Knowing who you are is important. As followers of Christ, we know we are sons and daughters of Christ, individually. Yet we live our faith communally as part of a parish. What is the identity of your parish. In the last 18 months, the parishes of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth have not only lived a new reality in light of a global pandemic but ALSO as new parishes.
What does that mean? As a new community of communities what identifies you a particular community of faith in a region of our diocese? Who are you as All Saint Parish in Cumberland County? What about Stella Maris in mainland south of Halifax? Or Notre Dame d’Acadie in our French region? Or any of our 20 new parishes? In light of this, Archbishop Dunn has asked parishes to create a plan by the end of June that will map out how the parish proposes to develop their parish identity.
Of parish identity Archbishop Dunn said the following:
“Every one of our new Parishes needs to commit to developing a new Parish identity that is positive and united, regardless of the number of people or number of buildings. The focus must be on the whole community of the faithful that makes up the parish, rather than particular groups that gather at individual churches. Doing so will require fostering healthy relationships and new understandings of Parish life and roles.”
To read the full text of Archbishop Dunn’s Pastoral Letter contain our four pastoral priorities click here.
