​There's a lot to like about Pat Keady's book 'Spearhead: Reshaping the Church to Engage the Word'. But there's a dangerous 10% which concerns me greatly. Let's focus on the good stuff first:

When I first heard about this book I was excited because there has been prophetic word over the last 6 months about God releasing anointing upon writers and songwriters, and this book began when Pat Keady woke very early one morning with an impetus to write from the Holy Spirit. So I really wanted to read it.

The font is easy to read, the paper has a lovely glossy feel and the graphic design layout is beautiful.

The first half of the book is particularly good. For anyone wanting an easy to digest synthesis of what God has been saying through Pope Francis and various parish renewal movements over the last 3 years, it is brilliant, particularly if you delight in Australian idioms. If you are deep in the trenches of parish renewal, in the first half you won't be reading anything new, but you might be reading it from a fresh perspective.

However, as a book to invite someone from the sidelines into the trenches, that's where its true value is to be found.

Two insights I found particularly helpful. The first is the story of Jonathan, son of Saul, and his armour-bearer from 1 Samuel 14 about how the two of them trusting in the help of God made a daring foray into enemy Philistine territory and began a battle that inspired traitors to turn back to allegiance to God's people and eventually involved the whole army of Israel in victory. A few committed people doing something brave and unusual, but filled with faith, can have a very big impact.

The second is an insight into the story of Pentecost, Acts 1, about how God met people where they were at by giving His Apostles and disciples the gift of the languages of the people. It wasn't about various languages now becoming a single language.

Pat uses this story to make his case that we have to learn the cultures of the groups we wish to evangelise, so that we can build a bridge – mainly through music – with which to present the Gospel. Now Pat is looking at the inculturation possibilities in the liturgy through music.

This is where my thoughts diverge from his. Pentecost didn't take place within the liturgy, it took place out in the streets, in the marketplace. I think we do the liturgy a disservice if we try to make it into a vehicle for evangelisation. Firstly, the liturgy only makes sense once a person has been evangelised and awakened by the Holy Spirit. Secondly, for the early church an invitation to the liturgy was the last thing you did with a newcomer, and not the first thing. Even today when I read modern stories of conversion the majority of people darken the doors of a church as one of the last steps on their journey home to Catholic faith.

Therefore we need intermediate steps between the secular world and the liturgy. In such intermediate steps lay preaching, testimonies and contemporary music that engages the culture of the groups you desire to evangelise find their natural home.

It is worth trusting the wisdom of Mother Church on this one, when she insists that ordained ministers preach during the liturgy. They have been anointed and set apart for this purpose and have a minimum of 7 years of study behind them. While it is true that many of them don't have an obvious gift of preaching, we have to allow God to be God, knowing that a homily that does not engage you and me at all might contain the very words that someone else needs to hear. Instead of the satisfaction of complaining, our energies are much better directed to praying that our priests do receive the charismatic gift of preaching and praying that they preach according to the mind and heart of Jesus, in full harmony with the teachings of His Church and to the maximum spiritual benefit of those that will be present when they preach.

I've got no troubles with lay preachers if they exercise their ministry before or after the liturgy, but not during it.

My definition of culture is different too. Again we do a disservice if we only think about culture in terms of liturgical elements, eg architecture, music (eg African drums), decorative motifs on vestments and liturgical vessels, artwork (eg Our Lady of China).

For me culture is expressed primarily in public, private and family devotional practices. That's the fiestas, the processions, pilgrimages, special food for feast days, grace before meals, traditions passed down in families and nations, preferred spiritualities of prayer (people from exuberant cultures will prefer loud praise and dance, people from reserved cultures will prefer reflective silence and Eucharistic adoration) etc.

A cultural group votes with their feet about what is important to them. In Australia we seem to like setting off fireworks at major celebrations, gathering friends and family around a barbecue, Anzac Day touches us deeply, we like singing Christmas carols in big groups, and 'don't interrupt me if the footy, tennis or cricket is on'. These are the areas where creativity and Holy Spirit inspired ingenuity can take something naturally wholesome and elevate it to something supernaturally good.

