This Glossary of Terms
will be helpful as the ‘Fit for Mission?’ exercise progresses.
Baptism –
Through this sacrament
we become a member of the Church of Christ (Christian Initiation); also
being forgiven of one's sins. Through baptism and our baptismal promises we
become part of the Mission of Christ and His Church.
Bishop
– The Bishop is called
by God to be the leader and servant of His people in a Diocese, through
teaching, ruling and sanctifying. He is appointed by the Pope and works
with the College of Bishops.
Canon Law
- The general laws governing the life of the Church.
Catechesis
– A process to help
people of all ages to an initial and deepening relationship with Jesus
Christ through spiritual and educational activities.
Catechumens
– People who
desire to be part of the Church. They prepare themselves for this by
leading a life, with the help of the Holy Spirit, which is rooted in the
gospels.
Chapel-of-ease
- A church building helping to ease a community’s need for
sacramental care. Such a community is part of a larger Parish community.
The priest visits the Chapel-of-ease for liturgical services but is not
resident there.
Chaplaincy
– the providing of
pastoral and sacramental care for a group of people outside of the usual
parish setting, i.e. school, hospital and prison.
Children’s Liturgy of
the Word –
A service specially adapted to help children understand and engage with the
readings at Mass through simplifying the language used or retelling the
story whilst retaining the central theme or message.
The Christian Faithful
– All those
who have been baptized are called without exception to serve God. While
this call to holiness and ministry is common to all there are different ways
to serve God.
Clergy
– Ordained members of
God’s people: a deacon, priest, or bishop. (See ordained).
Collaboration
(Collaborative)
– The process of
working together in a joint effort. For parishes, deepening collaboration
means working closer together, with the priest, to carry out the mission of
Christ. This means sharing ministries, programmes, facilities, personnel or
activities.
Communion
– Holy Communion, the
reception of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. More generally
it also means our fellowship and union with Christ and other baptized
Christians in the Church.
Consultation
– A process of engaging with different groups who have a shared interest in
the future of the Diocese to generate ideas, comments and engagement. In a
consultation the final decision-making is retained by the person(s) leading
it.
Deacon
– A celibate or
married man ordained to the order of Deacon. He exercises his ministry in
the three primary areas: the Word (i.e., proclaim the Gospel, preach),
Liturgy (i.e., assist the priest at liturgy, preside at baptisms, funerals,
weddings) and Charitable Service (i.e., working with the poor, the
housebound, diocesan works for the Bishop).
Deanery
– A geographic
grouping of parishes working together to enable more effective pastoral
action and communication among parishes/Catholic institutions and the
Diocese. Presently, there are 12 deaneries in the Diocese of Lancaster
Deanery Pastoral
Council – A
major consultative group in most Dioceses. The Dean is the president of each
council. The council includes lay representatives from the parishes, as
well as priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and
representatives of youth and other groups of the deanery.
Diocese
– Part of the people
of God whose pastoral care is the responsibility of a bishop. The Diocese of
Lancaster comprises most of Lancashire north of the Ribble and all of
Cumbria.
Discernment
– The prayerful
process of arriving at a decision with God’s help. Communal discernment
includes: reflection, gathering of evidence, discussion of positive and
negative factors of proposed alternative plans of action and making
decisions.
Discipleship
– Living our
baptismal commitment to be a follower of the person, teachings and values of
Jesus Christ.
Ecclesial
– Part of the Church’s
activities or having official sponsorship by the Church.
Ecclesiology
– an understanding
of the Church.
Ecumenism (Ecumenical)
– Promotion
of unity among all Christians. This unity is a gift of Christ and a calling
by the Holy Spirit to the Church.
Empowered
– Authorized by
Baptism to carry out the duties, responsibilities and privileges of our
Christian faith in our life.
Eucharist – The action of thanksgiving to God, which is the main Catholic Christian liturgical
celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ (the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension
of the Lord). The Sunday celebration of the Eucharist, commonly known as the Mass, is at the
heart of the Church’s life.
Evangelisation
– The bringing of
the Good News of Jesus Christ into every situation and proclaiming the
message that salvation is offered to every human being. It is the essential
mission of the church.
‘Gem’ Church
- Larger cities
and towns may have a centrally located shrine-church serving the important
sacramental needs of visitors, shoppers or office workers. Such churches
may be used to provide weekday Mass & Confessions as well as regular
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Objective (or
Priority) –
A statement of a desired end point or outcome. An objective relates to a
major area of concern and is measurable.
Initial Draft
Proposals –
These are the first
set of ideas sent out by the Mission Review Team for discussion and comment
on by the people within an area. The proposals will summarise the contents
of the Parish Evaluation Form and make suggestions for how parishes may be
reorganised. Following the people’s response a set of revised draft
proposals will be issued in March (see below).
Interfaith Relations –
Relationships among communities of different world religions, promoting
increased understanding and respect among people of all religious faiths.
Laity – Those members of the Church who have not received the sacrament of holy orders. The
laity have many personal gifts, given them by the Holy Spirit, that help them carry out
the mission of the Church.
Lay Ministries
- These are ministries within the Church that are carried out by the laity
(see above), including, altar servers, Eucharistic ministers, readers,
catechists and social justice ministries.
‘Lighthouse’ Church
- A
centrally located church providing a centre for mission and evangelisation
throughout the whole of the area. It could have staff, possibly part time
and unpaid, to undertake administration and facilities such as office space,
meeting and social facilities available for Catholic organisations or others
engaged in charitable work for the locally deprived.
Linked Parishes
– An arrangement when two or more parishes share the same priest. The
parishes remain a separate entity and are separate communities of faith.
