A brief history
The Second Vatican Council ended in 1965. In its decrees the Council expressed a desire
to involve the laity in the work of the Church and, as a result, many parishes set up
parish councils. These were meant to advise and assist the parish priest in running
the parish. They operated successfully for a few years but, in the end, suffered from
focussing too much on financial, material, and administrative matters to the detriment
of the pastoral needs of the parish.
In 1959, Pope John XXIII announced that the Code of Canon Law (Church law)
was to be completely revised. The revision was finally completed twenty-four years later
in 1983. The revised Code made provision for the establishment of parish pastoral
councils which were to advise and assist the parish priest in carrying out his
pastoral duties. Financial matters were to be the concern of a separate
parish finance council.
As the number of priests declined, the need to involve the laity became increasingly pressing
and the bishops began in earnest to plan for the creation of pastoral councils throughout
the country. Their aim was to have a pastoral council in every parish.
Dunhill and Fenor Parish Pastoral Council was set up in October 2007 by Fr. Garrett
Desmond who was the parish administrator at the time. There were fifteen members on the
council - the president, Fr. Desmond, and fourteen lay members. The new council
took part in four evenings of training provided by the Diocesan Commission for Pastoral
Councils and held its first meeting on 11th December 2007. At this meeting three officers
were elected - the chairperson, who facilitates the regular meetings, the secretary, who
records the minutes and deals with correspondence, and the assistant secretary, who is
responsible for the minutes and correspondence in the secretary's absence. (A vice-chairperson,
who facilitates the meetings in the absence of the chairperson, was elected at the council
meeting of 16th October 2008). Since then a meeting has been held every month except July and
August.
The names of the fifteen founding members are:
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Dan Cowman Marie Crowley Terry Cunningham (assistant secretary) Fr. Garrett Desmond (president) Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) Stan Flynn Brendan Gallagher Pat Greene |
Mary Harney Anne Kavanagh Donal Lehane (chairperson) Kathleen Murphy (secretary) Mary Murphy Ita O'Reilly David Raher |
Of these founding members, Anne Kavanagh resigned for personal reasons and was
replaced by Gillian Connolly.
Fr. Desmond was transferred to become the parish
priest of Newcastle and Fourmilewater Parish and was replaced by our present
parish administrator, Fr. Paul F. Murphy. At the council meeting of 8th September 2009
the chairperson and secretary left office as their terms had ended. Marie Crowley
and Mary Murphy were elected as the new chairperson and secretary, respectively.
As of 1st November 2010, the names of the fifteen members were:
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Gillian Connolly Dan Cowman Marie Crowley (chairperson) Terry Cunningham (assistant secretary) Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) Stan Flynn Brendan Gallagher Pat Greene |
Mary Harney Donal Lehane Kathleen Murphy Mary Murphy (secretary) Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Ita O'Reilly David Raher |
According to the pastoral council's constitution, one third (five) of the members of the council
must be replaced every year, after the first three years.
An Information Leaflet and Nomination Form (which may be viewed by clicking one of the links on the left)
were prepared for distribution to parishioners after Mass on three consecutive weekends. Parishioners
were requested to complete the Nomination Form attached to the leaflet and return it.
A parish meeting was held at on Tuesday 2nd November to explain the purpose of the pastoral council
and the role of its members. After the general meeting, those interested in membership were invited
to attend a "discerment" process to help them to make a final decision.
As a result of the discernment, eight nominees were accepted as members of the pastoral council. They
were commissioned as members at the pastoral council meeting on Tuesday 9th November 2010.
As of 2nd November 2010, the names of the council members are:
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Finola Cooke Gillian Connolly Dan Cowman Marie Crowley (chairperson) Wendy Cullinane Terry Cunningham (assistant secretary) Ann Marie Curran Julianna Dunne (vice-chairperson) Helena Fitzgerald |
Stan Flynn Laois Gavin Pat Greene Donal Lehane Paul Lynch Ned Morrissey Mary Murphy (secretary) Fr. Paul F. Murphy (president) Cait O'Donovan |
And here are their photographs. Roll the mouse pointer onto a figure to see the name.
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The same process of setting up parish pastoral councils has been taking place throughout
the diocese so that a pastoral council now exists in almost every parish of the diocese.
What is a parish pastoral council?
The following explanation of the role of the pastoral council is taken from Parish
Pastoral Councils - A Framework for Developing Diocesan Norms and Parish Guidelines,
March 2007, Sections 4.1 and 4.3.
