Feature
Mary-Ann Greaney
The story of St Bernadette Parish Hall Naenae is so much more than a simple renovation – it is the story of a faith community focused on mission, of a web of relationships between ethnic communities, school, parish and the wider community, and funding providers. It is a story of stewardship where the many gifts of parishioners have been freely given and encouraged to flourish.
The hall began life as a chapel at Trentham Military Camp and was moved onto its present site in 1948 where it served as a school during the week and a church and community hall on the weekends. By 1970 there was a purpose-built school and church so the hall became a gathering space for the community as a whole including migrants and refugees, St Bernadette’s School and other groups.
In 2008 the hall narrowly escaped demolition. Rotting weatherboards, noncompliant kitchen and lighting, a fragile roof and an empty purse would be overwhelming obstacles for many. The focus of St Bernadette’s faith community is on mission and the things that need to be put in place to work towards the reign of God. They believe the ethnic groups in the community need a place to gather to build strength, confidence and a feeling of security in their new land and to retain and celebrate their cultural richness. Only in this way can they offer their gifts to the rest of the community. The focus continues to be on pastoral need rather than on an empty purse.
One of the keys to the success of this ambitious project of renovation rather than demolition has been to recognise what they can do well for themselves and where they need to ask for help. Their strength is certainly in looking outside the square to generate money. They have formed relationships with funding providers who are happy to share their expertise and to offer advice and encouragement. Parishioners have used their cultural diversity to showcase their food and other aspects of culture. Others have come up with novel ways of fundraising including a giant shoe sale that saw companies donate new shoes and handbags to the cause.
As the renovation project enters the final stage, the hall may again have to double as a church while the current building is earthquake-strengthened. The resilience and determination of this faith-filled community is inspirational as they work together to build the reign of God where they live and worship. Their concern is not for themselves alone but for the wider community. In overcoming many obstacles, they have created a model for others.
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.
Barbara Rowley
Four of five stages in the renovation of St Bernadettes parish hall have been completed on time and on budget but not without a great deal of time spent in consultation between parish and school.
The hall is historically significant because it was the first church and school. But it had deteriorated from
its pristine condition of the 1980s when it was used for indoor bowls. Then it had new piles, the floors were highly polished and windows draped in burgundy.
With the demise of the indoor bowls club, the hall was no longer considered crucial to parish life particularly when maintenance funds were short.
But an influx of immigrant and refugee families in the early 2000s meant the hall again became attractive as a place for these new members of the parish community to gather.
In 2006 when I was commissioned lay pastoral leader of the parish, I put the problem, in the too-hard basket. Two years later, in desperation, I sought help from St Joseph. ‘After all,’ I pleaded, ‘You’re the carpenter, not me!’ The next day, a parishioner handed me an application form for a grant from the NZ Community Trust. ‘It might be worth a go,’ she said.
As providence would have it, pastoral area support person Mary-Ann Greaney saw the form on the coffee table and asked if I was thinking of applying for funds. I told her I thought I might apply for $20,000 to repair some of the rotten boards and paint it because it was such an eyesore.
As well, one elderly parishioner said to me, ‘Barbara, I’m afraid that the next time I drive into one of those potholes (in the driveway), you might not see me again!’ Mary-Ann, asked me, ‘What would your dream be if money wasn’t an object. Why not think big? There are available monies out there’. Together we went to the New Zealand Community Trust armed with a feasibility study that showed my $20,000 dream would be more like a $200,000 one. Manager Tony Gill admired the photos we had taken of community activities and asked, ‘How much do you require?’ ‘$200,000,’ I replied. ‘And how much do you actually have?’ – ‘$2,000.’
We both knew what his smiling response implied, but Mary-Ann, the more courageous of us, quickly said, ‘But, do you think it is do-able, Tony?’ He suggested we break the project into five stages and start each stage with a fundraising event before applying for funds.
‘No one will give you money if they don’t see you trying to help yourselves first,’ he said. He advised transparency and meticulous presentation. ‘If you are applying for funds from two trusts, be open about it because we do talk to each other and would find out anyway. He encouraged us to finish the exterior before applying for funding because this would prove our commitment to the project and our capability. We also attended a seminar on grant applications and met people from other trusts. Two successful applications from the NZ Community Trust were the result.
Next, we obtained a commitment from parish and school. The feasibility study had proved it was a sound building and parishioners were almost unanimous in voting to refurbish it through working bees, fundraising and grant applications.
Having reached a consensus and obtained the necessary permission from the archdiocese, we started work on our five-stage hall project in 2009.
We drained and resurfaced the driveway – Catholic Schools Board paid.
For the exterior, we approached the Catholic Foundation thinking that the restored hall would prove a valuable asset to the wider church community. Mary Brito from the foundation, supported, advised and encouraged us attending every fundraising gala. ‘I don’t mind helping those who also try to help themselves,’ she said.
For the kitchen, one of the trusts from which we had already received funds said, ‘We love you to bits, but you might be better to approach NZ Lotteries Board.
‘You’ve completed a great application, the best I’ve seen,’ the person from the board said, ‘but unfortunately you’ve applied to the wrong committee and it will need to be redone but we’d be happy to let the other committee know that it’s coming.’
My heart sank, I couldn’t bear the thought of starting again. Nevertheless, our persistence was rewarded and the kitchen is complete.
There is just one stage left before the hall returns to its 1980s style.
Statistical ponderances
Mary-Ann Greaney
At the end of 2006, Barbara Rowley’s first year as lay pastoral leader at St Bernadette’s Naenae, financial giving had increased by 33 percent as against 4.4 percent for the diocese as a whole. The mass count rose by 54 percent while there was an overall loss within the diocese of 1.8 percent.
These figures were gathered as part of a study of the impact a lay pastoral leader had on a parish and were taken from the annual Mass counts and the money given in each parish from 2001 – 2010.
The figures are worth pondering. Could it be that Barbara’s collaborative leadership style gives parishioners a greater sense of belonging because they are given opportunities to engage in parish life and are well consulted from the beginning?
Barbara certainly understands that she is not the holder of all the wisdom in the parish and needs to encourage leadership and participation in everyone.