Leadership trained
Fr Pat Greally
The amazing success of this hall project owes much to the leadership training our lay pastoral leaders receive in the Launch Out programme.
Before planning started, everyone who was to be touched by this project, including both parish and school communities, was fully brought into and kept in the loop, that is, consulted and informed. It seemed the lay pastoral leader, Barbara Rowley, was intent on everybody’s talents and opinions being recognised and used where applicable. The role she assumed was of making all of this possible by providing an even playing field so that even those most likely to be overlooked had a full say and their contribution was fairly assessed. The parish decisions were reached by consensus.
What needed to be done actually became self-evident once all the information had been made available to all. This seems a messy way to do things at first, but it was so effective in the long run because its sheer transparency prevented rumours, hurts and competition.
One of the great pastoral benefits was that everyone from both school and parish communities seemed to take ownership, so that the project transcended personal agendas as well as cultural and age differences. From my perspective the parish and school communities can be justifiably proud of their achievements, which truly belong to all and grateful for the leadership that enabled this. It has been the story of leaders and collaborators rather than of a leader and followers.
As I have watched the project unfold I have been reminded of a quote from Novo Millenio Ineunte.
A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as gift for me (#43).
Parish and school
Meanwhile, school principal Jo Buckley says the school is grateful to the parish for its generosity in sharing the hall.
The school uses the hall for prayers to start the week and assembly to end the week and any special occasions in between including school Masses.
‘The hall is vital to school life because we have no other place where we can gather as a whole school community.
The parish has been very accommodating in having joint Masses in the hall for such special occasions as Ash Wednesday so the school can join in the celebration.