 months prior to going to their current Catholic parish 34% did not go to any other church and 34% visited one other church.  

And what are the triggers that bring Catholic newcomers in the door?

The top 5 NCL Survey answers were – after choosing 2 options out of 10

1. Felt something was missing in their lives 19%
   
   
2. Moved to a new area 17%
   
   
3. Wanted children to have a religious upbringing 14%
   
   
4. Spouse invited me / I accompanied my spouse 11%
   
   
5. I felt guilty for not attending 8%  
   
   

Catholic newcomers are almost twice as likely to say that the church was the source of their growth in faith in the previous year, than the rest of the parish.

And what are the top 5 reasons Catholic newcomers give for becoming church attenders – after choosing 2 options out of 12?

1. To worship / experience God 58%
   
   
2. To share in the Eucharist 35%
   
   
3. For a time of prayer and reflection 30%
   
   
4. To make sure my children are exposed to the faith 15%
   
   
5. To learn more about the faith 10%
   
   

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The next blog-post will be about the other two trends in the National Church Life Survey, and a look at what is working on other Christian churches.  

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454

Some of the talks and workshops are now available from http://www.proclaimconference.com.au/resources. Several video clips, transcripts, handouts and slide presentations are downloadable.  

Workshop  2A: RCIA: Ideas for welcoming new Catholics AND ensuring they stay

This workshop was presented by Sharon brewer of Canberra Goulburn diocese.

Sharon Brewer is a wife and mother to four children. After her family her second passion is her involvement in parish life. For the last 23 years she has been involved with the parishes of St Francis of Assisi, Calwell and more recently Corpus Christi Parish, South Tuggeranong. Sharon first became involved through the Parish Social Group and then offered her help with parish administration. As the Tuggeranong Valley became one of the fastest growing areas in Australia, Sharon assisted with Baptism classes for many families. Over time she became more involved in the sacramental preparation of children. In recent years she has been developing programs for Older Child Baptisms, Teenage Sacramental Programs, adult faith formation and assisting with the RCIA program. Additionally she has collaborated in the publication of a quarterly parish magazine and the Corpus Christi Parish Prayer Book.

At the start of the workshop Sharon asked for a show of hands of cradle Catholics vs converts, and then how many of the converts had been through an RCIA process as opposed to one on one sessions with a priest. About 3 or 4 had been through an RCIA process.

Sharon then went briefly through some of RCIA handbooks and publications on offer from various Australian dioceses. Some of them are hardcopy, others are DVD sets or can be downloaded from websites. The choice of which resources to use has to be made on pastoral level and not on a practical level. To use the same handbooks year in and year out does not take account of the different mix of enquirers in each 'intake' and what would suit that intake best.

From visiting parishes in the Canberra Goulburn diocese and asking about their RCIA experiences and retention rates, it was clear that the smaller more isolated parishes had better retention rates than the bigger city parishes. This is likely to be because the smaller more isolated parishes have stronger, less fractured communities, than bigger city parishes.

One way to get greater involvement and understanding in the parish about the RCIA is to hold an Open Night rather than an Enquiry Night. If people know more about the RCIA process they are more likely to invite someone to come along, and to get involved themselves.

One trend we have noticed is that there are more children / teenagers wanting to become Catholics in the school setting. The challenge is how to run the RCIA / RCIC at the schools and still link them into the parish. The parish has to go to the young people, and cannot expect the young people to come to the parish to do the programme. Currently 'The Christ We Proclaim' is being re-written for the Australian context and is being field tested. Look for it to be available for use in the next 12 months.

Another trend is that 15 years ago new enquirers would come knowing that they would have to get their marital issues sorted out before becoming fully initiated Catholics. Now we are finding that people are getting towards the end of the RCIA programme before finding out that they need to get their marital status in the eyes of the Church sorted out, together with all the tears, disappointments and delays that situation causes. It is very important to do an interview process at the start of the RCIA journey in order to get all those things out into the open (re-marriages, de-facto relationships, blended families, any need for annulments etc) so that they can get worked on while the RCIA is going on. While the interview process cannot be an interrogation, it still needs to be both pastoral and thorough.

What are our enquirers / seekers seeking?

