The Archdiocese of Wellington’s Church Mission team is the pastoral support team that seeks to enable intentional missionary discipleship in the parishes of the Archdiocese of Wellington through delivering workshops, courses, resources and retreats to support the formation of lay people and ordained. This work is guided by the Archdiocesan Synod 2017, and was also a common theme in the Global Synod.
Formation Opportunities for Parishes in 2024
The Church Mission Team has developed a range of workshops on topics including marriage enrichment, the teachings of Pope Francis, Hospitality, developing Pastoral Plans and more. These workshops are available to Parishes, meaning that Parish Leadership teams can approach us and ask us for a particular seminar to be run in their Parish, specifically for their community.
The Church Mission team also runs public workshops related to the topics through out the year.
Some examples of workshops and sessions we ran in 2023:
- Christus Vivit workshops.
- A series of Catholic Questions evenings.
- Several Pastoral Planning sessions with parish councils across the Archdiocese.
- Building Families of Faith sessions with parents at some of our primary schools.
- A Holy Week reflective evening.
- A retreat day for mothers.
- Marriage preparation courses.
For more information, contact churchmission@wn.catholic.org.nz.
Called & Equipped new formation programme for lay people in Parishes
“Called & Equipped” is an accessible, one-year programme that will form lay people and empower them to serve in their parishes. The programme is based on the premise that ministry and service arise from a life of intentional discipleship. Its four main pillars are: Formation in Faith & Spirituality; Skills in Pastoral Ministry; Community Building; and Equipping for Mission.
The programme will run from February until mid-November each year. It includes input sessions and workshops on various topics, a weekend retreat mid-year and one-on-one accompaniment. A combination of face-to-face and online learning means that all our parishes can participate.
Parish leadership teams have been asked to identify and invite one or two individuals in their communities who have shown leadership potential and a desire to serve. We hope that in time, this new initiative will have an impact on all parishes, as more and more people receive spiritual and pastoral formation and embrace a spirituality of service. For more information, contact Lucienne Hensel at Church Mission, Archdiocese of Wellington: l.hensel@wn.catholic.org.nz or 04 496 1715.
Te Hao Nui – Launch Out Formation Programme
Te Hao Nui – Launch Out is the formation programme designed and initiated by the Archdiocese of Wellington for Lay Leaders of the Archdiocese. This programme has been around for 23 years and is for those looking for advanced and intensive formation.
The formation programme can last between 4 to 8 years, as the Candidates balance Te Hao Nui – Launch Out with the needs of their jobs and families. There are two main pathways of study: Lay Pastoral Leadership, where they will be prepared to run parishes, and Lay Ecclesial Minister where they could serve as chaplains (e.g., prison and hospital) or drive specific ministries in the archdiocese and parishes (e.g. youth, marriage, family, adult formation, parish-school engagement and other ministries). Candidates who satisfactorily complete the programme will be endorsed by the archbishop, and their availability for service will be made known throughout the Archdiocese. Although there is no guarantee of employment the Launch Out endorsement is highly considered by many Catholic organisations in looking for possible leaders for the different ministries. The programme is an integration of three formation programmes, namely: Theological Formation, Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Formation.
Te Hao Nui – Launch Out is currently inviting applications for the 2024 intake. For more information contact Maya Bernardo – m.bernardo@wn.catholic.org.nz.