| June Update from the Parish Pastoral Council |
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Pastoral Council Update June 2010 The Pastoral Council met on Thursday 24th June 2010. The following is a report on the items discussed. Child Protection It has been brought to our attention again that children continue to use the bathroom facilities in the sacristy area unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. A reminder will be placed in the newsletter and notices once again to advise everyone in the community of the importance of best practice in this area. Our Child Protection Officer Colette Kerr has recently submitted our Parish Child Protection Policy & Guidelines to the new Diocesan Director for Safeguarding Children: Mr. Andrew Fagan. The policy and guidelines have also been reviewed by Fr. Paddy Boyle who is the Diocesan Training and Development Coordinator for child protection. Our policy and guidelines are approved and considered to be excellent and up to date. They will continue to be reviewed regularly. The Pastoral Council have sent a letter to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The letter expressed approval for the openness and transparency of his handling of the Murphy Report. We also impressed the need for greater communication from the diocese on such matters to Pastoral Councils so that we are able to work together in partnership in the future. Clustering The chairpersons of the five Parish Councils in our cluster have met here in Ballygall early in June. Those who attended were: Sean O’Fearcheallaigh: Iona Road Parish. The purpose of this meeting was to further the clustering initiative recently hosted in our Lady of Victories Ballymun Road. The meeting involved gaining an understanding of each parish and the priorities of each Parish Council. At the moment each council is individually working to ensure that the necessary pastoral ministries for the future functioning of parishes are in place. While we all wish to retain our own unique identity we are aware that none of us work in isolation. By meeting and building relationships we are better prepared to work cooperatively and creatively together for the future. Clustering is essentially drawing us into wider communion with our neighbouring parishes. The five chairpersons will meet again early in the Autumn. This meeting will be hosted by Iona Road Parish. Liturgy Three members of the Liturgy group will attend a training course on Liturgy and Catechesis in All Hallows College in July. Parish Forum The Parish Team met with Donal Harrington to discuss further the possibility of a Forum or Assembly in the parish for the future. Following this meeting a proposal was prepared to be presented to the Parish Council. The proposal was accepted by the Council and it was agreed to invite Donal to be our facilitator. Donal has wide experience in parish pastoral work. A core group from the Parish Council has been selected to work on this project. They will meet early in the Autumn. It is hoped that this will be the beginning of a journey of renewal and hope for our parish. Through an approach of listening and discernment we hope to try and discover how all of us young and older can give joyful and attractive witness to who we are as a faith community in the culture of today. Hospitality Hospitality and welcome has been identified as being one of the most important areas of ministry in our parish. In our welcome we hope that people experience in some way a sense of God’s own openness, warmth and love towards them. This is an area we hope to develop more in the Autumn.
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