Enquirers have different needs and cannot be treated the same. Here are some common scenarios. At the workshop participants were broken up into groups and given a scenario each. Then they had to answer two questions:

1) Name three things your enquirer might be looking for in the RCIA process.

2) Name three things your enquirer might be looking for in the faith community

1. Mr Jones is married to Mrs Jones, who has been a Catholic all her life. They have three children who have gone through a Catholic school. After 20 years of marriage, he is thinking of becoming a Catholic.
   
   
2. Jessica Smith is in Year 11 at high school. Her parents are not Catholic but thought it might be nice to send her to a Catholic school. Because of her school experiences Jessica is thinking about becoming Catholic.
   
   
3. Mr and Mrs Green are not Catholics, but they are interested in sending their children to a Catholic school. This was picked up in the enrolment interview process and the Parish Priest has asked them to go along to the RCIA enquiry night. They probably will attend, since they realise that they might have to get their children baptised in order to increase their chances of their enrolments being accepted.
   
   
4. Patricia Brown is in her mid 60s and when she was a little girl she went to Sunday School. Now she is divorced, her children have left home, and she is feeling lonely. She is not a Catholic, but knows there is a Catholic church near where she lives and wonders if she could become a part of that community.
   
   
5. Jack is in his late 20s and has a few tattoos. He's done a few crazy things and he is struggling with relationships. Could religion help him?
   
   
6. Melanie is studying at a Catholic university and hopes to graduate as a teacher. She was baptised Catholic, but her parents didn't go to Mass and she did not complete her sacramental initiation. Her uni friends are advising her that she will have a better shot at getting a job in a Catholic school if she has completed the sacraments. She's thinking about it.
   
   
7. Frederick White was baptised and raised in another Christian tradition. He takes quite an academic approach to life. He no longer identifies with the church he grew up in and has heard some interesting things about the Catholic Church. He's making enquiries.
   
   
8. Max is engaged to Mary. She is a Catholic and would like a nuptial Mass for her wedding. Max is not a Catholic, but is prepared to do whatever it takes to please Mary. One snag, the wedding date is a few weeks before Easter.
   
   

Each of these enquirers will have different expectations of the RCIA process and it will be very rare that they are coming because they want to find God or Jesus. Some of them ….  

• Will want to know exactly what is required. How much time is involved, any costs? They almost need a spreadsheet plan with dates and times etc. Detail is what they want, including who will be involved (the priest, the team, others), and how the whole process works.
  
  
• Will want a lot of flexibility - they won't be able to get there every week - does that matter? They'll be looking for the easiest path and the minimum requirements. Do they really have to do the "Easter Thing" i.e.do they have to wait that long.
  
  
• Will need a way to discuss their personal baggage/problems etc. All of them will bring baggage. Does your parish have access to counselling services or a pastoral care person? The RCIA team need to help such people address those issues outside of the RCIA meetings and should be looking for people outside the team to assist them.
  
  
• Will want to know why the Church is interested in their previous/current marriage arrangements. Make sure you get to know the person at the diocesan marriage tribunal who does have the answers. Does your parish have the resources to help them (books, DVDs, web-links)? What assistance and advice can the marriage tribunal give?
  
  
• Will want a very academic approach versus a more conversational/storytelling approach.
  
  
• Will want to know how you live your life of faith - you need to be honest and vulnerable. Be prepared to share your struggles in detail. Be prepared to share how God has worked in your relationships. If you share at this level they will be able to begin a relationship with you, and through your experiences get the courage to start building a relationship with God.
  
  
• Won't know what to expect at all.
  
  
•  The person who comes who doesn't know what they want will be the hardest to satisfy.
  
  

The way you start small talk with your enquirers will have an impact upon how quickly you can build a relationship with them. You need to step out of your comfort zone and talk about something other than 'What do you do for a living?' For example, 'What did you think about Father's talk tonight?', 'Where do you think you are on your faith journey?'  Remember, everyone is somewhere on their faith journey, if they got as far as an enquiry night they are not at the very beginning.  You will know that the conversion process is going in the right direction when they start to discover God's love and get excited about it. Sharon knew they had nailed it when all of them when writing about their RCIA experiences talked about discovering God and how much He was now part of their lives.  

