vision for parish social ministry
DESCRIPTION
A presentation on the foundation and vision for Parish social ministry which will be used in the first session of the PSM Skill Development training.TRANSCRIPT
PSM Skills development
Session IOverview of PSM Skill Development
Foundation of PSMDefinition & Vision of PSM
• Session I – Foundation and Vision of PSM
• Session II – Perceptions, Listening Skills and Boundaries
• Session III – Intake/Assessment and Follow Up
• Session IV – Community Resources
• Session V - Special Needs, Client Advocacy
OVERVIEW OF PSM SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Foundation ofParish Social Ministry
Foundation of Parish Social Ministry
Mission Statement: As a ministry of the Roman
Catholic Church, Catholic Charities assists in serving the basic needs of the poor, troubled, weak, and oppressed and is committed to addressing the cause of injustice. We aim to organize and empower people to secure the participation of all in the life of the community.
Deus Caritas Est: 22. As the years went by and the
Church spread further a field, the exercise of charity became established as one of her essential activities, along with the administration of the sacraments and the proclamation of the word: love for widows, orphans, prisoners, and the sick and the needy of every kind, is as essential to her as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching the Gospel.
Revelation: How does God reveal himself to the human
community? Scripture: The inspired Word of God
God’s journey with Israel Jesus Christ: God among us
Natural Law: God’s gift of reason When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively
what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness. –Romans 2:14-15
Tradition: The cultural interpretation of Scripture and tradition
Foundation for Parish Social Ministry
"On another occasion it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him, "Make me a proselyte, on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Thereupon he chased him away with the builder's cubit that was in his hand. When he came before Hillel, (he also asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot) Hillel replied, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah while the rest is commentary; go and learn it."
THE TORAH ON ONE FOOT
“For all the law is fulfi lled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” – Galatians 5:14
“One thing is clear: A new universality is entering the scene, and it rests on the fact that deep within I am already becoming a brother to all those I meet who are in need of my help.” – Pope Benedict XVI
THE GOLDEN RULE: THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Scriptural Foundation Genesis: and the purpose of
creation. That God made all people equal
in dignity and rights That the earth and everything in
it belongs equally to everyone. That all human beings, equally,
are co-responsible with God in helping to protect the dignity of everyone and everything
That the physical earth itself has rights and needs to be respected in and of itself and not just as a stage for human activity
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them…. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. - Gen. 1: 27 & 31
A God that Liberates the Oppressed
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed I know their sufferings. And I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land. – Exodus 3: 3-8
The Prophetic Tradition8th Century Prophets:
Amos, Micah, Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc.
Critique social injustices and admonish Israel
God will punish Israel for its social sins
God will again restore and bring hope to a repentant Israel
Characteristics of prophets:A person who sees the
present clearlyA person of insightA person who listens to
the Lord and speaks the word he or she hears to the world
Prophets are seldom establishment people
Prophets in Israel often came into conflict with the established leaders of their day
Jesus Teaches
A teacher with a unique (prophetic) authority.
Jesus’ conviction and insights are derived from his own intimate relationship with God
Ethical discourses (Beatitudes, Matthew 25) and parables
The Kingdom of God
Love of God and love of neighbor are central aspects of this message
God’s love is radical and Indiscriminate (Love your Enemies)
An ethical call to share in God’s perfection. Jesus invites to share in his mission. “Just as I have loved you, you
also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples.” –John 13: 34-35
“For we are God’s fellow workers.” -1 Cor. 3:9
Jesus' death on the cross was a death in the cause
of justice. He was executed because he challenged accepted
values. He sided with the poor and the outcasts. He
condemned oppressive structures. Jesus was a
prophet and prophets meet strong opposition.
– Fr. Don Senior, CP
The Paschal Mystery
Pope Benedict XVI
• Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law (cf. Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). • Caritas in Veritate #2
AN ONGOING TRADITION
AN ONGOIN
G
TRADIT
ION
1891 – Pope Leo XIII wrote Rerum Novarum Papal Encyclicals:
1931 – Quadragesimo Anno – Pope Pius XI 1961 – Mater et Magistra – Pope John XXIII 1963 – Pacem In Terris – Pope John XXIII 1967 – Populorum Progressio – Pope Paul VI 1987 – Sollicitudo Rei Socialis: - Pope John Paul II 1991 – Centesimus Annus: -Pope John Paul II 1995 – Evangelium Vitae – Pope John Paul II 2009 – Caritas in Veritate – Pope Benedict XVI
Vatican II – Gaudium et Spes 1971 Synod of Bishops – Justice in the World U.S. Bishops
The Challenge of Peace, 1983 Economic Justice for All, 1986 Renewing the Earth, 1991
Catholic Social Teaching
Catholic Social Principles Life and Dignity of the
Human Person Call to Family,
Community, and Participation
Rights and Responsibilities
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers
Solidarity Care for God’s Creation
PARISH SOCIAL MINISTRY
• Definition and Vision of Parish Social Ministry
• Parish Social Ministry in the Diocese of Rockville Centre
• Parish Social Ministry Lived From the Perspective of Compassion
Definition of Parish Social Ministry
Parish Social Ministry is the action that the faith community takes to live out the Gospel we proclaim and to grow in love with God and neighbor
Catalysts & Collaborators in Social Ministry:Strategies for Parish Partnership & Parish Social Ministry in Catholic Charities, 2008
Living out the Gospel: As individuals we make choices that have the potential to impact the life and dignity of others; as community we are called to work together to live out the GospelGrowing in love with God and neighbor: PSM draws the faithful to the side of the most vulnerable and asks them to be the presence of God
• Parish – Parishes are geographical entities that convey a belief that God not only loves people but God also loves places. The faith community ministers with a special understanding that it is responsible for the stewardship – the care of that place and all who live there, especially those in need • Social – All ministry is, by its very nature social. We do not live out our baptisms in isolation from one another. We do not truly become community without the presence among us of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the stranger in the land
Ministry – PSM is a tangible expression of care on behalf of the parish community and in the name of Jesus. It is service and obedience to Jesus who called us to profoundly understand that, “when you do this for the least of these, you do it for me.”
The Vision of Parish Social Ministry is to build a
truly caring, compassionate, Christian
community that fulfills the Church’s mission.
Vision of Parish Social Ministry
Where others will
know we are Christian
by our care for one
another and our thirst
for a more just society
PSM in the Diocese of Rockville Centre
• PSM was established in our diocese in 1976 when Catholic
Charities began a process to help parishes respond to
people in need at a local level.
• We have consistently moved toward a much clearer
expression of our concern for those on the margins of
society
• This concern is expressed by a community of faith and on the holy
ground that, together, we call Parish
• Catholic Charities Parishes
• Essential elements to a comprehensive and effective PSM
1. A ministry of relationship
2. A ministry of direct service to those in need
3. A ministry of empowerment
4. A ministry to the whole community
The true measure of humanity is essentially
determined in relationship to suffering and to the
sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and
for society. A society unable to accept its suffering
members and incapable of helping to share their
suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” is a cruel and
inhuman society. – Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi
#38
PSM: MINISTERS OF COMPASSION