Welcome back to all of you as you return from holidays and travels. It is the end of the first week of school for most of our learners, and I am sure many parents are relieved to get back into a routine. The year seems to have started with quite a flurry of activity. I know that in my department at the Chancery, the department of
Evangelisation, we are deep into preparations for firstly living and then concluding the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality.
As the year progresses you will be invited to participate in listening circles on three areas of Church life: spirituality, governance and mission. The information from the three listening sessions will then be sent to the archdiocese synod committee who will use it to prepare for a two-day meeting of representatives from all over the archdiocese. As we listen to the thoughts and experiences of others we will gain a glimpse into the movement of the Holy Spirit within the body of Christ, of which we are part.
I will share a small resource pack and the reflection questions for each of the areas closer to the time, so that we can do our own personal preparatory work before we gather in listening groups.
Closer to home, this weekend the SSVP will be having their first meeting of the year to discuss plans for the year. That goes hand in hand with the Dilexi Te discussion group meeting on Sunday 25 January, after the 09h00 mass to discuss the different kinds of poverty that may exist in the parish and how we could respond to it in its great variety. Next weekend I will also present the finance report for 2025 and the budget for 2026. You have entrusted your wealth to us, me and the finance council, and I owe it to you to present an accounting of how we have exercised stewardship. Transparency engenders trust, which leads to even greater generosity. It is called the virtuous circle.
The following weekend, the first of February, we will have our Commitment Sunday.
You will be encouraged to volunteer for something, anything, as long as you participate in the life of the faith community. There are many needs and opportunities for both service and connection in the parish. The only limit is your own imagination. The reason why I encourage participation isn’t simply that things need to
get things done and that I need people to do them. The far more important reason is that by participating we form connections, human bonds of familiarity and love. We get that one step closer to creating a real community of belonging, rather than seeing the parish as a sacramental pit-stop.
