Historial Note
The Diocesan Vision Statement was published in 1995 as the result of a process of consultation and let to five years of reflection on its key themes, leading to the millenniium.
THE VISION
We the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton advancing with confidence in our mission towards the next millennium plan to develop a common vision which unites us as a local church, and to develop this vision in our local communities according to our circumstances and needs.
The Beginning
The vision springs from the diocesan experience of Renew. In the post Renew consultations, consisting of 8,000 written submissions and twelve deanery meetings held round the diocese during 1990, certain desires and themes commonly rose, the need for adult education and formation, the need for good liturgy, the need for a more caring church, and so on.
Bishop Cormac with his Pastoral Management Committee reflected on the results of the consultation at a series of meetings during the following year in churches, and at a two day stay at Maryvale. The group proposed a vision statement which crystallised all the various suggestions. This statement was reformed and refined in subsequent wider discussions and promulgated in its present form on Pentecost Sunday 1992.
The vision statement reflects the teaching of the second Vatican Council documents Lumen Gentium (On the Church) and Gaudium et Spes (On the Church in the Modern World), and offers a framework, within which to carry forward the renewal of the Church's mission.
The Gospel
Above all the vision statement is based on the gospel. The gospels offer us two helpful styles of reflection.
One is found in the parable of the sower (Mt 13.3) where Jesus says: "Imagine a sower going out to sow..." So we are encouraged to use our imagination in reflecting on our mission to enable the growth of the Church and the kingdom.
The other style is to be found, for example, in the episode of the calming of the storm (Mt 8.23) where Jesus exhorts his disciples: "Do not be afraid..." So we are encouraged to focus on the person of Jesus, who is with us on this journey and not be put off by the storms and squalls that abound today.
The notions of "community" and "mission" are crucial to our development of the gospel vision. We must not allow these notions to be debased but must keep them at the centre of our reflection so that each parish may become more fully a community of disciples, able to state its mission to the world with imagination, clarity and fearlessness.
THE PERSPECTIVES
There are three perspectives within which we may develop our sense of vision - the gospel perspective, the theological perspective and the working perspective.
THE GOSPEL PERSPECTIVE
The vision statement is developed from our understanding of the gospel. The Word of God, Jesus himself, is the first moment of God's revelation of his love for us. Out of the word develop the three pillars of our church life - doctrine worship and witness.
| Doctrine - | all that the church believes and teaches derives from the word of God himself and this deposit of faith developed by the Church and handed down through the church from generation to generation, even to our day. |
| Worship - | our response to the word of God comes in all our liturgical celebrations and prayer in which we praise God for his goodness, thank him for his many gifts and pray for his help. |
| Witness - | the way we live our lives, in conformity with the gospel, and witnessing to the gospel values in our daily lives derives from our common and shared understanding and appreciation of God's love for each of us and for his Church. |
The word has primacy, and each of these three, Doctrine, Worship and Witness, are dependent on the word and on each other. Imagine milking a cow by hand, sitting on a three legged stool; if one leg is missing, milking becomes impossible; so it is with the Church ...
THE THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
One of the key insights of the second vatican Council was the model of the threefold role of Christ:-
the priest, the prophet and the king.
This insight occurs as a constant theme throughout the documents and is a valuable tool for us to develop our vision statement. Occurring in the rite of Baptism, this model enables us to perceive our sharing in the work of Christ under three headings:
| sharing his priesthood in sacrifice and worship. sharing his prophetic nature in hearing and proclaiming what God says to us, announcing good news especially to the poor, denouncing evil and injustice in the world, and sharing his kingly nature by our service of one another, with Christ the good shepherd as our model and guide. |
THE WORKING PERSPECTIVE
First our diocesan vision was described as The (Diocesan) Plan.
Then the work of each parish leadership team and parish community was to work on plans that would be in harmony with The Plan and put The Plan into effect at the local level. During the development of the vision process the description "Plan" was changed to "Vision". The task of each group within the parish is to develop its own work in line with the Parish Vision. In this way each person and group and community would be in communion with the bishop and with one another.