What are our enquirers / seekers looking for in a faith community?  

• They will be looking for the very same things that cradle Catholics are looking for in their faith community.
  
  
• They will be attracted by ministry (especially hospitality), music (good liturgy) and message (something to nourish the soul and to chew over) - "The Rebuilt Story". Until a parish starts doing these three tasks well, parishioners will not begin to invite newcomers to their Churches.
  
  
• They are looking for relationships, with God and with the parishioners.
  
  
• They want to feel that they belong on the journey to God together with the congregation.
  
  
• They want to learn how to find their way to God through prayer.

 
Keeping it going

Just because an enquirer has started the journey into the church, it doesn't mean that they will finish it.

• The enquirer tells you 'I'm exhausted. I've got to have a break'. That means they are beginning to drift away. In such cases it does help to have non-team parishioners praying for the enquirers and verbally reminding them of those prayers once in a while.
  
  
• It is crucial to build the expectation that the initiation process ends at Pentecost not at the Easter Vigil, and even after Pentecost they haven't finished learning and growing – and that this is a full lifetime's work. If there is an expectation that there are some vital follow-up sessions/events/experiences, they will come.
  
  
• Keep reminding them that the time of mystagogy (the life long journey of growing closer to God) is not an "add-on" or "optional extra" but something essential. (Ed. Would you teach a youngster the road rules then give him the keys of the car and give him or her no further driving help? Of course not! Theory is one thing, practical experience is quite another). Build up some excitement for the post-Easter Vigil  learning and sharing.
  
  
• The RCIA team needs a break. The usual programme from August to March/April is a long haul. To keep things fresh and interesting it is worthwhile introducing some new team members during Holy Week who will be involved in the mystagogy process. That will lighten the load a bit.
  
  
• Some team members will need pastoral care themselves. Team members should be looking out for each other and alert for the early signs of burnout.
  
  
• Consider options that don't necessarily involve the team, eg. other parishioners or other parish groups, diocesan follow-on and adult ed. programs.
  
  

Things to look out for after the sacraments of initiation have been received :

• The downer after the high.
  
  
• The newcomers may feel that they are not special any more. Now they are just another Joe Bloe in the pew. To illustrate this, one mum had post-natal depression and had attempted RCIA three times. Prior to becoming a Catholic she would go up in the Communion procession and receive a blessing, maybe the sign of the cross on her forehead. Now she was receiving the Body of Christ, but she wasn't receiving that physical touch and she really missed it.   
  
  
• The newcomers may feel like they are on their own with no one to turn to for further help or advice (particularly if the team are busy with a new intake of enquirers).
  
  
• We should look out for tell-tale comments like "it doesn't matter if I miss Mass every now and then, because no one will miss me if I'm not there, so it doesn't matter if I come or not'.
  
  

 Ideas for keeping them coming back
 

• Consider giving them a regular task to do in parish life.
  
  
• Foster a sense of gratitude so that the transition from consumer to both consumer and contributor is smooth. We need to have answers for how they can support the local parish and for how the local parish can support them.
  
  
• The parish needs a plan at the parish council level for integrating the new Catholics into parish life. It requires both thinking and planning to make it happen.
  
  
• Get your parishioners involved along the way. Make some of your RCIA meeting nights 'open nights' for anyone to attend. However if you do, make sure that the hospitality is excellent (ie far more than tea, coffee and a biscuit). It is very important that the team regularly attracts fresh blood and doesn't become a clique.
  
  
• Get your new candidates onto e-mailing lists for both the parish and the diocese, eg Cath News, parish bulletins, diocesan e-zines.
  
  
• Get them to tell their story in person (at church, in schools) and to write it down too, and publish them in your diocesan magazines and online eg http://myfamilymyfaith.org.au/
  
  
• Help them to discern their gifts and charisms and encourage the use of them. They need to understand how the Holy Spirit has gifted them beyond what they were already good at. The Called & Gifted programme is good for this. http://bne.catholic.net.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=11362
  
  
• Consider what could they offer the next RCIA process
  
  
• Ask the bishop for some words of encouragement and send it to them in a letter from him.
  
