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PAGE 9 — The Georgia Bulletin, January 11, 1990 FOOD FOR THOUGHT ■ Parishes of the future will take steps to give support to work ing parents. In future parishes, information will be readily available about programs “on family problems and their solutions.” Parishes, maybe jointly, will offer “courses in parenting.” At least, the recent synod of the New York Archdiocese asked parishes to do these things. Some people are fearful about the parish’s future. Given a priesthood shortage, for example, how many ministries will a parish in the year 1999 be able to provide? If the directives of New York’s synod of clergy, Religious and lay delegates are any indication, future parishes will offer more, not less. Sixty-five synod directives were promulgated by the arch diocese. To cite just a few, they asked parishes to: ■Give support to single parents, battered wives, the widowed, divorced and those “sexually harassed on the job.” ■Help “people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds” know each other and work together. ■Help people manifest “Christian values in the workplace”; ■Care, spiritually, materially, psychologically, for the area’s homeless. As those directives indicate, peoples’ needs help to shape the parish of the future. „ „. u _ David Gibson, Editor, Faith Alive! Parishes - that serve ■» By Neil Parent Catholic News Service The first shelter for the homeless in Alexandria, Va., opened in the basement at Blessed Sacrament Parish. The decision to open the shelter some years ago was difficult, partly because the parish didn’t have any unused . space. The only possible place was the church basement. But we needed it for Mass on Sunday. In addition, the parish was more than - a mile from the downtown area where the homeless congregated. It was easy to rationalize that a shelter wasn’t our responsibility. * Still, we went ahead, running the shelter for several years. In the process we came to a much better under standing of who the homeless were and how they, like us, were children of God. And our example in raising the issue inspired others in the city. It inspired , them to recognize the needs of the homeless and to think in terms of a responsibility toward them. In time, a coalition of the city, the business community and other churches collaborated to open and manage a larger shelter for Alexandria’s homeless population. As this story illustrates, parishes are highly active places. But what is more, parishes are places that can inspire people. In fact, creating parishes means finding an answer to a question posed by Irish author Una M. O’Neill: “How can we offer people an inspiring vision of faith that will lead to an authentic Christian life?” For most of us, the response to Ms. O’Neill’s question comes in the context of the local parish. If we offer an inspir ing vision of faith as a church, the parish is where it usually will be done. Certainly, individuals can and should be inspiring Christians. But when we demonstrate that vision collectively, we will have greater impact. It is this kind of impact that Dr. Michael Warren, professor of religion at St. John’s University in New York, writes about when he describes the early converts to Christianity. They often were inspired to join the church by what they saw and experienced. How can parishes today and in the future present an inspiring vision of faith? I see several areas of parish life where this can be done. —Social outreach. A parish that inspires will demonstrate the love of Christ through service. This is what happened at our parish in Virginia. —Community formation. A parish that inspires is one that is a community in fact as well as in theory. New members are incorporated into its ranks with a genuine sense of hospitality and urged to use their gifts for the wider community. Such a parish also attempts to develop strong links between the parish and the home. —Ritual. One of our distinctive characteristics as Catholics is that we have a comprehensive sacramental system with the Eucharist at the center. But we also express Christ’s presence in other tangible ways. For a parish to offer an inspiring vision of faith, it must be able to translate that faith into an inspiring ritual practice. Every time the com munity assembles for worship, people should come away filled with a sense of wonder and praise at having been in the active presence of a gracious, loving God. Our celebration should express the joyous belief that we are seeking to live God’s reign of peace and love here and now. (Parent is on the staff of the U.S. bishops ’ Department of Education.) CNS photo by Chris Sheridan When the future is now By Father John J. Castelot Catholic News Service There is a remarkable young woman, the mother of three toddlers, in one of my classes. She and her husband administer a small-town parish with no * ordained pastor. This parish not only wants to survive but to thrive. Its people want the support and loving concern they have experienced as members of a caring community. And they want to preserve this for their children. What does the future hold for them? Actually, the future — a new era of rapidly changing circumstances — has caught up with them! No one with any sense of history is surprised at this. Christian communities have been adapting to changed circum stances from the beginning. The original Jewish-Christian com munities, so comfortable with their age- old customs, had to adapt to changes brought about by the entrance of gentiles into their churches. It was not easy, as the Gospel of Matthew, the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of Paul attest. But the “new look” communities that resulted also were composed of real people living in a real world. They could not ignore the surrounding culture. Many Christians found all the new “philosophies” in their culture subtly fascinating. Sometimes they had to be protected against them. Interestingly enough, this entire process sparked some fine thinking, like FURTHER NOURISHMENT ■ Ordinary people go to the parish church to be reminded of the spiritual meaning of their experiences throughout the week, writes Father William Bausch in The Hands-On Parish. Living out Chris tian values in the world is difficult, he adds, and one function of a parish is to help people see that “in unity there is strength.” (Twenty- Third Publications, 185 Willow St., Mystic, Conn. 06355. 1989. Paper back, $9.95.) that by the author of the epistle to the Colossians. With the growing popularity of belief in heavenly beings of all sorts as controllers of human life and the universe, this author stressed the cosmic supremacy of Christ, a remarkable new emphasis. The situation also called for an emphasis on the need for authoritative teachers. Here is another point. The first Chris tians, you’ll remember, were outlaws in the eyes of Rome — and Rome ruled their world. So they kept a low profile and conducted their affairs in secret. This aroused the suspicions which “secret societies” always provoke. The Christians were suspected of cannibalism, child sacrifice, wife swapping, uncontrolled orgies. To counter such charges, they had to project an image that would disprove the charges — one, for example, that emphasized strong family relationships meeting the accepted standards of domestic conduct. To project the image of orderliness, the author of the letters to Timothy and Titus emphasized community organization, with the development of overseers, elders, deacons, deaconesses, widows. Interestingly, the criteria for selection as community leaders called for people who were what we now would call solid citizens. You can see that the community life — the parish life — of the first Christians faced one new situation after another. Naturally, the challenges varied from community to community. The people of these communities needed imagination and trust in the guidance of the Spirit — prices of survival in an ever-changing world. (Father Castelot is a Scripture scholar, author and lecturer.) Faith Alive! is published by Catholic News Service, 3211 Fourth St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017-1100. All contents copyright © 1989 by Catholic News Service.