UNPACKING THE VISION
- Looking towards the year 2000
Webmasters note - clearly the year 2000 has come and gone. For that reason I have removed the reference from the vision staement. I retain the commentary here for historical reasons
The purpose of the church is to hear the Word of God and fulfil His will. We look and plan ahead at least until the year 2000, which gives a solemnity to our task and yet a measurable time within which to plan, achieve and evaluate some of the tasks we set ourselves.
The opening phrase reflects the current decade of evangelisation. We know that we need first to evangelise ourselves in order then to evangelise others. There is both a greater awareness of our mission to evangelise, and a greater urgency about equipping ourselves for the task. The paragraph underlines the necessity of planning and evaluating the tasks we set ourselves in carrying out our mission.
These paragraphs describe the present reality of the local church. They are based on our past experience of being faithful to our mission, especially through the experience of Renew and they reflect the efforts that have been made in recent years to renew the church in teaching and in catechesis, in worship and prayer and in Christian daily living. The themes follow closely many of the themes of Lumen Gentium (On the Church) from the Second Vatican Council.
- We the people of Arundel and Brighton
We are the faithful, incorporated into the Church through baptism, who live and work in the local church to be found in Surrey and in East and West Sussex.
This paragraph focuses on our identify as God's people through our common baptism and the sense of vocation we have to serve God in the local church which derives from our baptismal commitment.
- Pledge ourselves to deepen
We respond to the call of our baptism to grow in faith by renewing our commitment to the will of God and by seeking ways of bringing to fruition God's plan for the salvation of all people.
Here we emphasise the continuity of the life of our local church and our respect and gratitude for the work of those who have gone before us in faith - the notion of "renewing" our commitment demonstrates our solidarity with the past and the notion of "seeking" urges us to further effort, discovery and renewal.
What is common to past, present and future is God's plan for the salvation of all. The more deeply we enter into this plan, the more fully it will be revealed to humankind.
- Our understanding
We grow in faith through listening to the Word of God, sharing our faith in our community and studying the tradition of the Church.
Understanding here relates primarily to the word of God - not doctrine only, but the whole of our faith tradition. Our growth takes place in the context of the wider church (in harmony with the new Universal Catechism) and the most local expressions - small groups and communities, courses, parish catechesis, etc.
- Our celebration
We nourish the faith that is given to us through the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations and rites of the Church and through our encounters with our fellow believers.
The Eucharist is the "summit and source" of our faith. This and all our other celebrations have religious and social dimensions which enable us to be reconciled to God and to one another.
- And our witness
We carry out to others the message of God that we hear and share, by our words and our actions and by living out the mission and ministry of Christ.
We are not to be hearers of the word only, but doers of the word (James). The word becomes work for the diocese and its agencies, and for the various parish groups - the work of all is to develop the links between faith and life, the meeting of the gospel and the world, by witnessing to the reality of the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
- Of what it means
TO BE CHRIST IN OUR WORLD We read the signs of the times and recognise the Spirit of Christ at work in the world, the church and our parishes, in Word and in Sacrament, where people are called by the gospel and brought to salvation.
Christ promised to be with his Church until the end of time. The active presence of his spirit provides continuity from generation to generation.
However, times change and each generation has (in the felicitous words of Pope John 23rd as he opened the Second Vatican Council) to scrutinise the signs of the times in which we live and to recognise the presence of the Spirit both inside the church and beyond.
This recognition will enable people to respond freely to the call of Christ and be welcomed joyfully into his kingdom.
These paragraphs reflect the future promise that fidelity to our call will unfold and make a reality. Their themes derive from the post-Renew consultations and provide a plan of action to help us move confidently towards the millennium.
These themes are found in Gaudium et Spes (On the Church in the Modern World). Their concrete form will be realised in each parish as it makes and effects its own parish plans.
- A community of love
We are a priestly people, growing in love of God and neighbour through prayer sacraments - especially the eucharist, by faith sharing, in catechesis and in ministry.
Christ the high priest gave his life for us and for all.
In order to follow him more faithfully, these are the areas of our Church life that we want to develop specifically - prayer, preparation for the sacraments and their worthy celebration, faith-sharing groups and small communities, wider and deeper catechesis in the faith and the development of all kinds of ministry. All these activities build up the body of Christ, the Church.