On the very vexed subject of liturgical music, here's my two cents worth. While hip contemporary music for all songs at all Masses might seem like the answer, it isn't. Let me count the ways. Firstly if your average congregation is aged 70+, you are going to alienate them. Secondly, from my studies of conversion stories it is experiences of the historicity of the Church that make a difference. Thirdly, when people decide to come home to the Church (eg cradle Catholics returning after an absence), a familiar song really helps. Be a wise musical scribe and bring out from the liturgical music storehouse music that is both old and new. We need to sing new songs to the Lord, no question about that, but we need a mix; hymns that have stood the test of centuries of time, hymns that have stood the test of decades of time, hymns that have become favourites during the past decade and the new stuff. In other words we need to show our Catholicity (universality) in our musical selections and not narrow it down to one genre and era. The new is good, and the old is good; use both.

I was so hoping to read about fresh new ideas for spreading the good news of Jesus. That's what I was hungering for. So I'll contribute my own weird and wacky idea instead. Many Australians love going to live sporting events. There's plenty of God-loving-Catholics who rush home after Mass to watch the footy on TV. So if you have a youth group, a Cursillo group, a covenant community group etc, that has lots of sports loving members, consider this:

Make a group booking at a sporting event. Get yourselves matching T-shirts to wear (a slogan like 'Ask me about Jesus' on them or similar would be good). Sit together. Be clued up before you go as to how to act if unusual things transpire. For example, if a fight starts on the field, you all drop to your knees and pray for peace and reconciliation; if a player gets injured, you drop to your knees and collectively pray for the injured player, his/her family and the medical people assisting them; if the crowd starts boo-ing, you sit silently and pray for conversion of hearts; as you go from your seat to the toilets, to purchase merchandise or food and drink, silently beg God's blessing on every person on your path there and back, and if someone stops you and asks you the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15), give it to them.

One thing Pat Keady does well is underline how all renewal has to start with us, with us taking God more seriously than we have ever taken Him before. Surrendering to His will; seeking the grace and power of the Holy Spirit; spending quality time in prayer and listening to Him; spending quality time reading from the Bible and studying His ways; making daily Mass and regular recourse to the sacrament of Penance a priority.

Another thing Pat Keady does well is talk about the difficulties faced by anyone who wants to try something new to further the kingdom of God. None of us like change, none of us are real keen on being challenged, so there's both this natural battle and the supernatural battle to contend with. Kick-back comes with the territory. This is true, but some kick-back is natural/supernatural resistance and some kick-back is 'hey, you are truly going the wrong way', and you need to pray for the wisdom and humility to know the difference.

He also speaks well about the times when everything just flows and the times when it is a test of grit and endurance through manifold difficulties. Lots of people in ministry need to hear his encouragement to keep on going.

In conclusion, yes it is a worthwhile book to read, however I personally would only invite someone to read it after first sharing the concerns I have about that 10% of content with them.

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

Before we get to the rest of Fr Michael White's and Tom Corcoran's keynote speech, it is important that I pass on to you what Bishop Peter Ingham said as part of his preamble to Morning Prayer – and which made such an impact that it was repeated by many other speakers and presenters at the conference.

It went like this: Bishop Ingham said, 'That if Jesus were with us today, I think the message He would give us is this, 'Tweet others as you would like to be Tweeted'.

Fr Michael and Tom's quest to learn from healthy churches began at Saddleback, California. This was just prior to Rick Warren, the pastor of that mega church publishing 'The Purpose Driven Life' which quickly rose to the top of the Christian best seller list and stayed there. (Ed. It is a good book, but it does contain a few ignorant digs at liturgically based churches, so if you read it do so with discernment.)

Not surprisingly Fr Michael and Tom were concerned at the reception they might receive at such a place if they were outed as Catholics. When they arrived the first building they came to was a big one, but it wasn't the church, it was the nursery. Eventually they found the church, and were very surprised to see how very plain it was on the inside, think Walmart with chairs. There was nothing fancy here at all. But the people, there was something different about them. They were SO friendly, and SO happy. And they were SO happy to see me. Anxious to find out whether this kind of welcome was the same for everyone, Fr Michael ducked out a side door, and came in through the front door, and received the same kind of enthusiastic greeting. The experience begged the question, 'What are they so happy about?'

Following this, Fr Michael and Tom visited and studied several other mega-churches and went well outside their comfort zones. 'Growth is always on the outside of our comfort zone'.

