Archbishop Bernard has invited us all to join with him in exploring a vision for the renewal of the life and mission of the Church in Birmingham.

It is being explored under four headings.

1. Evangelisation: Encouraging others to know God’s love for them by inviting them, with our parish, to learn of Jesus and about Jesus – to come to church, to pray and to encounter Christ – helping to form missionary disciples and missionary parishes.
2. Formation: Nurturing future Catholic leaders in our churches and schools by providing both spiritual and pastoral formation and support – helping us to play an active role in the parish community - helping us to understand more about our faith so as to deepen our personal relationship with God.
3. Liturgy and Worship: Invigorating and deepening our worship and sacramental celebrations so that we share in and reflect the divine life of the Trinity - encouraging others to join us in praying to our Heavenly Father.
4. Social Outreach: Building up the common good through our charitable outreach - offering our time, our resources and our love to those who need them most - inviting others to join us in our charitable work.

Please pray for this work; and also consider how you might share your gifts and time to forward this renewal of the Church to respond to the mission entrusted now to us.

More information from the Archdiocese is available here.

Parish engagement

• Our parish response to Archbishop Bernard's invitation begin to be explored at an open parish meeting on 7th July, 2021. A report on the meeting was contained in the parish newsletter for the following Sunday.
• One of the next steps is to help reflect on issues and opportunities related to each of the four headings. These - or extracts from them - will be reflected on in parish reading groups. The first of these began in September 2021 with a reading of Fratelli Tutti. After Easter 2023 we will take a look at Christifidelis Laici.
  
• We began the process with house groups, and some of these carried on through COVID. More recently our parish Monday evening Group has been an important focus for reflection and planning. The group was originally established to explore how to prepare for the Jubilee of 2025 and to re-engage with the teaching of Vatican II, but it has been a good place for listening and learning more generally - engaging with the Synodal process, walking together in faith, that has been fostered by Pope Francis.
  
  Evangelisation: Evangelium Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis
  Formation: Christifideles Laici (vocation and mission of the Lay Faithful) Pope John Paul II; Priority of Adult Formation; Directory for Catechesis (not yet available on-line, but published by CTS and good Catholic bookshops)
  ​Liturgy and Worship: Sunday Mass - a document from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
  Social Outreach: Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship) Pope Francis - (FT parish discussion documents)

​More details in the parish newsletter, nearer the time.

---