Our Parish Vision
The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration… It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey and a centre of constant missionary outreach - Pope Francis
Our Parish Vision in words
Together taking responsibility for:
- building on our history and our strengths
- staying rooted in the Word of God, celebration of the sacraments, prayer and adoration
- developing as a"communion of small communities", focused on evangelisation and outreach
- being ready for the challenges and opportunities we face together.
Father Victor put this challenging vision, which resonates so strongly with Pope Francis' description of a parish, into words for us in 2013. As you can see at the top of this page, it has also been captured in a striking tree image, that is often displayed in our church.
We try – and Father Victor consistently encourages us – to keep the Parish Vision in mind as we plan, pray and work for the parish. Our Parish Pastoral Plan 2017 (which you can download at the bottom of this page) is entitled, "Bringing Our Parish Vision to life".
It is not a vision for the complacent or the faint-hearted. But it is very much a vision for a Catholic parish of today:
“Sharing co-responsibility for”
…each baptised parishioner shares co-responsibility for the life and mission of the parish
“Building on our history and our strengths”
…we thank God for all of the wonderful people whose life and work has enriched Holy Innocents’ over the years and made it the vibrant Christian community it is today. Now it’s our task to build on the foundations they, with God’s help, have left us
“Staying rooted in the Word of God, the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and adoration”
...we are trying to do God’s work, not our own. So in all things we seek His guidance, nourishment and support
“A communion of small communities”
...the life of our parish is enriched by our different Mass communities and the many groups and activities which provide opportunities for us to get to know each other better, to develop and nurture our faith and to work together to fulfil our mission
“Focused on evangelisation and outreach”
…like every Catholic parish, we are called above all to be a “centre of missionary outreach”, going forth to proclaim the Word of God and to build His Kingdom
“Being ready for the challenges and opportunities we face together”
…we end where we began, sharing responsibility. Whatever faces us, we face it together, as a community, with the help of God and of each other
We try – and Father Victor consistently encourages us – to keep the Parish Vision in mind as we plan, pray and work for the parish. Our Parish Pastoral Plan 2017 (which you can download at the bottom of this page) is entitled, "Bringing Our Parish Vision to life".
It is not a vision for the complacent or the faint-hearted. But it is very much a vision for a Catholic parish of today:
“Sharing co-responsibility for”
…each baptised parishioner shares co-responsibility for the life and mission of the parish
“Building on our history and our strengths”
…we thank God for all of the wonderful people whose life and work has enriched Holy Innocents’ over the years and made it the vibrant Christian community it is today. Now it’s our task to build on the foundations they, with God’s help, have left us
“Staying rooted in the Word of God, the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and adoration”
...we are trying to do God’s work, not our own. So in all things we seek His guidance, nourishment and support
“A communion of small communities”
...the life of our parish is enriched by our different Mass communities and the many groups and activities which provide opportunities for us to get to know each other better, to develop and nurture our faith and to work together to fulfil our mission
“Focused on evangelisation and outreach”
…like every Catholic parish, we are called above all to be a “centre of missionary outreach”, going forth to proclaim the Word of God and to build His Kingdom
“Being ready for the challenges and opportunities we face together”
…we end where we began, sharing responsibility. Whatever faces us, we face it together, as a community, with the help of God and of each other
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