EXPLANATORY NOTES:
Out come 1
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
(collaborat ive net works support ing parish minist ry wit h young people):
I f a par ish alr eady has a well est ablished minist r y wit h young people it might f or m t he cent r e f or a clust er of
par ishes ar ound it . I t is also possible t hat dif f er ent par ishes might specialise in developing appr oaches f or
dif f er ent age r anges and exer cise minist r y t o t hat age gr oup acr oss t he clust er or deaner y.
An ar chdiocesan net wor k pr ovides vit al connect ion and suppor t f or coor dinat or s, count er ing t he r isks of isolat ion
and bur nout .
Out come 3
7.
(f ait h development init iat ives f or young people):
The age def init ion of young people used her e is ~12 t o ~30, cover ing adolescent s and young adult s. Ext ension t o age
12 involves young people bef or e t r ansit ion t o Yr 8. Similar ly, it is impor t ant t o connect wit h young people at ot her
key t r ansit ion t imes: pr ior t o f inishing secondar y school, pr ior t o complet ing t er t iar y st udy. Coor dinat or ’s of minist r y
wit h young people can be employed in Par ishes or in schools as Campus Minist er s.
The same per son is employed by a school f or a set number of hour s per week as campus minist er , and by a par ish as
yout h minist r y coor dinat or f or t he r emainder of t he hour s t o t ot al up t he equivalent of a f ull t ime posit ion. Ther e
ar e a number of var iat ions possible.
Wit hin a deaner y t her e may be sever al clust er s of par ishes. The lar gest clust er would be t he deaner y it self . I t is
possible t hat t he deaner y as a clust er could employ mor e t han one minist er wit h young people.
Young people lead ver y busy lives, punct uat ed wit h st udy, wor k, spor t ing and social act ivit ies. They ar e also quit e
mobile. I n addit ion, it t ends t o be impor t ant t o young people t hat act ivit ies have a cer t ain cr it ical mass of number s
involved, not necessar ily all t he t ime, but t hey like t o f eel par t of somet hing signif icant . Par ishes t end t o be poor ly
r esour ced and may not be able t o cat er f or t he diver sit y (e.g. age, int er est , cult ur e) of cer t ain gr oups of young
people. For t hese and a var iet y of ot her r easons, of f er ing f ewer and lar ger f ait h development oppor t unit ies acr oss
r egions and even t he Ar chdiocese has an impor t ant place.
Out come 2
5.
Dr af t Br oad Act ion Pr oposal About Engaging and Connect ing Wit h Young People
(clear vision f or minist ry wit h young people and learning f rom best pract ice)
The vision will f ocus on J esus Communion Mission and pr ovide a common f r amewor k and br oad goals f or minist r y wit h
young people acr oss t he Ar chdiocese.
Key Act ion St rat egies
ƒ Develop programs t hat assist parishes wit h t he f ait h development of young people
ƒ Est ablish net works at deanery and archdiocesan level t hat support minist ry wit h
young people in parishes
ƒ Provide an archdiocesan st at ement of vision f or minist ry wit h young people and
learn f rom churches successf ul in at t ract ing and ret aining young people.
Trained Personnel
Minist r y wit h young people r equir es t ime, knowledge and skills many par ishioner s f eel ar e beyond t hem. Even t hough t her e will be
par ish member s who ar e gif t ed and called t o volunt eer f or minist r y wit h young people, a clear need was ident if ied f or t he
Ar chdiocese t o commit t o t he appr opr iat e t r aining f or t hose who minist er wit h young people. The leader ship pr ovided by a gr oup
of pr of essionally t r ained and commit t ed people will have a signif icant impact on t he development of ef f ect ive and sust ainable
pr ogr ams, event s and init iat ives f or young people acr oss t he Ar chdiocese.
Parish
The call t o assist par ishes in t heir minist r y wit h young people was so st r ong t hat par ish-f ocused act ion is a maj or component of
t his pr oposal. I t is also wor t h st r essing t hat par ishes ar e t he ideal place t o incor por at e a ‘yout h f ocus’ t hr oughout t he whole
r ange of par ish init iat ives, event s and act ivit ies. The per sonal involvement of young people in t he ongoing lif e of t he Chur ch is
r ecognised as being essent ial f or t he pr esent and f ut ur e vit alit y of t he Chur ch. The yout h of t oday ar e, as J ohn Paul I I r eminds
us, “t he hope of t he Chur ch” (J ohn Paul I I Wor ld Yout h Day Addr ess, 1990) and t he f ut ur e leader s in t he evangelisat ion and
r enewal of societ y. Given t hat t he aver age par ish is, by and lar ge, lacking bot h t he r esour ces and f unding available f or minist r y
wit h young people, t he r esponse t o t his call t o ext end, develop and invigor at e minist r y wit h young people must r ely on cr eat ive
and pr act ical pr oposals.
