1. Cup of tea as we gathered – a great idea!
2. A quieting prayer
3. Aideen Darcy Pastoral Co-ordinator for Bray /Enniskerry told the meeting of her work.
Aideen has a backgound in music and theology. She gave up her full time teaching for pastoral ministry and works with pastoral councils, schools and on preparation of people for the sacraments. She has also established a Bray and Enniskerry Pastoral Area Facebook page which carries our meeting notices.
Aideen told us of an initiative for reform and renewal called Rebuilt. It was the subject of a conference in Maynooth last September attended by 700 . Rebuilt is a programme based on the a very successful reinvigoration of a parish in Maryland, US, by Fr Michael White and his lay colleague, Tom Corcoran. It promotes the Eucharist as a welcoming community celebration with the active involvement of many in music and prayer.
Aideen has a small group looking at this programme to see if there are applications relevant to here. A book has been published called Rebuilt and the detail is available on www.rebuitparish.com.
Members at the meeting responded to Aideen quoting specific experiences of “freedom as laity to become actively involved” through contributing to reflection on the Word by occasional responses to the homily and experiences of vibrant Eucharist celebration at St Fergal’s . Some questions were aired, including “What could be the key fruits of a lively participative Eucharist for family?”
Aideen asked if ACI North Wicklow would like to participate in the local discussion on this and this was agreed. Eimear Hegarty volunteered to be our representative.
4. The Synod Lineamenta and Questionnaire
We discussed the dissemination of the Synod Lineamenta and tried to fathom the reasons for its apparent lack of distribution in many parishes. We wondered what ACI could do about this. We decided that each of those present would consider approaching their local Parish Priest and/or Parish Council and ask why the Lineamenta is not being distributed and discussed in the parishes. It was suggested that information on this with a reference to its availability could at least be mentioned in the Parish Newsletters.
5. Update on other matters
- An ACI General Meeting of all members to respond to the Lineamenta and Archbishop Eamon Martin’s request for ACI’s views will be held in the Regency Hotel, Swords Road, Drumcondra, Dublin on Saturday, March 21st.
- The ACI website has been developed further and includes an easier joining process. Annual Subscription is €10 (€5 for unwaged)
- Teresa and John reported attending a talk by Angela Hanley on her new book “Whose á La Carte Menu?” which looks at some of the best scholarship in the Church since the Second Vatican Council and attempts to make it accessible in plain and simple language. She says the Church has always been á la Carte since changes have occurred throughout its history!
- The ACI Facebook site continues to be a wonderful resource of information on media comment on church matters.
- The publication of our Minutes on the ACI website last month got 9 comments-something of a record!
Next Meeting: Wednesday 11th March 2015, at 8.00 pm