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Pastoral Priorities

What are the Pastoral Priorities?

As followers of Christ we are called to live the mission that he entrusted to us: Go preach the gospel and make disciples!

How are we doing this in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth? In January of 2020 we began the journey of becoming a diocese with 20 parishes (plus the Cathedral). At the end of year that saw us trying to become new parishes oriented to our mission in the midst of a global pandemic, we also faced another major diocesan change: the succession of a new bishop. Archbishop Dunn became the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth on November 27, 2020. As our new bishop, Archbishop Dunn wanted to build on the hard work the people and parishes of the Archdiocese began. To so, in January 2021 he shared four pastoral priorities that he wants us as a diocese to focus on. These priorities are shaped by our already established diocesan values of mission, community, and, formation.

The four pastoral priorities are: Evangelization, Homelessness, Parish Identity, and Catechesis. Archbishop Dunn offers his reflections on these priorities in a Pastoral Letter to the faithful release on January 28.

Pastoral Priorities: September 1 Report Template (MS Word)

Pastoral Priorities: Parish Identity

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.

Priority - Parish Identity

Parish Identity

“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.”

Priority - Homelessness

Homelessness


“While many are without homes in Nova Scotia, many more are presented with the impossible choice of whether they spend what little they have on shelter or food. I realize that many of our Parishes have ministries dedicated to these and other social issues, e.g., food banks, various kinds of outreach, etc. This can provide a variety of opportunities where we can collaborate with our brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations. Our new Parishes have many properties, some of them surplus, and I ask Parish leadership to consider whether some existing resources can be diverted for the service of the homeless in some way.”

Priority - Evangelization

Evangelization

“Evangelization – proclaiming the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – is the primary activity of the Church. Each new Parish must have a plan for evangelization with a commitment to a particular program of evangelization. Significant time, energy, and resources should be invested in reaching the various audiences of the new evangelization: those who have never heard the Word of God, those who have heard the Word of God but fallen away, and those who have heard the Word of God yet require ever deepening conversion”

 

How do we live out these Priorities in our Archdiocese?

So how do we, as a local Church bear fruit under each of priorities? For each of the above priorities Archbishop Dunn gives parishes a task and a timeline for those tasks. To support parishes in these activities the team in office of Pastoral Life & New Evangelization (PL&NE) and other diocesan staff will:

  • develop and implement resources related to each priority
  • research and curate existing initiatives and tools to share with parishes
  • pray with and for parish leadership, that our combined efforts will be guided by the Holy Spirit!

Resources for this work will be made available on this page – so check back!

2021 Pastoral Priorities Presentation by Thinkific

Archbishop Dunn has recently offered webinars that highlight each of the four pastoral priorities he has set for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.  These webinars were presented to parish leaders across our diocese to help encourage and inspire their parish communities to live as missionary disciples. These presentations are available to the faithful on Thinkific, an online learning platform.  See the links below: 
 
• Parish Identity - Thinkific Link 
• Homelessness - Thinkific Link
• Evangelization – Thinkific Link
• Catechesis – Thinkific Link