  
• Send birthday and Christmas cards, and 'one year since the Easter Vigil – how are you going?' cards
  
  
• Personally invite them, by phone, text email, to events such as Faith formation and social events.
  
  
• Offer once in a while to come and take them to Mass so that you can go together for coffee afterwards
  
  
• Introduce them to good internet links and websites and YouTube clips.
  
  
• Give them personal encouragement.
  
  
• Don't underestimate the importance of excellent sponsors. These will be their role models, their encouragers and their listening ears. The right sponsor makes an enormous difference, since their role will last much longer than the RCIA process. Discourage if you can sponsors who are friends at a similar point in their faith journey as the candidate. If necessary, live with it and appoint a mentor for them instead.
  
  

Useful Resources  

The Catholic Enquiry Centre has brochures that can be downloaded for free. http://www.catholicenquiry.com/

Fr Robert Barron  10 one hour DVDs http://www.catholicismseries.com/study-program

Australian Catechumenate Network http://www.ozcatechumenate.org/

At Home With God's People, http://www.ahwgp.com/asp/index.asp?pgid=11988 from the Archdiocese of Brisbane

Fr Robert Barron, YouTube 'The Real Presence' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJjW3LXuHzo

The Skit Guys http://skitguys.com/ Christian video clips

Encouraging words from Pope Francis  

"All of us are called to offer others an explicit witness to the saving love of the Lord, who despite our imperfections offers us His closeness, His word and His strength, and gives meaning to our lives. In your heart you know that it is not the same to live without Him; what you have come to realise, what has helped you to live and given you hope, is what you also need to communicate to others".  (EG 121)

"So what are we waiting for?"  (EG 120)

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The next blog-post will be about the keynote talk on trends in the National Church Life Survey – which may get posted in two parts.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454
 

Workshop 2D: What is the Kerygma? What is it we should proclaim?

This workshop was presented by Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart.

Diocesan pages about him http://hobart.catholic.org.au/archbishop/biography

His blog http://bishopjulianporteous.com/

His Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bishop.porteous

Twitter https://twitter.com/BishopJulianP

(Ed. There have been far fewer postings on these social media sites since he became Archbishop of Hobart in September 2013.)

Before we formally began the workshop, Archbishop Porteous gave a short plug for his new book, 'New Evangelisation : Pastoral Strategy for the Church at the Beginning of the Third Millennium'  rrp $24.95

We are here for Proclaim 2014, but what do we proclaim? What is the message we are to deliver?

Let's look at what Jesus proclaimed?

Can you summarise that in 10 words or less? Have a go now…..

So what did St John the Baptist proclaim? (10 words or less)

Repent. The Messiah is coming. I am not Him.

John asked people to respond to that message by baptism, which at that time wasn't yet a sacrament but a symbolic act of ending one way of life and starting a new different way of life. We use the English word 'repent', but the actual word in Greek is 'metanoia' . The meaning is closer to 'turn back to God', 're-orient your life', 'change your direction'.  John was very insistent on making sure that the repentance was authentic, 'If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to ear must do the same.' Luke 3:11. 'No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!' Luke 3:14 John the Baptist was a powerful and effective preacher, otherwise multitudes would not have gone out to the desert wilderness to hear him preach. He kept the message simple, 'Repent, do the public washing as a sign of that repentance, then live out the change in your life.'

So what was the message of Jesus? (10 words or less)

The kingdom of God is here. Repent and believe.  Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15,

All of the other messages of Jesus are out-workings of this core message.

This kingdom is not of this world. The kingdom is where God rules over the hearts and minds of those who decide to live under His rule. The Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to initiate a new Davidic kingdom, the kingdom Jesus preached was very different. The importance of the kingdom to Jesus is underlined in the Our Father where we pray 'Your kingdom come' asking that the kingdom might break into our lives right now, and in its fullness in the 'not yet'.

God's kingdom comes in us when we bring our lives under the reign of God. Jesus refers to Satan as the prince of this world. So we have a choice about whose rule we will live our lives under, and that decision is very important. Knowing that Jesus is the strong man who has tied up Satan and burgled his property helps us choose wisely. Mark 3:27, Matt 12:29.What do we have to do to enter into the kingdom? Repent and believe. Benedict XVI talked about the 'door of faith' and in John 10:9 Jesus talks about Himself as the gate. On earth the kingdom of God is imperfect, as the many parables of Jesus about the kingdom in Matt 13 teach.

