Fr Dan Mason has been appointed Episcopal Vicar for Parish Renewal. He says: “I am delighted that Bishop Alan has asked me to take on this responsibility and over the coming months I look forward to meeting parish priests and having conversations about ways in which the Vicariate can support them and their parishioners.”
He highlights a number of initiatives this year that may interest priests and parishioners.
Guild of Our Lady of Ransom events at Westminster Cathedral:
On Tuesday, 20 February at 7pm Monsignor James Shea, the President of the University of Mary (Bismark, North Dakota) and co-author of From Christendom to Apostolic Mission, will be delivering a lecture entitled ‘Evangelising post-Christian Britain’ at St James’ Church, Spanish Place.
The following day (Wednesday, 21 February) Mgr Shea will be leading a study day for clergy at Westminster Cathedral. To attend either event, book tickets through the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom website: https://www.guild-ransom.co.uk/events
Catholic Parish Summit:
From the 12-14 June the Catholic Parish Summit is going to be taking place in Harrogate in North Yorkshire. Over 1,000 people from across the UK are expected to attend and the Summit will be an opportunity to hear from those who are engaged in Parish Renewal in order to help them to lead vibrant parish communities.
Says Fr Dan: “As a diocese we have reserved a limited number of tickets for the Conference. If you are interested in going please contact me by email: [email protected] and I can send you the link. You will need to book accommodation separately if you are planning to stay overnight.”
More information can be found by following this link: https://catholicparishsummit.com/
Marriage & Family Life Mass:
The annual Mass of Thanksgiving for Marriage and Family Life will be celebrated by Bishop Alan in the Cathedral on Saturday 13 July. Invitations will be provided as usual so that clergy can invite, on behalf of the Bishop, those celebrating significant anniversaries and others it would be appropriate to invite.
Parish Open House:
On Saturday, 12 October Fr Dan is planning to run an ‘Open House’ event in his parish of the Most Holy Redeemer, Billericay. “This is an opportunity to come and hear some motivational speakers as well as find out more about the benefits of running an Alpha Course and the ‘Called and Gifted’ programme which is a discernment process organised by the Catherine of Siena Institute.”
The day will begin with Mass in the church followed by a series of workshops in the Pastoral Centre.
Deanery Conferences
Fr Dan is keen to visit deaneries to talk about the role of the Vicariate in supporting parishes. “Please email me at [email protected] to let me know the dates that the Conferences are taking place,” he says.
He concludes: “The ‘Thresholds of Hope’ website is still active at: https://thresholdsofhope.co.uk/ and is a very useful resource. In the coming months the content on the website will begin to change to reflect the new focus on parish renewal.”