From these studies they learned three big (huge) lessons:

1. Focus must shift from the churched to the unchurched
   
   
2. Prioritise the weekend experience, 'It's about the weekend, stupid!'
   
   
3. Move the churched people to action
   
   

Change came at The Nativity parish when our focus came off those in the pews and on to those not there.

The non-attendees are your growth market. So who are they?

We didn't actually know, nor did we know how to reach them.

So we worked on a description, and called him Timonium Tim.

Tim is a great guy. He grew up Catholic, but stopped going to church soon after Confirmation. Everything he thinks he knows about Catholicism is a muddled mess. He has a stressful life. He has a long commute to work, and has three kids, who go to three different schools. Tim has a lot of debt and is living beyond his means. The financial stress is having an impact on his marriage. Tim has a crazy life, and on the weekends Tim wants some Tim-time, time to relax and do his own thing. Mostly that means going to the football game or playing golf. Tim does not ever consider going to church. If he ever thinks about church, the words boring, bad and irrelevant come to mind.

The old paradigm, 'Open the doors and they'll come' – doesn't work anymore at all.

You will never get as many people in your doors on weekdays than on weekends. Even with our Family Friendly Fridays we were getting 600 people, compared to the 1800 showing up for weekend Masses.

If someone has a bad weekend experience at church, they will assume

• That the rest of what you have to offer is equally bad
  
  
• That there is nothing there for them
  
  
• And this will lead to thinking , or confirm their thinking, that God is irrelevant in their lives
  
  

For someone like Tim, the Eucharist is not yet enough to attract him and keep him coming back.

THE most important pillars of your weekend experience are MUSIC, MESSAGE and MINISTERS.

Music has the power to transport a person on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual journey. God has bestowed on His people the gift of song. God is present whenever His people sing. Music leads us to the higher realm of things. Music can do what words alone cannot do. More than anything else music can change hearts and minds for the better.

Historically at The Nativity, the music was very bad. We had a choir Mass, a folk Mass and a quiet – no music Mass. The folk Mass was the most popular choice, but the music group struggled. Our choir was convinced that they had musical skills beyond where reality lay, and had a few prima donnas. And no one sang. No one. If you sang, we knew you were a visitor, and we would probably stare at you until you shut up. Most people were apathetic about their involvement in singing.

At one of our town hall style 'get feedback from the people' meetings there was a riot of complaint about the music.  

People were coming to church, and leaving angry because of the music.

What did we do? Nothing... Because we didn't want to offend people.

It is very difficult to change the music. To do so you must make the commitment and wear the consequences.

There are very good musicians right now in your pews, who won't step forward and haven't stepped forward because there are other musicians (usually of lesser quality) in those spots.

God gave us the courage and the grace to make changes in the area of music.

Message. Words are powerful.

This is where the relevance comes.

This is where you can give spiritual direction to hundreds of people at a time.

This is worth dedicating time and effort to.

People feel 'fed' if the homily is good.

This is especially so for Tim who is not at the stage of feeling fed by Holy Communion.

Ministers. They create a sense of destination for those who come.

We have a Host Team, consisting of greeters, ushers and people to help with parking. These people are about creating an irresistible environment for people to worship in. They help create the sense  that 'something exciting is going to happen here.'

We have a Children's Team. Parents need support. The family is where the foundation of faith is laid in children. What we want to happen is to see what Fr Michael saw once: a dad struggling to escort his son in the direction the dad wanted to go in, with the son telling him, 'Dad you just don't get it, I want to go back in the #@&! church'.

One thank you letter The Nativity received explains why this is so important.

'Thank you. We found it hard to go to church and to keep our children happy and occupied. Your kid's programmes were such that our children wanted to come back. Everyone was so helpful, friendly – and smiling. Now we know we can come to church and sit as a couple for an hour to be refreshed and renewed, and to get what we need to get us through another crazy week.'

Question to start asking yourself

• Is there something your parish is doing that is not making disciples?
  
  
• What can you do to improve the weekend experience at your parish?
  
  
• Who is your Timonium Tim or Sydney Sid?
  
  

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The next blog-post will feature the homily from Thursday's Mass at the Conference and a few other things.

To read the first chapter of Rebuilt for free, visit http://rebuiltparish.com/book/ and fill out the details in the black box on the right hand side of the screen.