So what did the early Church preach?

Was it Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again?

Was it John 3:16, 'For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life?'

Peter preached like this, 'God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ' Acts 2:36 and asked his listeners to respond by repenting, believing/ being baptised and then receiving the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38.

Jesus spoke of the kingdom: the Church speaks of Jesus, 'I want to tell you about Jesus.'

(Ed. We should not be at all surprised at this, for don't we expect a bridegroom to talk about his bride, and for a bride to talk about her bridegroom?)

The Church's message is that 'I want to tell you about Jesus', and 'I want to tell you that He is Lord' – a divine title, 'and that He is the Christ'- the anointed one, the messiah, and that Jesus is the way, the path, by which we enter His kingdom. How do we respond to this message? By repenting, being baptised and receiving the Holy Spirit. Doing this will release the power of the kingdom and baptism is no longer just symbolic but the entering into a whole new reality.

So what did St Paul preach? Paul goes to Philippi and writes a letter to the Philippians, Paul goes to Thessalonika and writes letters to the Thessalonians, Paul goes to Athens and there is no letter to the Athenians, then he goes to Corinth and there are letters to the Corinthians. Something went badly wrong in Athens. Paul reflects on this on his way to Corinth and makes a big decision, 'I'm going to do things differently'. This is what he said in 1 Cor 2:1-2, 'When I came to you it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about Him as the crucified Christ'.  And what happened? 'In my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit'. 1 Cor 2:4. When Paul preached only about the crucified Christ he saw the power of God work.

Paul's experiences teach us something very important. The proclamation of the kingdom cannot skirt the Cross. If it does it sells the Gospel short and without power.

So how do we preach the Gospel today, in 2014? What is our message? We need to preach the crucified Christ too. The big question is how do you build up to that message? How do you build up to speaking about the Cross and the Passion? Preaching that way on street corners doesn't work so well these days. Let's look at how the great preachers of our time, the Popes, have been doing it. After all, no one likes to hear the word 'Repent'.

St John Paul II preached this way at his inaugural homily on 22 Oct 1978

"Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept His power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ's power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To His saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows "what is in man". He alone knows it."

Benedict XVI preached this way at his first homily on 24 Apr 2005

"If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen."

Francis I preached this way at his first Mass after his election with the cardinal electors on 14 Mar 2013

"The same Peter who professed Jesus Christ, now says to him: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. That has nothing to do with it. I will follow you on other terms, but without the Cross. When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord.

My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward.

My prayer for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, will grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ crucified. Amen."

Our message can be one of invitation: Discover Jesus. Open your heart and your life to Him. Allow yourself to have a personal encounter with Him.

The invitation to personal encounter needs to be given clearly. Our task is to help others discover the treasure that is Jesus Christ.

What does kerygma mean? It means good news. For a fuller explanation visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerygma

(Ed. At the conclusion of this workshop we were a bit frustrated that there wasn't more time spent on the How we could actually preach the crucified Christ to the people of our time, ideas for introducing Him into conversations etc. Should you have any ideas on this matter, please use a comment to share them.)

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The next blog-post will be about the workshop on the RCIA – ideas about welcoming new Catholics and ensuring they stay.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454

Workshop 1F: Room for everybody – Disability and Inclusion

This workshop was presented by Rev Dr Anthony Gooley a deacon from the Archdiocese of Brisbane and currently working with the Broken Bay Institute, together with Zachariah Duke, a PhD student who also lectures at the Broken Bay Institute.  Dr Gooley has recently published a book called 'Bite Size Vatican II'.

This is Maria's story.

Maria is 36 years old, and has a range of disabilities including some intellectual disability and physical difficulty in communicating due to a malformation of the palate. Some sounds she is able to make are recognisable as words.

Maria was moved to a group home, in a location she had no connection with, but not by choice. This was chosen for her by the department of disability services. The three others who live in the group home have similar disabilities. She did not know these three prior to moving in. Her main source of interaction with other people is with paid workers eg cleaners, case workers, those who prepare meals.  There is a high turnover rate with these paid workers: they don't stay long. Friends are few, and family rarely make contact.

