Parish social ministry trainings at the diocese assist Catholics in living out the Church's social mission

Friday, Aug. 21, 2015

SALT LAKE CITY — Helping local parishes advance the social mission of the local Church is the focus of a workshop that will be offered Oct. 10 in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

The workshop will be a follow-up of a previous training, held May 2, in which more than 40 people from 11 different parishes from all around the diocese attended. 

Participation in the first workshop is not necessary to attend the October training.

“While the sessions have been designed to build off each other, people who were not at the first session are welcome to join this effort. The more the merrier, and Pope Francis calls for a joyful Church,” said Chris West, director of Partnership Engagement and Training with Catholic Relief Services, which is offering the training in conjunction with Jean Hill, the diocesan government liaison.

Homework was given to the participants of the May training, which was bilingual English/Spanish, as will be the October session.  

“The first step was to do a ‘windshield analysis’ of their parishes. This means driving or walking around the neighborhoods in their parish boundaries to see what is out there and what the needs might be. Are there social services in the area? A surfeit of payday lenders or similar businesses, easy access to healthy and affordable food? A mix of low- and high-income neighborhoods? Schools? Racial and ethnic mixing? They were also asked to talk to their pastors about the prospects for the ministry,” said Hill.

“At the upcoming training we’ll continue looking at the Church’s structure for social mission and how the Diocese of Salt Lake City is living that out. We’ll look at practical tools, including prayer, learning, action, and giving as components in [parish social ministry]. Finally, we’ll look at specific skills for inviting people into social ministry and developing initial plans for our parishes,” said West, who will return for the Oct. 10 training day along with CRS coworkers Anna Huth and Roberto Navarro.

The October training will focus on faith formation and practical skills, Hill said. “Part Two will include a discussion of our Catholic vision of solidarity and subsidiarity and what this means in parish social ministry. They will also learn and practice methods for ensuring that their ministries contain a good balance of parishioners and are inclusive. Participants will also work together to plan their initial steps for their ministries.” 

As an example of how parish social ministry could work, members of the Knights of Columbus and youth ministry might unite to not only serve the poor but also to be advocates on issues that greatly impact poverty. 

“A Latino prison minister might join with a parish social minister to advocate against policies or practices that lead to greater incarceration of Latinos in our population,” Hill said. “Ministries might also work together to provide faith formation on the Catholic social teachings related to their ministries. In short, it is a chance to go forth together from Mass to live our faith.”

Parish social ministry is one way diocesan Catholics are taking practical steps to build parish communities alive with service, Huth said.

“At this time when Pope Francis serves as a strong example of living the Church’s outreach to those in need, Catholics around the world also see his practical leadership to bring the Gospel alive through practical steps,” said Huth.