Working Toget her
Addit ional archdiocesan inf ormat ion:
J esus (embr acing J esus and his vision), Communion (building communion wit h God and ot her s), Mission (going out int o
t he wor ld) ar e t he t hr ee vit al signs of a vibr ant communit y of f ait h ident if ied by Ar chbishop J ohn Bat her sby as key
element s in t he vision t o t ake t he Ar chdiocese f or war d in t he new millennium.
9. A pr oposal is being developed at t he r equest of t he Ar chbishop by t he Commission f or Evangelisat ion and Past or al
Planning (CEPP) about t he next phase of past or al planning t o suppor t par ishes and deaner ies. I t is pr oposed t hat
deaner ies (possibly modif ied in t er ms of composit ion) become t he basic clust er of par ishes, super ceding ‘past or al
ar eas’ (used in t he Shaping and St af f ing Our Par ishes pr oj ect , 1995 - 2001). Deans and deaner y past or al councils,
wit h mor e suppor t , would have enhanced r oles wit h r espect t o past or al planning in t he deaner y, as does t he auxiliar y
bishop in t he r egion. The pr oj ect await s t he out comes of Synod bef or e f ur t her development int o a pr oposal f or
discussion wit h st akeholder s. NB: The pr oj ect is out lined in Our Pr of ile, p.22.
10. Cler gy Allocat ion Schedule: Cur r ent ly, t he number of pr iest s (diocesan and r eligious or der ) available f or f ull t ime
par ish minist r y is 135. The aver age age (not count ing r et ir ed cler gy) is ~62 year s. The of f icial r et ir ement age is 70
year s. I n eight year s t ime (2011) t he number of available pr iest s will be 77. I t needs t o be point ed out t hat t he 77
pr iest s in 2011 ar e going t o be, on aver age, older and mor e t ir ed t han t he 135 pr iest s available t oday. By 2011,
allowing in t he 77 f or some assist ant past or s and senior pr iest s who will not want t he r esponsibilit y of r unning a
par ish, t her e will be about half t he number of par ish pr iest s t hat ar e available now.
8.
I n light of t he st r ain on r esour ces and t ime, it seems necessar y t hat many par ishes combine t heir r esour ces and wor k t oget her
if t hey ar e t o have a cr edible minist r y wit h young people. This may mean t hat par t icular f ait h development act ivit ies ar e not held
in ever y par ish but t hat some par ishes wit h exper ience and r esour ces become cent r es f or sur r ounding par ishes or clust er of
par ishes. Mor eover , dif f er ent par ishes may cont r ibut e t o a clust er of par ishes by specialising in minist r y wit h dif f er ent age
r anges. The par ish clust er (or deaner y) has a cr it ical r ole t o play in ensur ing t hat ef f ect ive minist r y wit h young people is
available t o all par ishes in some way. This is ident if ied as a par t icular concer n f or t he dean and t he bishop in t he r egion.
Larger Net works, I ndependent Organisat ions and ot her Christ ian Denominat ions
The ar chdiocesan agencies have a r ole in pr oviding r esour ces and suppor t and in sust aining diocesan-wide net wor ks t hat give
young people access t o and exper ience of a bigger vision of Chur ch – eg t he Wor ld Yout h Day. I t is also r ecognised t hat t her e
ar e independent or ganisat ions and minist r ies (Rosies, Edmund Rice Minist r ies, SVdeP, NET, YCW/ YCS et c) t hat pr ovide young
people wit h signif icant exper ience of Chr ist ian mission and ser vice. We can lear n f r om ot her Chr ist ian denominat ions t hat have
developed some ver y ef f ect ive pr ogr ams f or young people.
Clear Vision
The need t o ar t iculat e and ‘own’ a clear common vision f or minist r y wit h young people acr oss t he Ar chdiocese was ident if ied as
cr it ically impor t ant in t he pr ovision of bot h a common f ocus and a sust ained commit ment t o developing young Cat holics in t he
Ar chdiocese.
Dr af t Br oad Act ion Pr oposal About Engaging and Connect ing wit h Young People
See back page f or
explanat or y not es
Aim: To lead young people t o under st and, exper ience and make a choice t o walk t he way of J esus
What improved out come What is essent ial t o achieve
do we desire?
desired out come?
1.
1A
Provide t raining f or minist ry wit h young
people
1.
That young people are helped
by a set of f ait h development
opport unit ies t o int egrat e t heir
f ait h wit h everyday lif e
experience
1B
Employ t rained coordinat ors of minist ry
wit h young people
2.
3.
1.
1.
1C
Provide development ally and cult urally
appropriat e f ait h development init iat ives
2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
That parishes are support ed in
t heir minist ry wit h young people
by collaborat ive net works
3.
That parishes and t he
Archdiocese have a common
vision f or minist ry wit h young
people and learn f rom t he
successes of ot hers
2A
Work t oget her t o provide personnel and
resources
2B
Collaborat e wit h ot her churches,
organisat ions and communit ies
3A
Develop a common vision f or minist ry
wit h young people
3B
Research best pract ice in minist ry wit h
young people
Who leads t he
implement at ion?