Due to the move, Maria was also now in a new parish. She got noticed quickly because she was very physical in her response to the music. If the music was good, she would clap and sway. Mostly she didn't clap according to the rhythm of the music, and she would sit as close as she could to the musicians. Her behaviour was seen as annoying by most people.

In the same parish was a bloke named Paul. He was married with children, was employed and had lots of friends. He was also a valued member of the parish and the parish choir. After observing what had been going on, Paul decided to ask Maria a question: 'Would you like to join the parish choir?'

This question was the start of a major transformation in Maria's life. She now had a reason to go out of the group home for choir practice : something that wasn't medical, governmental etc that was her choice and not chosen for her. She was also meeting people on a person to person basis, not on a doctor to patient, or carer to client basis. Over time she was invited to join the choir at the coffee shop after Mass, and other activities they decided to do as a group. Once the choir group started focussing on what Maria could do rather than what she couldn't do, it was only a matter of time before someone offered her a part-time job that suited her abilities. Now she not only belonged, and had access to relationships that could last, she also had the little bit of independence and self-worth which comes from being employed and a colleague.

Paul was able to reach out to Maria because he grew up with a brother who had Downs Syndrome, and the confidence to relate to her and the ability to smooth her integration into the choir group. He recognised that both Maria had the capacity to become a valued choir member and that the choir had the capacity to include someone a bit different into their activities – and he acted on it. As a result of his invitation to Maria, some of the community grew in confidence in relating to her and in the capacity to include others in similar situations.

Thinking Time

We were asked to take a few minutes to write down some of the things a person could do to contribute to a choir other than singing. This are the ideas the workshop attendees came up with:

Helping with the administration of the music sheets, preparing the tea and coffee after the practice, playing a musical instrument, playing a percussion instrument, helping set up the electrical stuff (microphones, amplifiers, etc) work the overhead slides, turn the pages of music for the organist, help choose the music, doing the photocopying, setting up the music stands, filling the folders with copies of the new music, and handing out hymn books.

Those with disabilities still have the same needs we do, the basic ones (food, clothing, shelter, safety) as well as the need for an income, for social interaction, for good health, for purpose etc)

Society is still fearful of disability, and sees a disabled person as a cost and a burden rather than a person.

Disability is a common, but varied experience. Most people will experience a bout of disability in their lives (failing eyesight, reduced mobility, broken bones, mental illness etc)

Zachariah then told us a bit about his qualitative inquiry into how the Catholic Church in Australia is doing with regard to inclusion. He spoke about some of the 25 interviews he had conducted with people across Australia and the questions that were part of that interview process:

• Describe the extent of inclusion in your parish/ school/ deanery/ diocese.
  
  
• Does the practice of inclusion match the talk about inclusion in your area?
  
  
• Is your parish/school/deanery/diocesan policy backed up with resources?
  
  
• Have there been any modifications to liturgy and worship to make it more inclusive?
  
  

As you might expect, in some places we are doing well and in other places not so well with regard to inclusion of those with disabilities in church life.

Inclusion is a planned and intentional activity

• Most parishes don't plan to exclude people, they just fail to plan to include them.
  
  
• At any given time 20% of the population has a disability of some sort (mobility, eyesight, healing, intellectual and emotional disabilities etc)
  
  
• Maybe there are people in your parish who are not in the pews because they simply can't get in (eg no ramp, too far to walk from car park to pew)
  
  
• Maybe there are people in your parish who are not in the pews because they have experienced hurt, misunderstanding and exclusion at some time in the past (eg they were supposed to do a reading at a special Mass but they could not get up the stairs necessary to do so)
  
  
• Maybe there are people in your parish who are not in the pews because they don't know you want to include them (eg we are a safe, understanding place you can bring your autistic child to)
  
  

  Plan for access

• Access (ease of getting in and out of your building) is only one issue, but a complete audit of accessibility of all areas is essential (eg there is little point being able to get into the building if you then can't gain access to a toilet).
  
  
• Inclusion is much, much more than providing ramps and toilets for those with limited mobility. Inclusion is knowing that if you are not there, that you will be missed.
  
