Parish Focus: Exploring inter-parish collaboration via regional workshops
One of five areas that has emerged from the Diocesan Renewal Journey is inter parish collaboration which calls on parishes to look beyond their boundary and engage with other parishes to create hubs to work on common initiatives and become a source of encouragement for each other.
Team Members
Trevor Cooper, Chairperson, Sawtell Parish Pastoral Council, Team Coordinator
Jerome Fernandez, St Augustine’s Parish, Coffs Harbour
Geoff Melville, Assistant Principal, Mission, St Paul’s College, Kempsey, Macleay Valley Parish
Kerri Olsen, St Anthony’s Parish, Kingscliff
Ann Pereira, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Wauchope
Christine Wightley, Chairperson, Sacred Heart Parish Pastoral Council, Murwillumbah
Fr Roland Agrisola, Assistant Priest, St Agnes’ Catholic Parish Port Macquarie
January 2025 update:
Financial Sustainability
The Financial Sustainability Inter Parish Collaboration Zoom meeting took place on Tuesday 26 November 2024 and was hosted by Geoff Melville (Assistant Principal – Mission St Paul’s College Kempsey). Participants in the Zoom meeting included Fr Peter Wood, Peter McDonald and Mary-Anne Thackray (Murwillumbah); Pat Twohill and Fr Michael Brady (Tweed Heads); Shane Martin and Fr Paul MacDonald (Kingscliff). Ann Pereira from the working party was also present, along with Atat LKM and Madeline Beveridge.
The meeting consisted of a review of areas for collaboration and then three rounds of prayer, reflection, discernment and voting, in order to ascertain the focus areas on which to collaborate. From this discernment process four priority areas were identified:
- Biannual parish finance meetings
- Common maintenance schedules – including a pool sinking fund
- Sharing of people resources – e.g. Business Manager
- Creating consistent templates – financial planning, cashflow, consistent definitions and reporting to the Diocese
The Parishes can now use these priorities to frame collaboration opportunities through 2025, with ongoing support from the Renewal Team.
Parish Vitality
The Parish Vitality Inter Parish Collaboration meeting took place on Monday 6 January 2025 and was hosted by Trevor Cooper (Sawtell Parish). Participants in the Zoom meeting included Mary-Anne Thackray and Jennifer Wallace (Murwillumbah); Kathy Twohill and Fr Michael Brady (Tweed Heads); Fr Paul MacDonald and Kerri Olson (Kingscliff). Chris Wightley and Jerome Fernandez from the working party were also present, along with Madeline Beveridge. The meeting consisted of a review of areas for collaboration and then three rounds of prayer, reflection, discernment and voting, in order to ascertain the focus areas on which to collaborate.
The four priority areas from this meeting were identified as:
- Create a pastoral team for hospitals, nursing homes, and housebound
- Each parish support PPC and other groups sharing ideas and resources
- Formation – ongoing opportunities for parishes through program about understanding the Mass
- Formation – Music Ministry workshops, including youth
These priority areas will provide a collaboration pathway for the three parishes to share ideas and support one another in order to help parish vitality flourish. More cluster groups are planned for 2025, so stay tuned for further updates on additional parish involvement.
Organisational Capability
The Organisational Capbaility Inter Parish Collaboration meeting took place on Thursday, 9 January 2025 and was hosted by Jerome Fernandez. Participants in the Zoom meeting included Mary-Anne Thackray (Murwillumbah); Paul Crouch (Tweed Heads); Catherine Halliday (Kingscliff). Chris Wightley, Anne Pereira and Jerome Fernandez from the working party were also present, along with Madeline Beveridge. The meeting consisted of a review of areas for collaboration and then three rounds of prayer, reflection, discernment and voting, in order to ascertain the focus areas on which to collaborate.
The priority areas that emerged from this meeting are:
- Documentation of business processes, Role descriptions, organisation and structure;
- Succession planning;
- Regular meetings of leadership teams;
- Formation resources and optimisation of scheduling of sacramental programmes across parishes.
These priority areas will help teams from the Kingscliff, Murwilllumbah, and Tweed Heads parishes to collaborate and support one another as vibrant faith communities. More cluster groups are planned for 2025, so stay tuned for further updates on additional parish involvement.
September 2024 update:
Following almost eight months of meetings, the team exploring inter-parish collaboration via regional workshops held the first Regional Collaboration Workshop on Saturday 21 September 2024 for the formation of delegates from the “Pilot Cluster” parishes of Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads and Kingscliff.
Led by Trevor Cooper, Chairperson of the Inter Parish Collaboration Team, the workshop opened with a message of support from Bishop Greg, followed by prayer and reflection. A call to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in listening and discerning and to gain benefits by sharing ideas, skills and resources in a model that involves clergy and laity in Mission and Planning.
There were four PowerPoint presentations, each one followed by a Q&A session. The Q&A sessions provided excellent feedback from the parish delegates. There was acknowledgement that the delegates offered great shared knowledge and wisdom.
- A presentation on Cultural Change – presenting the concept that parish collaboration starts by accepting the call for conversion, first at a personal level then as a community. Outlining the reasons why there is a need for change while also acknowledging that there may be some resistance and that is to be expected. For there to be successful change there needs to be: a sense of direction; knowledge; emotional engagement and a shaped pathway.
- A presentation on the Business Basis for Collaboration – outlining one of the first tasks of collaboration needs to be a desire to work together for better organisational capability and financial sustainability in order to deliver greater parish vitality.
- A presentation on the Theological Basis for Collaboration – informing our call to be a collaborative church. Collaboration among parishes in a region is a concrete expression of the Church as communion and mission. Belonging to one Body, and gifted differently, each member mutually supports each other with the gifts one has been entrusted. The information presented was supported by reference to Scripture, Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
- A presentation on Discernment in Common – presenting an understanding of the need for an absolute trust in God’s willingness and power to lead us to our goal as we all work together without prejudice in a culture of trust. With trust and prayerful discernment, the outcome will be the generation and prioritisation of ideas for improvement in our parishes.
A general question and answer session followed and delegates were also provided with an outline of the information that they will be asked to prepare for the October 2024 workshop. The day closed in prayer.
Please continue to keep this project in your prayers.
April 2024 update:
Trevor Cooper, of Sawtell Parish, chairs the Inter Parish Collaboration Team which has has been meeting every fortnight since late February.
The Team has been working on identifying the exact parameters of the project, its scope, barriers to participation and the participation process.
Members are presently putting together presentations on: the Biblical and Theological Basis for Participating in the Project; the Business Basis for Participation; Cultural Change; and developing a Process for Discernment of Delegates. These will for part of a formation process for Parishes that seek to participate that will be conducted by the Project Team.
In April, a letter introducing the Project has been sent to all Parish Priests, Parish Pastoral Councils and Parish Finance Committees seeking to secure their in-principle support.
A Pilot Parish Grouping has been determined although contact with that group has yet to occur and will be part of the Team’s next step.