How will we do t his?
2.
Collabor at e wit h appr opr iat e educat ional inst it ut ions t o develop and suppor t f or mat ion cour ses f or coor dinat or s of minist r y
wit h young people1.
I dent if y r equir ement s f or ongoing f or mat ion and suppor t of coor dinat or s of minist r y wit h young people.
Develop a r esour ce kit f or volunt eer coor dinat or s of minist r y wit h young people in par ishes. This kit will pr omot e a
compr ehensive appr oach t o minist r y linking t o t he vision of J esus Communion Mission.8 This kit will be suppor t ed by a ser ies
of t r aining event s cover ing t he many aspect s of minist r y wit h young people.
Each par ish, alone or in collabor at ion wit h ot her par ishes, employs a t r ained coor dinat or of minist r y wit h young people.
Employment opt ions include j oint employment acr oss par ishes; combining t he posit ion of school campus minist er and par ish
yout h minist r y coor dinat or 2 . I t is essent ial t hat at least one t r ained coor dinat or of minist r y wit h young people be employed
wit hin each deaner y.3
Par ishes t o pr ovide a r ange of init iat ives and event s, holist ic in t heir appr oach, t hat meet t he f ait h development needs of
young people. This can be done wit hin t he individual par ish or wit hin a clust er of par ishes.4 This pr ogr am will include a set of
act ivit ies, event s and pr oj ect s specif ic f or t he cult ur al and development al needs of t he local young people, br oadly
st r uct ur ed wit hin t he f r amewor k of J esus Communion Mission.
Par ishes ar e suppor t ed wit h r esour ces and possible pr ogr am models.
Set up an ar chdiocesan ‘Recognit ion of Achievement ’ scheme (eg Ar chbishop’s ‘Fait h f or Lif e’ Awar ds) f or complet ion of
pr act ical, f ait h development exper iences. The scheme could be modeled on ot her sequent ial pr ogr ams t hat f ocus on
development of lif e and ser vice skills (eg Duke of Edinbur gh Awar d)6 and would pr ovide pr act ical lif e exper iences f ocused
on J esus Communion Mission and a f or mat ion pat hway int o adult Chr ist ian lif e.
Conduct event s and pr ogr ams at r egional or ar chdiocesan level t hat suppor t par ish and deaner y init iat ives (see 1C1) and
pr ovide young people wit h t he br oader exper ience of Chur ch; oppor t unit ies t o develop per sonal net wor ks; and shar e t heir
f ait h. (eg Ar chdiocesan Yout h Rallies; Wor ld Yout h Day et c) 4
Deaner ies ensur e t hat par ishes in t heir ar ea have t he oppor t unit y t o be par t of a clust er f or f ait h development pr ogr ams
f or young people. They should also ident if y and addr ess t he specif ic needs and r equir ement s f or t he ef f ect ive
development of minist r y wit h young people wit hin t he par ishes of t hat ar ea (eg t he employment of a coor dinat or of minist r y
wit h young people in t he deaner y as per 1B1.)5
The Ar chdiocese f ur t her develops t he net wor k f or coor dinat or s of minist r y wit h young people t o pr ovide suppor t ,
inf or mat ion, access t o r esour ces and connect ion wit h ar chdiocesan event s.6
1-3
Par ish Yout h Minist r y Ser vices
(PYMS).
1.
Past or s and par ish councils, deans,
deaner y past or al councils and bishop in
t he r egion.
1.
2.
Par ishes
Ar chdiocesan of f ices (Par ish Yout h
Minist r y Ser vices; Young Adult
Minist r y)
Commission f or Minist r y wit h Young
People, wor king wit h ar chdiocesan
of f ices. Past or s and par ish past or al
councils ensur e deliver y of init iat ives in
par ish.
Ar chdiocesan Of f ices (PYMS; Young
Adult Minist r y) in collabor at ion wit h
deans and deaner y past or al councils and
bishop in t he r egion.
3.
4.
1.
2.
Dean and deaner y past or al council.
Commission f or Minist r y wit h Young
People and ar chdiocesan of f ices.
1.
2.
Par ishes wor k collabor at ively wit h ot her Chr ist ian chur ches in at least one yout h minist r y init iat ive annually.
Par ishes ident if y ot her or ganisat ions, agencies and movement s (eg Rosies, SVdeP, YCW et c) f ocused on young people and
develop par t ner ships t o maximise t he ef f ect iveness of t he par ish’s minist r y wit h young people.
1,2 Past or s and par ish councils.9
1.
Af t er br oad consult at ion, an ar chdiocesan vision st at ement f or minist r y wit h young people is developed, communicat ed and
pr omot ed. 7
1.
Commission f or Minist r y wit h Young
People
1.
Est ablish a t askgr oup t o ident if y successf ul pr act ices f r om exist ing and f ur t her r esear ch on chur ches t hat ar e ef f ect ive in
t he engagement and f ait h development of young people.
1.
Commission f or Minist r y wit h Young
People