  
• There is no access without planning
  
  
• Don't assume you can fix access problems without the input of those who find it difficult to access your buildings. Talk with them, learn from them. Plan with them.
  
  

Engage in advocacy

• Meet with local disability groups. It is one way of making sure they know you want to include them.
  
  
• Learn from these groups, they are your best teachers on the path to inclusion
  
  
• Find out about the issues and challenges they face
  
  
• Show solidarity with them, as allies and advocates in their needs (eg if the local railway station needs a lift, join them in lobbying the various levels of government.
  
  
• Get your local parish social justice group involved
  
  

Consider how those with disabilities can serve at a parish level

• For each type of service, greeters, collectors, readers, altar servers, extraordinary ministers of holy communion etc ask, 'Who could do this role?'
  
  
• Focus on what a person with a disability can do, not on what they can't do.
  
  
• Ask them what they would like to do. The answers may surprise you.
  
  
• Think also about other ways of service : social media communication, parish bulletin folding, setting up for social functions, operating  the overhead screens, cooking, driving, craft group etc
  
  

Inclusion is about evangelisation. It is about welcome.

Don't be afraid to put up great big signs to say, 'we have a ramp', 'we have a hearing loop'.  

The spirituality and theology of communion give us an excellent framework for thinking about inclusion.

Novo Millennio Ineunte 43-50 and Lumen Gentiium Chapter 5 are well worth meditating on in this context.

The spirituality and theology of communion is the key to understanding the central concept of Vatican II.  

Communion suggests that inclusion is at the heart of the self-definition of the Church, and not a special project for communities. Communion regards the Eucharistic assembly as the realisation of inclusion and communion. Periodically it is worthwhile to have prayers for those with disabilities in the prayers of the faithful. By Baptism each person becomes a member of the Church, so each baptised person who has a disability is fundamentally included and this just needs to become a lived reality in parish life. We need to minimise the numbers of those who say in words or by their behaviour 'you are not welcome'.

When the priest hold up the host and says, 'The Body of Christ' to which we respond 'Amen', we are saying Yes, Amen to the Body of Christ present in the whole Church, in His ministers, and in Jesus Himself.

Communion highlights the necessity of a spiritual foundation of inclusion. Inclusion is one of the authentic signs of the Kingdom of God. We need to encourage prayer and reflection on these matters. We need to name the struggles and to work on them. We need to form parishioners in holiness.

Getting 'buy in' from parishioners at a parish level is not easy – because inclusion is not a glamorous issue.  

The challenge is to find ways to connect with those not yet included. Three possible pathways are employment, housing and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). In any parish there are parishioners who are potential employers, providers of work experience and advocates for those with disabilities.

What are the options for valued work in a parish context for those with disabilities?

Who are the small business owners in your parish?

A lot of people don't know what kinds of help are available to them, if they or a loved one has a disability.  

Principles to guide inclusion in a parish context

• Plan with, not for, people with disability
  
  
• It is not about the disability, it is about Maria and Jose, Meena and Aaron-real people with concrete needs.
  
  
• It is not about something we are doing for them (people with disability) but something we are doing for us (the Catholic community). Without them we are diminished. Anything we do to help someone with a specific disability will also benefit everyone else who has a lesser form of that disability.
  
  
• Beware of talking to people as though they were children or babies, they're not.
  
  

God's big revelations have been Himself, Holy Scripture and Community (Israel/Church)  

We need to invite others to become part of the inclusion process. We need to help them to get to know people with disabilities, to prepare them to succeed, and to do as much myth busting about various disabilities as possible.  

The Australian Catholic Disability Council  (Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ACDCouncil )

https://www.catholic.org.au/advisory-bodies/australian-catholic-disability-council

https://www.catholic.org.au/media-centre/councils/cat_view/11-councils/50-australian-catholic-disability-council

This Council has produced many publications, including braille versions and audio versions of Papal documents.  

Working on inclusion is taking part in the mission of Jesus, who enabled people on the margins to return to the full life of the community.      

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In the next blog-post will be about the workshop on the Kerygma – the essential part of the Gospel to proclaim.

Some of the workshops have been made available as podcasts via www.xt3.com

To access them visit http://www.xt3.com/library/view.php?id=17454