Chris McDonnell, UK
christymac733@gmail.com

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October 23, 2019

At home in the Parish

We live in a time when the amalgamation of parishes is seen as the solution to a growing shortage of priests, as well as reflecting a changing demographic in towns and cities that directly affects viability of shrinking communities. How should we react to these altered circumstances? What  is the nature of parish and how do we as parishioners respond to it? The solution of asking a man, already in his fifties or sixties to suddenly double his workload is not a feasible solution to a real problem.

 We leave our homes on many journeys, returning later for rest, relaxation, security and recreation. It is where we are able to create our own environment, somewhere our identity is recognisable in the artefacts of our day to day lives. The rooms and their furnishing, the family pictures and the ornaments, all contribute to making our homes a personal, lived-in, space. It is in homes that memories are made, in their lived-in space that memories linger, places where we once had dreams.  

It is from within our homes, situated within a geographical parish, that our early lives are formed and attitudes tested within the safety of our family. The Church is that same family writ large, for our experiences at home, the joys and the tensions, the sorrows and the pains, are reflected within broader church communities, be they the local parish, the diocese or the national church. We increasingly hear the phrase 'climate change' and we are becoming familiar, even at this late stage, with its meaning. Maybe for a moment we should ask the question about a 'climate change' in the Church for undoubtedly there is increasing evidence of its presence.

 As the Amazonian Synod draws to a conclusion it is too early to access the degree of change that will result from its deliberations.

Maybe we will be witnessing the renewal of the European Church through the voices of our brothers and sisters of Latin America . And what will be the consequences, how will we respond to this shifting of the tectonic plates?

 The importance of meal times to family exchange, the family table a shared Eucharist, brings to mind the difficulties of the teenage years with children, when getting everyone to sit down together for a meal can be a real challenge. The 'busyness' of families, the demands on parents to see that school or sports activity deadlines are met, often leads to fragmentation and an apparent loss of joint purpose in the home.

 We have moved from the inherent stability of family experience to one that is mobile and more demanding.  With both parents often engaged in full time employment, out of necessity as much as choice, the shared meal can become a rare occasion of celebration.

It should certainly be a time that is electronically data free.

 The talk and chatter round the table offer a chance for shared experience and the chance to challenge the accepted norms, to create the waves that will encourage the development and growth of personal views. Over the years that table space retains the echoes and memories of argument and laughter, an important element within our homes.

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