It's a pleasure to welcome another writer to the pages of Catholica. Ted Mason hails from the Bathurst Diocese where he helps run Shalom, the Diocesan House of Prayer at Carcoar. He submitted this article in response to the recent commentary by Fr Kevin Murphy ("Why People Drop Out") providing some further interesting observations from one of the rural dioceses in Australia. …Editor

Establishing a place of dialogue for the 85%…

The week of parish renewal was going well; attendances were excellent, the sessions well received and discussions enthusiastic. But something was missing; to be truthful 85% of the parish was missing. This week of renewal held no interest for the young, the separated and divorced, single parents, the disillusioned, the sceptical; those hundreds found in every parish who for one reason or another feel spiritually disenfranchised. Where does one begin to establish a safe environment for genuine and meaningful dialogue with the 85%?

On a free afternoon, I was sitting in the local mall waiting for Ada, (my wife) observing the passing parade when four young adults arrived, unpacked a set of bongo drums and a guitar, laid out a small cloth , salted it with a few coins, and commenced to sing and dance. I was fascinated and enthralled by their beauty, rhythm, grace and expertise. But their use of the English language in their singing was foreign to me. Apart from placing some loose change on the cloth, and offering a smile of appreciation at their skill, how could I possibly begin a dialogue with these young people? What language about Jesus and faith and renewal could I use to interest them?

At the end of the week of renewal an 84 year old woman came to me to say thankyou and goodbye. She had attended every session, day and night, and was seated up the front at our final Mass. I'll never forget her words: "I feel I have been zipped up in a bag all my life. This week has unzipped the bag, and I have been set free. Thank you." I was horrified. What had this lovely person been hearing all these years that had caused her to feel enclosed and unfree?

Back home, I was called to assist a group in the House with a sound system problem. Having fixed that, I casually remarked (tongue in cheek — I thought), that I had left behind a nice scotch to come to their aid. One of the women in the group eyeballed me and said in a kind but firm tone, "Do you not see this as your opportunity to be saved?" I made some light-hearted reply like, "I don't want to be saved, if I can't have my scotch", and left the group to its work. I'm sure she wasn't impressed.

Three different examples of alienation or isolation…

Three different situations; three different uses of language; three different examples of alienation or isolation: what had I learned?

The young dancers were communicating with me through their grace and rhythm. Would I have to learn their language to return the compliment? Perhaps If I set the gospel of Mark to rap music, I might have a chance?

My 84 year old friend understood very clearly what was said to her during the week of renewal and eagerly grasped its freeing message for herself. But what had she been hearing for the previous 80 years or so? Assuming the foundations of her religious upbringing took place in the 1920's and 30's, one has also to take on board that her religious teachers were formed by a theology of the late 1800's! Is it reasonable to say that all the work of her pastors since Vatican II (40+ years ago no less) has been in vain? How many of our faithful Mass attendees in the 65+ group are also living with the theological teachings of the early 1900's? Is my 84 year old friend an exception? Or has our language of the past 40 years or so also failed her contemporaries?

The language of my evangelical friend at Shalom did nothing for me, but she's the one who got me thinking about the language we use to promote the Good News, and tell people about Jesus. Sadly no one size fits all.

The language of maintenance may be fine for the faithful 65+ age- group who form the bulk of most of our congregations, as long as we keep in mind that their religious teachers were formed theologically in the 1930's. My experience is that Vatican II has had a minimal effect on the majority of this group.

"The language of maintenance" vs "the language of mission"…

But what language(s) do we use for the 85% of our parish populations who do not feel welcomed by the faithful above; who do not attend Mass, except on special occasions like Easter, Christmas and maybe Baptism, Confirmations, weddings, etc? I refer to the bright and smart 30+ age group with a tertiary education and a deep interest in ecology and social justice; our divorced and separated couples; those in 2nd and 3rd marriages; single parents; gay Catholics and inter-church couples. Nor can we exclude those who feel sinned against by the Church, and who have lost their personal faith in God.

I am very good at using the language of maintenance; I am making a sincere effort to learn the languages of mission.

For parishes there are great risks involved when engaging in mission. The faithful 15% who form our congregations provide the money for both maintenance and mission; the theology of the 15% makes it very difficult for them to understand why mission to the other 85% is even necessary; any plans for mission, and personnel to run them are bound to involve members of our faithful 15%! Catch 22? Surely not!

Opportunities for dialogue with the 85% are difficult to find. Preparation for Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation and maybe even at funerals, are probably the main occasions when our priests, pastoral associates and sacramental teams can engage in meaningful dialogue with this larger group, without, of course, detracting from the original purpose of the gathering. Given that the occasions mentioned above are probably the only times when most will cross the church threshold, perhaps here we have a few opportunities to mould our language for the audience, and involve them in a life-giving experience.

There are no easy solutions to the problems I have highlighted above. Each parish is going to have to work out its own strategies for engaging the different groups in some form of meaningful dialogue. Pope John Paul 11 saw this dialogue as "the great challenge". It is a sensitive issue and a risky one, but if we are to break the bonds of maintenance then we need to face this great challenge.

Recommended Reading:
Maintenance or Mission - a tale of three circles. Bernard Kennedy. The Furrow, Vol.52 No.11, November 2001, pps. 612-616.

Photo Credits:
Photos by Brian Coyne from the Mass held at Parramatta Cathedral to farewell the WYD Cross and Icon from the Diocese.

What are your thoughts on this commentary by Ted Mason? You can contribute to the discussion in our forum.

©2007 Ted Mason

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