"The Parish Pastoral Council is a leadership group through which priests and people work
together as partners in furthering the mission of Christ in their own place. It does
this through building up a vibrant Christian community that is rooted in baptism and
marked by its faith, worship and service.
To fulfil its role the Pastoral Council needs to be a representative body, in which
the diversity of the parish community is reflected. It is a means whereby all
parishioners can take part in all discussions that relate to the parish and its future
development.
The primary ministry of the Parish Pastoral Council is to discern the way forward for the
parish at the given time. It does this in the light of the gospel, the teaching of the Church,
the 'signs of the times' and what the Holy Spirit is saying through the members of the local
community.
Processes in which the Parish Pastoral Council is involved include:
Reflection and Planning
In collaboration with the parish community, identifying their needs and
the challenges they face, and reflecting in dialogue with them on what needs to be done.
Animation
Enabling the baptised to discover their gifts, in response to the needs and challenges of the
parish, and developing these gifts through the provision of training and on-going formation.
Action
Providing structures that will marry the needs and the challenges of the parish with the gifts
and resources in the parish and the diocese.
Communication
Ensuring that effective dialogue takes place within the parish, the diocese, and the wider
community.
Evaluation
Reviewing the life and activities of the parish so that parishioners might have a sense of
a developing dynamic Christian community."
The council's pastoral interests include church liturgy, baptismal preparation, bereavement
support, faith formation, communications within and without the parish, community care, and
many others. Council members are not expected to carry out all of these activities themselves,
though they may be involved in some of them, but it is their responsibility to empower the
individuals and teams of people who do carry them out.
The pastoral council is not responsible for financial matters or for matters relating to parish
property. Financial matters are the responsibility of the parish finance council while the parish
property committee is responsible for the maintenance and development of parish property such
as land, buildings, graveyards, car parks, etc. The pastoral council has an interest in all these
matters and receives frequent reports about them but they are not the pastoral council's
responsibility.
The individuals and teams of people who assist the parish administrator maintain direct contact
with him on a day-to-day basis. However, the two councils have the responsibility of establishing
the teams, where they do not already exist, and of providing any necessary training, advice,
assistance, or finance.
Of course, the parish administrator has overall responsibility for all parish matters and the
councils and committees are there to advise and assist him.
What has been achieved?
It is now (in July 2010) nearly three years since the Dunhill and Fenor Parish Pastoral Council
was established. Parishioners will, no doubt, want to know what the council was up to during that
period so we will attempt to satisfy their curiosity and interest by describing some of its
achievements.
Early Days
At the start progress was slow because it was necessary to set up the administrative structure
of the council by electing the officers, deciding on the conduct, order, and timing of meetings,
and so on. In order to learn more about the role of the pastoral council, six council members
attended a workshop on pastoral councils in Clonmel in February 2008. Also, one member was
delegated to attend meetings of the St. Otteran's Pastoral Area, which is the "cluster" of seven
local parishes. Members of the council continue to attend training sessions or information
seminars as and when they occur.
Parish Newsletters and Parish Notices
The first visible sign of the working of the council was the new Pastoral Newsletter which was edited
by Marie Crowley and Mary Murphy. The first edition appeared at Easter 2008 and was followed by
further editions at Summer, Autumn, and Christmas. These are still available
HERE on this web site (with the exeption of the
Easter 2008 issue which is lost). However, the council decided later to replace the
quarterly newsletters by the weekly Parish Notices which are available
HERE.
Baptismal Team
Marie Crowley was largely responsible for putting together the baptismal team. The team members are:
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Susan Cooper Breda Halley Helena Harrington Susan Moore |
Kitty Murphy Pat O’Shea Phil Tyrrell |
The team took part in a training session in St. John's Pastoral Centre in October 2008 and began
working in the parish in January 2009. Breda Halley is the team leader.
Child Protection
Ann Marie Queally and Rita Byrne of this parish were responsible for putting together the Child
Protection policy for Dunhill and Fenor. This was presented to parishioners at an open meeting
in the Dunhill Enterprise Centre on 14th May 2008 and subsequently forwarded to the bishop for
his approval. It is now an important part of the way in which children are cared for and
protected while involved in our church. The agreed policy may be seen
HERE on this web site.
