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We both work in the parish office at St Michael’s Parish Traralgon and are passionate about many ministries in the Church. We both know a parish's struggles with reducing numbers and societal shifts, but also a lack of volunteers, young people, finances and general enthusiasm for Mass and a relationship with God.
When we heard about the Divine Renovation Conference coming to Sydney this month, we were compelled to attend and find out more. We had read Fr James Mallon’s ‘Divine Renovation – Bringing your Parish from Maintenance to Mission’, which resonated with us as we sometimes feel trapped by the maintenance of the parish and would like to spend more time on mission.
Divine Renovation is a ministry that focuses on Church Renewal which we think is needed to revitalise our parishes. The conference was sold out, and there were representatives from 90% of Dioceses across Australia and New Zealand, which shows the Holy Spirit is moving across our country.
They spoke about how current systems and processes no longer suit changing societal structures and how we can change our approach to meet current needs. They use three keys to Parish renewal are:
Key 1 – The Power of the Holy Spirit – This is God’s work, and we need the Holy Spirit to help us. Pray about everything, get used to praying for Parish renewal, our parishioners and each other. Ensure we are all empowered to pray spontaneously, lead prayer and call upon the Holy Spirit. Train our leaders to pray with us, not for us.
Key 2 – The Primacy of Evangelisation – Are we doing things in the right order? The Great Commission teaches that Jesus commands us to: first, go out and make disciples; second, baptise; and third, teach. Have we got things in place to help people encounter Jesus rather than just teach them about Jesus. Programs like Alpha are a shallow water entry point to invite our people on the peripheral, and once they start that relationship, parishes will start to come alive.
Key 3 – The best of Leadership – God made us all leaders, so it's time to embrace and encourage leadership. To be a great leader, you must understand yourself first, so in prayer, ask God what your gifts and strengths are. Explore the gifts of your leadership teams and parishioners so that together, your parish can be a forcefield of gifts God intended you to be.
It’s exciting that we have resources and guidance to support our parishes, and we have decided to focus on making more spaces available to experience and encounter Jesus by using the 3 H’s – GREAT Hymns, GREAT homilies and GREAT hospitality. We also hope to explore more opportunities for faith formation and prayer and encourage leadership teams to use the gift they have been given.
We went to the conference for Parish renewal but experienced a personal renewal of faith too. Transformed people transform parishes, and transformed parishes can transform the world.
More information can be found at: https://divinerenovation.org/
Jen Hanratty and Cath Hill
St Michael’s Parish Traralgon
