Pastoral Activities:
We break down the pastoral activities into 4/5 areas.
Worship:
In the celebration of Sunday Eucharist and in other sacramental and liturgical rites, individuals gather together to manifest a communal proclamation of faith. In doing so, they carry out the mission of evangelisation by witnessing the Good News of Jesus Christ to one another and to all.
Sunday Eucharist:
Choirs, Servers, Altar Societies/Flowers, Readers, Eucharistic Ministers, Liturgy planners, Ushers, Prayers of the faithful, Sacristans
Word:
The spreading of the Word takes place in many formal and informal ways within the parish: adult, youth, and children’s education and spiritual formation: the rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA): sacramental preparation for the sacraments of initiation and marriage, family formation, renewal efforts; and Sunday homilies. These and other means of passing on the message of Jesus Christ are all aspects of “Word” within the community of faith.
Community:
A parish is a place where everyone belongs Inclusivity and mutuality are hallmarks of community. Without a deep and abiding sense of the unity which binds them together in faith, parishioners cannot begin to discern the ways that God is calling them collectively to experience the Kingdom more fully.
Service:
The mission to which Christ calls the Church clearly includes works of charity and justice. Throughout his public ministry, Jesus demonstrated the degree to which we are to be of service to others in need which working to change the social conditions that create such needs. The Church is called both to serve the needs of others and to eradicate the causes of injustice.
Evangelisation:
The proclamation of the message of Christ is the fundamental mission of the Church and every parish. How each parish carries out its mission of evangelisation is unique and particular to that community of faith.
Trocaire
Justice
Trócaire is the overseas development agency of the Irish Catholic Church. We work in partnership with local development and humanitarian actors, to support people and communities to tackle the root causes of poverty, injustice and violence and to use their own power to create positive and lasting change. Trócaire is rooted in the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, the social teaching of the Church, which inspires us to live out the Gospel message of inclusion, love, justice and dignity for all. It is inspired by Scripture, the wisdom of Church leaders, and the lived experience of grassroots movements. In the words of Trócaire’s founding document, in which the bishops of Ireland gave the organisation a strong and clear mandate, ‘We know that we cannot claim to love God if we do not love our fellow men and women.’ Trócaire has worked through local partner organisations since its foundation. Partnership is at the heart of how Trócaire works. We work with local faith and non-faith-based organisations who share our values and who are working on any or all of our core programme areas of women’s empowerment, resource rights and humanitarian preparedness and response. These organisations understand the needs of their communities and are best placed to work with communities to deliver sustainable long-term change. The theme of the 2026 Trócaire Lenten campaign centres on the story of a multi-generational, female-led household in rural Rwanda. At just 28 years old, Uwamahoro is carrying the weight of three generations on her shoulders. She supports her mother, Verediana, 68, who lives with a disability, her daughter Ineza, 7 and her niece Vanessa, 12. Earning just 60 cent per day working on the land, Uwamahoro is doing the best she can to feed her family and keep the children in school, but it’s never enough. The next storm could destroy everything Uwamahoro has built. Their house is crumbling, the roof is leaking, they live in darkness with no electricity, and with each storm, they fear for their safety. This is not unusual for women across Rwanda, where severe storms are striking faster and more often, before families can recover from the last. We are asking the people of Ireland to help Uwamahoro rebuild her family’s lives and restore their hopes for the future. We wish to thank Bishop Kevin Doran and Pariah Pastoral Worker Mary Kirk for their help in writing this resource.
The Parish Pastoral Council:
The involvement of the various members of the Church, using their different gifts for the good of the Body of Christ and its task in the world, ought to take place in a co-ordinated way. There must be a ministry of co-ordination and leadership—there must be people whose service to the kingdom is that of co-ordinating the activities of its various members and exercising leadership in the community. It also means that there must be some people in the local church who have authority to co-ordinate and lead. In other words, there must be an office of co-ordination and leadership—there must be officially appointed leaders. Since these have to lead a community which lives by the Word of God and celebrates the sacraments, they must be suitably equipped and prepared for such leadership. They must be empowered in regard to the preaching of the word and the celebration of the sacraments.
The members of the Parish Pastoral Council:
Brendan Leonard (chairperson), Geraldine Gavaghan (secretary), Fr John Glynn (presider), Cian Deehan, Enda Gavaghan, Elaine Marren, Margaret Meers, Mairead Monaghan, Fintan Mullarkey, Geraldine Quinn, Theresia F Roddy, Joseph Scanlon
Mission statement of Parish Pastoral Council:
Kilmactigue Parish Pastoral Council endeavours to build and support a vibrant parish, inclusive of all ages. We hope to facilitate a structure of shared responsibility for the future, with active participation and which fosters a caring, welcoming and faithful community. It will assist in active listening, prayerful consideration, coordinating, planning and evaluation of parish needs, that centres around strengthening our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Method of Working:
We, the Parish Pastoral Council of Kilmactigue Parish, take responsibility to see that the aim and mission of the parish is being achieved. It will do so by listening to the people of the parish, by considering prayerfully on what they say, by deciding what to focus on in light of the gospel and what the people of the parish are saying, by formulating a plan for the people of the parish to carry out, and by evaluating on what is happening periodically. In doing so, we hope that the proclamation of the message of Christ by the people of God in our area will reach all people in a clearer and more tangible way, that is relevant to their lives and the present age.
