Ministry does not take place in a vacuum, and neither does the leadership style of a pastor. Therefore, an examination of ways in which a priest empowers catechists and catechetical ministry begins with an overview of the parish. As one of the participants observed: "We tend to underestimate the impact a parish has. The parish is a support community in faith to many people and it provides many opportunities of faith growth."

From the moment of baptism, an individual becomes a member of a new and larger family who together share the life of Christ- the Christian community. The parish provides the locus for this community, offering activities that spiritually nourish the members so, as a group and individually, they can grow in faith. This growth is nurtured by catechesis, which "aims therefore at developing understanding of the mystery of Christ in the light of God's word, so that the whole of a person's humanity is impregnated by that word." (Catechesi Tradendae, 20)

The parish helps facilitate the four dimensions of catechesis: message, community, worship, and service. The message revealed by God, kerygma, is proclaimed by the Church. Catechesis is part of community in the life of the Holy Spirit, koinonia. It leads to and flows from the ministry of worship, leiturgia, which sanctifies through prayer and sacrament. And catechesis supports the ministry of service to the Christian community and the entire human community, diakonia. This results in efforts to achieve social justice and has traditionally been expressed in spiritual and corporal works of mercy. (cf. NCD 32, 213)

Personal spiritual growth is part of a larger commitment. As the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People explains, a person who is baptized becomes part of the apostolate committed "to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth for the glory of God." (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2) This document later states that "the parish offers an outstanding example of community apostolate, for it gathers into a unity all the human diversities that are found there and inserts them into the universality of the Church." (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10)

However, the catechetical and evangelical mission of the church on the parish level often differs from the parishioners' perception of that mission. A participant offered this observation about his parish. He explained that all the parishioners are at a different place on their faith journey. It appears that approximately thirty percent of the parishioners are deeply involved in the parish and believe the parish is an important part of their lives as individuals and families. These people look to the parish for stability, for assistance in raising children in our faith, for support in face of challenges, and for new insights regarding the basic teachings of the Church.

He continued, explaining that thirty percent of parishioners appear to be 'Sunday Catholics' who look to the parish only for Sunday liturgy. Ten percent of parishioners participate in Sunday liturgy out of a spirit of obligation, "but the parish and Church today seem to be a source of frustration and discontent. Thirty percent of parishioners are parishioners in name only. These are the one or two times a year Catholics. This segment of the parish just doesn't seem to care one way or the other."

Catechetical ministry depends to a great extent on how the worshiping community views itself. Without the proper perspective, catechesis begins to suffer. "The parish is the people," and catechesis is part of the fabric of parish life. However, is it a small piece, a large swatch, or is it woven throughout in vibrant colors? How many members of the community does it touch? In this segment of the symposium process, the participants examined the life and activities of their parishes as part of this evaluation.

What are your reflections about your parish? Take some time, gather your thoughts, and answer the following questions.

Reflection Questions
The Parish

What impact does your parish have:

á On the lives of parishioners?
á On the surrounding community?
á On the national or global community?

How does family participation in the parish affect parish life?

Describe the mission of your parish. What are the three most important goals in the life and mission of the parish?

During the symposium, the participants frequently referred to the Second Vatican Council and to the changes resulting from it. Many spoke of the excitement and energy with which they greeted the Council documents and the challenge of renewal. The approach of their ministry continues to reflect the spirit of this renewal. One priest spoke about the "tremendous theological change in my lifetime." He continued to say that Vatican II called people to take seriously the words of Jesus, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.' "And so if we want to find God it's no longer in the heavens, but it's within ourselves and within one another. And that's a drastic change." However, he believes it will be a long time before the majority of people make that change and see the presence of God in one another.

As the session and the discussions progressed, it became evident that the changes initiated by Vatican II were expanding the boundaries of what might be considered the usual parish organizational structure. Leadership, specifically the expectations of the people of the parish and the actual leadership style of the pastor, comprises one component of the changing dynamic. As an example, a participant offered two scenarios that might occur when a new priest comes into a parish. In the first, the people say: "It's your show, Father. What do you want us to do?" Whereas in the second, the people tell the new pastor: "This is who we are. This is our soul. Our past leadership has given us ownership of ministry, and this is what we want of you as our pastor to help continue to promote and enable us to be this." The discussions throughout the symposium illustrate a leadership style that reflects the second scenario.

One pastor believed the morning's discussions revealed that successful parishes tend toward a model which is not only organizational but clearly relational, and the success of this model may require a reexamination of some of the ways in which parishes operate. As a point of reference, he spoke of interfaith organizations that channel the energies of their member churches into community efforts. These groups do not begin their efforts attempting to organize people. They begin by getting people to talk with each other in a relational way, so people get to know each other and their common concerns.

Speaking of his experience with similar organizations, another pastor explained how small groups in his county worked together to alleviate a serious problem in the community and to secure the funding needed to carry out their program. A substantial effort began on a grass roots level. These examples reflect the synergy that is happening within the parishes. Applying this type of relational organization to small Christian communities, one priest spoke of developing a program for lay people that will be a system for organizing, sustaining, and training small group leaders and small group ministries.

Later, a priest remarked how in the past people joined their neighborhood parish. Today, with increasing frequency, when people do not feel comfortable with their neighborhood parish they travel to a parish which nurtures their faith and gives them a sense of belonging. He reflected that "we're still holding on to old models, whereas the people are saying well maybe the parish has to be rethought somewhat." A similar issue was addressed by another participant. "There's a tension between a model of church that focuses a lot on control and a model of church that says we have to empower and demands we give ownership. That is a tension. As to where it's going, I don't know. I can't do anything about it except empower as best as I can, both models."

The topic of success, its perception and measure, was also addressed by the group. One priest shared the observation that the Church may still operate out of a model that evaluates the success of a parish based on the percentage of people in church on a Sunday. He questioned the reliability of this as a sound measure of the impact of a parish. Instead, he believes it may be more important to look at the people who do come and participate in liturgy and feel that they are being affected greatly and that they in turn are affecting others.

For the symposium participants, it appears that models of parish are evolving as the pastors work to proclaim and live the mission of church as they envision it. Two pastors offered observations that spoke of this evolving model. One commented that the parishes that have life and are vibrant are the ones that have complemented a saving model with a serving model. These communities have a great sense of discipleship and stewardship, so they position their energies and abilities in the service of others. He continued to say that when parishioners become good stewards and effective disciples, a parish is filled with life.

The power of witness in these parishes was recognized by another pastor. "I think that I am hearing that the focus in the parish is not one of indoctrination, but rather one of demonstration. Christianity is being demonstrated. No one is trying to convince anybody of Christianity, but rather they're about the business of witnessing Christianity by their actions." This reflects a statement made by Pope Paul VI in Evangelii Nuntiandi: "As we said recently to a group of lay people, 'Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.'" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41)

Another priest reported that the participants at his table also found that parishes that are alive are the ones that have a strong sense of discipleship and stewardship. "I think we found that same thing, we found different levels of that." He continued to say that in all the parish communities examined in the group's discussion, people are identifying the Church with service. The examples and responses offered throughout the symposium point to parishes that strongly emphasize parishioner service, responsibility, and formation.