Collaboration and team-work is key to the success of linked parishes.
Liturgy –
The sacred work of
Christ made present in a service done in the name of or on behalf of the
people. Since the Second Vatican Council there has been an emphasis in the
Church that people are involved in various ministries associated and flowing
from the Liturgy of the Church.
Merged Parishes -
When two or
more parishes join together to become a single parish congregation. In a
merger, the assets and liabilities of the parishes are united and become the
responsibility of the merged parish. The merger process allows parishes to
form a larger, more vibrant worshipping community with a rich a variety of
ministries, reduced overhead and better used resources.
Ministry
– The participation
and actions of baptized Christians sharing in the mission of the Church
through their different service (i.e., lay ecclesial ministers, deacons,
priests and bishops).
Mission Statement
– A concise
statement of a group’s purpose and reason for existence. It responds to the
questions: “Who are we?”, “What is our purpose?” and “What do we value?”
Missionary Church
– The
Church strives to proclaim the Gospel to all people, to the ends of the
earth. By her very nature, the Church is missionary.
Mission Priorities –
Ten
Mission priorities were set out in the ‘Fit for Mission?’ A Guide
published in Lent 2007 to guide our thinking and journey of Review. These
were: Mission with Families, Youth, Schools, Workers, the Poor, Migrants,
Older People, the Sick and Housebound, Our World and the New Evangelisation.
There is also an acknowledgement here that there are many more.
Mission Review Team -
The group
of priests, deacons, religious, and mostly lay people drawn from across the
diocese (30 members) who meet most months to pilot and facilitate the ‘Fit
for Mission’ Review. This team has a Core Group (10 members) who manage the
day-to-day activities of the Review.
Ordained
– Men who have
received the sacrament of Holy Orders, namely; deacons, priests, and
bishops.
Parish
- A community of the Christian Faithful, within a diocese, which has its own
church building and is under the authority of a Parish Priest or
Priest-in-Charge.
Parish Finance
Committee –
A group of skilled parishioners who assist the priest in the financial
running of the parish.
Parish Pastoral
Council – A
group of people who assists the priest in discerning how the parish can best
carry out the mission of the Church.
Parish Evaluation Form
– This was
the form filled in by all parishes in the Diocese (Spring 2007) - as a
‘self-study’ to describe their life and mission. This form was then
submitted to the Mission Review Team and its Core Group for their
consideration.
Parish Summary Form –
With the
Initial Draft Proposals reflecting what was in the above. The Form aimed to
give an accurate snap-shot of strengths and challenges of parish
communities.
Participative
– Sharing in,
taking part in. Participative decision-making means the leader, or those
working for him, is in open dialogue during the various consultations so
that there is a mutual shaping of each other’s thinking in the process.
Parish
Priest/Priest-in-Charge
– A priest assigned by
the diocesan bishop to a particular parish and who is responsible for the
full pastoral care of that community.
Pastoral Letter –
A letter
produced by the Diocesan Bishop or a group of bishops to express Church
teaching on some important pastoral matter.
Priest – A man ordained to the order of priesthood.
RCIA
(Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) –
A process of
conversion. It leads to women and men who have heard the Word of God to
become full members of the Church through Baptism, Confirmation, and
Eucharist.
Religious
– Members of a
religious order consecrated to God A religious order may include ordained
priests and deacons, non-ordained men (brothers) and religious women
(sisters/nuns).
Revised Draft
Proposals –
Following a period of
discernment, after an area’s response to the initial draft proposals, a
second revised set of Draft Proposals will be drawn together based upon
engagement with the Initial Draft Proposals and workable alternatives
proposed by parishes and Deaneries. These Proposals will be sent out
for further consideration and comment in March 2008.
Sacrament
– A sign of an actual
and active grace given to us by Christ and entrusted to the Church. The
Sacraments are seven in number: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance or
Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony.
Sacramental Index – This is a measure that provides a rough approximation of how active
a parish is, based on the number receiving the sacraments - Baptism, First Communion,
Confirmation, Marriage and Funerals. A high sacramental index is one, amongst several
others, of sign of a parish’s health.
Sacramental
Preparation –
Important programmes
that help people understand and prepare for receiving the Sacraments of the
Church.
Sacramental Priorities
- Six
sacramental priorities are listed in the Guide to help us in development of
the sacramental life of the Church. These were: Fostering Leadership,
Compelling Witnesses, Deepening Leadership, Christian Responsibility,
Fostering Vocations, Authentic Liturgy.
Second Vatican Council
- The
gathering of bishops of the world (at the time 2,450 out of the possible
2,908) called together by Pope John XXIII, in exercise of their collegial
authority over the universal Church. Vatican II met from 1962 to 1965 and
set the course of renewal affecting the Church around the world.
Single Parish
- This is the most familiar form of parish organization. A single parish is
one that is separate and independent with its own priest who is not
responsible for any other parish. In the future, most single parishes will
be possible only where there are significantly large congregations.
Social Justice
– Gospel attitudes
and actions with respect to caring for and meeting the needs of the Earth
and its entire people.
Stewardship
– The process by
which we meet our responsibilities as Christians to look after whatever is
entrusted to us and share them lovingly with others.
Sustainable
– The ability to
carry out the basic functions of an organization over the long term within
the resources available.
Vision Statement
– An
expression of how a group of people or organization wants to move forward.
It often tries to describe what the future for the people or organization
will look like.
Word of God
– The entire
content of how God revealed himself to us as contained in the Holy Bible and
proclaimed in the living tradition of the Church.
English
Martyrs'