Parish culture must change to mission, says priest-author

PETALING JAYA: Vatican II may have called for the windows of the Church to let fresh air in, but after 50 years of sunlight, some renovation may be necessary.

Recognising this, the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocese was proud to receive Fr James Mallon, author of the widely acclaimed book, Divine Renovation: Bringing your parish from maintenance to mission for a two-hour session on July 24.

Hosted by Alpha Malaysia and held in Loyola Hall of the Church of St Francis Xavier, Fr Mallon shared with Archbishop Julian Leow, clergy members and lay leaders his personal experiences as pastor of the Church of St Benedict in the Canadian town of Halifax.

The Church needs a spiritual renovation to awaken her sense of mission, Fr Mallon said.

Speaking to an 80-strong audience drawn from 17 churches between Perak and Singapore, Fr Mallon told of the many challenges and obstacles which he faced in trying to renew a tired and shrinking congregation.

Using the Alpha programme as a source of renewal, he shared how, slowly but surely, he instilled a sense of mission into the mindset of his parishioners, who in turn attracted others to the parish.

As a result, St Benedict’s has grown into a 1,400-strong community comprising numerous small “connect” groups and ministries, with some 850 members strongly involved in church and missionary activity.

The Church must move away from the culture of maintenance to one of mission, Fr Mallon told his attentive audience.

Referring to the parable of the lost sheep, he said that the ‘common sense’ solution would have been to write off the one sheep lost in the wilderness in order to preserve and keep safe the remaining 99. Yet, that was not what Christ did.

He recommended three steps to start the process: forming a senior leadership team, running the Alpha programme and reimagining the weekend experience of homilies, hymns and hospitality — the 3H’s — so that it better projects mission as the Church’s core purpose.

The priest also cautioned leaders not to be too troubled by those who complained.Those with loud complaints are usually in the minority, he warned, and appeasing these laggards all the time will harm growth.

Attendees were effusive in their praise of Fr Mallon’s message.

“The talk has changed the way I view how a parish should be run,” said Deacon Martinian Lee, whose priestly ordination will take place in Melaka later this year.

“Fr Mallon is an incredibly sharp, knowledgeable and wise man,” business growth consultant Jeevan Sahadevan said. “I learned so much in just two hours that I can use to improve my relationship with Christ!”

Church of the Divine Mercy’s PPC Chairman, Philip Rao, said he found the talk enlightening yet seemingly logical. “Our maintenance culture, which focuses on the provision of ‘the usual services’, makes us forget that being Church requires us to be much more dynamic,” he added.

Caroline Soon of Alpha Malaysia said that the Peninsular Malaysia Church have been way ahead in her understanding of the Church as being on a mssion. “We have been on a journey for more than 40 years with the 1976 Aggiornamento and the formation of BECs. We just need to stay focused on BECs and keep going.”

Article reproduced from Herald Malaysia online