Saturday/Sunday Masses
The question of the number and times of Masses in the parish was a topic for discussion at many
pastoral council meetings. In order to hear the views of parishioners, an open parish assembly
was held in the Dunhill Educational Centre on 28th October 2008 after which a decision was made
to have only one Saturday Vigil Mass which was to alternate every six months between Dunhill and
Fenor churches. The change was made on a trial basis to be reviewed after one year. On completion
of the trial year, and after considering both the recorded attendances at the Saturday/Sunday Masses
and the suggestions of parishioners, the Vigil Mass was left permamnently in Fenor Church at the
time of 6:30 p.m. The pastoral council continues to keep a watchful eye on Masses and Mass
times.
Pastoral Council Constitution
As pastoral councils are properly constituted parish bodies, the Irish bishops require each
council to have a constitution. The constitution of our pastoral council was drafted by the
council and forwarded to Bishop Lee who gave it his approval in January 2009. The constitution may
be viewed HERE.
Pastoral Plan
The diocesan pastoral plan
Building In Faith was published towards the end of 2008. By then our pastoral
council was a year old and was feeling the need to plan its work rather than deal with
whatever matters just happened to arise. A planning session facilitated by Fr. Liam Power and
Sr. Antoinette Dilworth was held in the Dunhill Educational Centre over three evenings in
January 2009. This resulted in a pastoral plan for the period January 2009 to January 2010.
The plan was published in the Parish Newletter of Summer 2009 and may be
viewed HERE.
Parish Census
One of the tasks that emerged from the pastoral plan was the setting up of a list of who lives
in the parish and where they live so that collection envelopes, notices, and any other literature
may be delivered correctly and efficiently. Several meetings were held with the parish
collectors to decide how to gather the information. A computer data base package was purchased
to make the recording of the information easier, and much of the information has now been entered
into the data base by the parish secretary.
Bereavement Group
Another task from the pastoral plan was the setting up of a bereavement group in the parish.
This group was set up in April 2009, underwent training at St. John's Pastoral Centre
later the same month, and is now in a position to offer bereavement support to
parishioners. The team members are:
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Maureen Flynn Sharon Hayes Kathleen Murphy |
Kathleen O’Brien Mary Sheehan |
Youth Programme
Several events were organised, largely by Fr. Murphy, to interest and involve young people.
A successful evening of making and eating pancakes was held on Shrove Tuesday 2009 and 2010 with
about twenty young people. Also, the Easter ceremonies were particularly marked by the presence
and activities of scouts and young parishioners. In June 2009 a pre-exam Mass was celebrated but
it was not well attended. The youth pilgrimage that was intended for last summer was cancelled
because of the terrible weather.
Web Site
This is another task from the pastoral plan, intended to improve communications within and
without the parish. The web site design was provided by Maria Murphy and the content of the
web pages is being provided by the communications team. The web site currently contains about
forty pages with twenty-odd documents that can be downloaded for inspection. There is a lot
more still to be done.
Facebook Page
More from the pastoral plan. Our Facebook Page is intended to complement the web site. The
latter is almost exclusively a parish, church web site having little to do with the community
in general and little in the way of news items (except for the weekly newsletter). The lack of
news items is partly because of the difficulty of collecting news and partly because of the
need for someone with the time and technical ability to put the constantly changing news up on
the web site. The Facebook Page is for the whole community and anyone who has signed up to
Facebook can contribute news, comments, photos, etc. - it's so easy to do.
The Facebook Page is an experimental project - we will see how it develops.
Liturgy Group
Following an information evening attended by Mary Dee of the Diocesan Liturgy Commission, a
parish liturgy group was set up. This group has been active in advising the parish administrator
on the ceremonies at Christmas, Easter, and St. Patrick's Day and members of the group participated
in the ceremonies. The group has also been involved in processions, graveyard Masses, Eucharistic
Adoration, and Benediction during Lent. The members of the group are:
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Georgina Flynn Brendan Gallagher Pat Greene Mary Harney |
Tom O’Neill Ita O’Reilly Pat O'Shea |
Parish Pilgrimage
A parish pilgrimage to Mount Melleray Abbey was organised by the pastoral council for 6th June
2010, the feast of Corpus Christi. The council also organised beautiful weather for the day so
that everyone had a good time, even though a good time is not normally the top priority on a
pilgrimage. You can read about it and check out the photo gallery
HERE.
In 2011 the pilgrimage was to Rome under the guidance of Fr. Murphy. The photos of this trip
are on our Facebook page.
The Future
Six members of the council are leaving in October 2011 as their term of service is over.
The council will be taking nominations for new members to replace them and a public meeting will be
held on Tuesday 11th October to discuss membership with the nominees. Nomination forms will be
distributed after Mass on Saturday/Sunday 1st/2nd October and are available in the church porches.