- Partners in Service
We are a caring and serving people, modelled on the Good Shepherd, recognising and sharing one another's gifts, increasing the participation and involvement of all members of our communities; developing new partnerships among priests and people, with fellow Christians and with all people of good will; planning and doing what we can and should be doing in mission and service.
Christ, the Good Shepherd, is our model of service to the community.
Different aspects of Church life can be discerned:- the wider sharing of gifts within each parish community; the greater participation of people in celebration, in decision making and in living the gospel as a visible local community; the real development of collaborative ministry both within the Church and beyond, and the strongly ecumenical dimension of planning and working together as Christians for the good of all.
- A source of hope for all
We are a prophetic people - living in faith, reaching out to all people, but especially to the wounded, the fearful and the hopeless, and to all who suffer poverty or injustice.
The Lord speaks of peace to his people, to those who are near and to those who are far off.
The events, frequently distressing and tragic, of our wider world confronts us daily.
Issues of peace, reconciliation and justice are of concern to all of us both in our daily lives and in what we specifically plan and do for those in special kinds of difficulty.
- Through God's power working in us
The gift of the Spirit enables us to be converted to Christ, to become the Church and, by renewing our faith, to do more than we could ever ask or imagine for God's glory and our sanctification.
The spirit of Christ in us helps us to reflect on what we do, to give true value to our work in spreading the gospel and to renew our faith, our strength and our vision as we strive for the kingdom.
Therefore as we take up again our task of evangelising ourselves and the world, we do so with thanksgiving in our hearts for what we inherit, in a spirit of renewed faith, and with a desire to bring all people into harmony, into one, that they may be reconciled to God and to one another.
THE CHALLENGE
As we reflect on the Diocesan Vision Statement, some challenges immediately present themselves.
COMMUNITY
The supreme experience of community for any parish group should be the celebration of the liturgy. We need to find ways to overcome anonymity, to encourage participation and responsibility, to ensure that people are thoroughly evangelised as regards the meaning of the liturgy and its celebration.
Catechesis is the vital way in which the community forms itself according to the mind and heart of Christ. The community needs not only to be formed but to be transformed. Catechesis should become the task not of a few but of the whole community and should include all its members, not only the children.
Faith-sharing is a valuable, scripture-based method of building community. It helps people to link the gospel to their daily lives.
Opportunities for gospel sharing should be available to all groups and members of parishes.
MINISTRY
Ministries create a spirit of community. They should be widely distributed among the whole community. All members of the community should be involved in decision making. In this way they may experience a deep sense of belonging to the community.
Bishops, priests and deacons exist to serve their communities. Unnecessary distinctions needs to be overcome in order for all to share in responsibility for the community, and to collaborate in ministering to the community.
The initiative in overcoming these distinctions should come from the clergy themselves, whose service of God's people is in imitation of the one in whose priesthood they share so intimately.
New attitudes and styles of leadership need to emerge. Leaders should work in teams, sharing information, skills and gifts. There should be rotation of responsibilities. Women should be encouraged to exercise leadership. All leaders are not above the people but from them and among them.
We can only respond to needs when we see them. Every parish should learn how to discover needs that are hidden whether by surveys, by social analysis or personal encounter. In this way parishes can become communities where all believers act together to build a better, more human world.
Canon Peter Humfrey
August 1995
REFERENCE WORKS
| Vatican Council Documents | Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Second Vatican Council)
Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Second Vatican Council) |
| Catechetical | General Catechetical Directory: Sacred Congregation for the Clergy 1971
Evangelii Nuntiandi: Apostolic Exhortation Evangelisation in the Modern World (1975)
Catechesi Tradendae: Apostolic Exhortation on Catechesis in our Time (1979) |
| Liturgical | Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (1974) |
| Reference | Catechism of The Catholic Church (1994) |
The above publications and all others pertaining to formation, catechesis and education are available through The DABCEC Bookshop at the Christian Education Centre, 4 Southgate Drive, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6RP. Tel 01293 571264
This page is adapted from The Diocesan Vision Looking Towards the Year 2000 - Guidline No. 2 September 1995 which is available from the DABCEC bookshop.
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The Diocesan Vision Statement
©, Diocese of Arundel & Brighton,1995
Last revision 21 April 1997
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