Diocesan Day of Continued Reflection June 11th 2011
Nearly two hundred people from all parts of the diocese gathered together for this day which was held at St Robert’s School in Washington. Mgr Ged Lavender welcomed everyone and introduced the facilitator for the day, Ronnie McEwan, who was from the Kinharvie Institute, and has been helping in the diocese in facilitation and leadership in the last few years.
“Today we are developing the vision for the diocese,” Ronnie said, “and it’s great to see so many people here in the room.” He said the focus of the day would be on good conversation with engagement – and there would be two aspects of the day – firstly information gathering, represented in the marketplace and in the presentations, and secondly, future planning for the diocese.
The lovely opening liturgy was presented by the youth, and it centred upon the four symbols on the focal point for the day, the beautiful candle stand designed by a member of our YMT, and which is now the National Symbol for Youth Ministry.
There followed five presentations from people in the diocese on the ministry they are engaged in – giving a broad picture of some of the life and work that goes on in the diocese.
Firstly Sr Michael spoke about the work of the Diocesan Evangelisation Team – “What is evangelisation?” and “How do we evangelise?” where some of the questions she tackled, and she said our main purpose as Church is to evangelise.
Pat Kennedy spoke about Adult Formation, and she told the gathering that building up Church starts with each person in the room. “It’s our responsibility to build the Body of Christ,” she said.
In between each ten minute input there was the opportunity to talk and share ideas with others in the room. This led to some lively conversations on what struck people individually the most and how people might support and engage with what had been talked about.
Peter Lavery spoke about marriage and family life, and how important it is to each one of us. The Church’s teaching on marriage, he said, is a wonderful resource.
Rachel Waller spoke about the Open Gate Project, which offers assistance and friendship to women who are resettling after being in prison, and in her talk she helped people to see how difficult life is for those on the fringes of society.
Kathryn Turner spoke about spiritual formation and understanding our calling and vocation. She spoke about the different ways of helping people pray and building up a network of prayer.
During the lunch break the conversation continued and there was an opportunity to look at the “stalls in the marketplace” - different diocesan groups each presenting information and insights into their ministry – giving a rich and varied picture of the different opportunities for service, learning and ministry in the diocese.
In the afternoon the gathering broke into smaller discussion groups to look in detail at more questions and then feedback on suggestions.
Questions looked at included: “What possibilities are you seeing today that have the power to transform the diocese and inspire you?” and “As a result of today is there anything you can commit to that will help build the Body of Christ throughout the diocese?”
The final discussion point for each small group asked for concrete ideas: “Choose one suggestion from the group which will help to build the Body of Christ in the diocese.” Some of the responses to this were given to the whole gathering at the end of the afternoon – and they will be available for study later here.
The day ended with a prayer and blessing from Bishop Seamus, and people left, enlivened and inspired with plenty to think about and reflect on.