Self Evaluation Report on our Pastoral Council
After 3 years in existence, it is appropriate to carry out an evaluation of the work of our parish pastoral council. It is fair to say that the council is still in its infancy and is still learning slowly what is involved in being a pastoral council. The Council was commissioned by Bishop Paul Dempsey in February 2022 in a ceremony in the Cathedral. Our initial sources of information were two books: “Becoming a Pastoral Council” by Patricia Carroll and “ Partnership in Parish” by Fr Enda Lyons. We spent many monthly meetings, especially in the first year, trying to get an understanding of what a parish is, and what a parish does and where a parish pastoral council fits in. We also attended training nights along with other parish pastoral councils. This was time well spent.. Monthly meetings took place about ten times each year. An Agenda meeting between the Presider, Chairperson and Secretary was held in preparation for each monthly meeting. All meetings were well attended.
Items that were discussed at the monthly meetings included
(A) Correspondence from the Diocese, feedback to the Diocese,
(B) Discussion regarding the proposed merger of the Diocese and the Diocese of Elphin and attendance at meetings regarding the merger.
(C) Choosing which parishes we should cluster with was also discussed and the result reported to the Diocese.
(D) The National Synod was reported on and meetings attended in connection with this.
(E) Correspondence regarding retreats for Readers and Eucharistic Ministers was also funnelled through the Pastoral council.
Much discussion took place about encouraging Young People in their faith..Contact was made with the local GAA club in the hope of setting time aside for them. In the end nothing transpired from this. There was also an opportunity for a youth leader to be trained that didn’t get any candidates from our parish.
Various opportunities were offered for young people to do activities together from the Diocese but again they were not taken up. However 4 young people from the parish did take part in the John Paul 11 awards in the Community School.They also attended the “Inspire” night in Tubbercurry. The “Light House”, programme for Confirmation candidates is being introduced this year, where TY
students in St Attracta’s Community School will befriend and mentor the candidates. They are being trained in St Attracta’s.The Pastoral Council are also heartened by the Children’s choir and Adult’s choir in Tourlestrane church, by the number of servers in the parish, and the children and adults in Lough Talt church choir. A support programme for parents of children making their first Communion is being run by two parishioners. A few nights for scripture reflection or Lectio Divina was offered to anyone who wanted to attend in Fr John ‘s house. Numbers were small.
There was a special blessing ceremony for parents of children baptised over the last three years. Bambinelli Sunday was celebrated during Advent. It should be noted that the Pastoral Council encouraged the formation of the parish baptismal team, the church committee in Kilmactigue, formed for the painting of the church, the choir in Kilmactigue, the introduction of emergency sacristans in the event of a visiting priest.
There was feedback regarding liturgies eg, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Season of Creation ( blessing of animals) . The Pastoral Council was involved in the Masses celebrated by Bishop Paul Dempsey in the parish. It also took a hands-on approach to the Mass with Stephan Giblin as guest speaker, Youth DiocesanDirector.
Prayer During meetings: How and when we pray during the meetings has evolved over the years. We now open with an opening prayer and close with a blessing.Our main prayer time is at the centre of the meeting. It now consists of focus, scripture, reflection ( with music) , prayers of petition, Closing prayer. At the
moment Fr John is the person in charge.
Hospitality: We have the cup of tea as we arrive for the meeting, before we start. .We also have a meal together at Christmas.
A mission statement for the pastoral council.
After many monthly meetings in our first year we agreed on what is the mission statement of our pastoral council.
Kilmactigue Parish Pastoral Council endeavours to build and support a vibrant parish, inclusive of all ages. We hope to facilitate a structure of shared responsibility for the future, with active participation and which fosters a caring, welcoming and faithful community. It will assist in active listening, prayerful consideration, co-ordinating, planning and evaluation of parish needs, that centres around strengthening our relationship with Jesus Christ.
How we operate: We, the Parish Pastoral Council of Kilmactigue Parish, take responsibility to see that the aim and mission of the parish is being achieved. It will do by listening to the people of the parish, by considering prayerfully on what they say, by deciding what to focus on in light of the gospel and what the people of the parish are saying, by formulating a plan for the people of the parish to carry out, and by evaluating on what is happening periodically . In doing so, we hope that the proclamation of the message of Christ by the people of God in our area will reach all people in a clearer and more tangible way, that is relevant to their lives and the present age. ( Draft).
Steps to a Vision Statement for the Parish.
Our first step was to listen to the people of the parish. We circulated a letter to all households asking them what they would like to see happening over the next five years. We received some replies back. We arranged meetings in the three church areas where people could discuss what they though the parish needed to do..
Second step. We considered prayerfully at our meetings what we had heard.
Third step: We decided on what to focus on, in the light of the gospel and what the people had said. Our focus was to be on three items: To be a community united around the Lord. ,attractive to younger people who wish to become involved, and able through modern means of communication, as well as old fashioned talking, to reach out to bring the good news to all willing to listen.
Fourth Step: This is where we are in difficulty! We are to formulate a plan to bring about these goals with objectives along the way.
Fifth step: To evaluate what we have done (in written form)
Parish Vision Statement.
Kilmactigue/Tourlestrane Parish sees its overall purpose as evangelisation, that is, to make the invisible Christ more visible, and to help bring about the kingdom of God.. We see ourselves as a prayerful community with Christ at its centre, which welcomes, appreciates and reaches out to all people. We hope to be a parish marked by the joy, energy, strength, resilience and compassion which comes from our relationship with Christ.We hope to be united around the Lord, attractive to younger people who wish to become involved, and able through modern means of communication, as well as old-fashioned talking, to reach out to bring the Good News to all willing to listen.The parish priest, and parish pastoral council according to their appropriate roles share responsibility for visioning, planning, empowering, and evaluating.