Going to the Edges

"In our day Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples” echoes in the changing scenarios and ever new challenges to the Church’s mission of evangelization, and all of us are called to take part in this new missionary “going forth”. Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the “peripheries” in need of the light of the Gospel," (Pope Francis, Joy of the Gospel, 20).

Last week I attended a catechetical leaders meeting that focused on "Inclusive Ministry." The two-hour presentation focused on practical ideas for ways that our parish religious education programs can reach out to families with children who have special needs and do a better job of serving them. The conversation drew wider as we considered who in our communities is most in need of someone to pay attention to them and let them know that they, too, are part of the community.

It sort of felt like an examination of conscience for ministry leaders. Am I spending most of my time and resources serving the people it's most easy to serve? Or am I looking to serve the ones who are in most need of the saving news and consolation of the Gospel? Am I mostly serving the ones who are comfortably "in the middle" or am I being attentive to those who are on the edges?

This discernment of the "path the lord points out" will involve a good deal of work and a lot of discussion. We have a few volunteers who are planning to attend an upcoming Inclusive Ministry Conference (www.inclusiveministryconference.com) in November, and this is open to parents and volunteers and parish ministers alike! One thing is certain, it will take a lot of "workers in the vineyard" to identify and do the work our parish is called to do.

In our CGS program, we are putting together a sort of "task force" of interested catechists and volunteers who want to help build resources to serve children with special needs. Children who are less verbal or who are more in need of structure and schedule building will soon have a "schedule builder" with pictures of actual materials and work choices in the atria so that they can plan their time in the atrium with their catechist.

Following the lead of St. Francis of Assisi Parish's Special Needs Ministry, we are also working on the development of a picture missal that will be available in all of the pews for anyone who would benefit from having a visual way to follow what is happening in Mass. (We are looking for sponsors to help us in the printing of this project!)

Also, on the parish side, we are excited to announce that we have three assistive listening devices available (from the ushers at the main entrance) for parishioners who could use this assistance to hear the Gospel proclaimed at Mass more clearly. We are also looking for ways to better serve our parishioners who are not able to receive our Lord in the host at communion because of Celiac Disease or other reasons.

As Pope Francis says, we are not likely going to be able to help parishioners and community members while we sit comfortably in our comfort zone. I don't know what it will look like for our parish, but I invite you into the conversation. First, I suppose, we ought to explore those edges, those peripheries, and find out just who is out there. Then we will have three big questions to answer: What can we do? Who will help do it? What does it look like for us to go and make disciples of ALL?