Ten-Year Mission Plan – the Next Steps

I want to thank everyone, clergy and laity, for all the hard work being done in your Pastoral Areas and in individual parishes to bring to life the mission plan You Will Be My Witnesses. I have asked every area for a first draft of their Pastoral Area plan by 26th March. It needs to cover the three main themes of (1) deepening faith; (2) mission and service; and (3) parish structures. At their meeting last November, Co-ordinating Pastors received a workbook with helpful prompts about what needs to be considered. It led to a good discussion. I look forward to the submissions in March in order to see how things are going. In the summer, I will be visiting each pastoral area to meet with the team of clergy and laity in order to hear directly where things are up to and also to offer support.