If we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?
These words from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) are an invitation and a challenge to the Church, to our parish and to each one of us. The Parish Council has set up Mission, Evangelisation and Faith Formation as a specific area to respond to this call.
We hope to encourage and enable “missionary discipleship” to flourish in St Francis’ parish through developing existing parish activities, deepening our understanding of mission and the gospel, and looking for opportunities to stretch out beyond the parish community as “Spirit-filled evangelisers”.
How we do this in a way that is authentic to St Francis’ parish and to the particular gifts and opportunities of the local church in this community is a key task and will require both dialogue and boldness in the parish.
Active participation in national and diocesan Proclaim 15 initiatives.
Promoting the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies (CCRS) and supporting parishioners who wish to complete it.
Exploring The Joy of the Gospel and Pope Francis’s call to Spirit-filled mission in a parish course.
Being open to a wide range of ideas and suggestions as we explore together what a call to missionary discipleship means for St Francis’ parish.
Looking for opportunities for evangelisation in existing activities and communications.