PANAJI
Over 100 parishioners of St John the Baptist Church, Pilerne, gathered at Cruz de Milagros, Old Goa for the first-ever Parish Assembly in the Archdiocese of Goa on May 27 and 28.
The parishioners witnessed the true spirit of the Synod and demonstrated the key themes of communion and participation in preparation of a Parish mission.
On the first day, the 13 themes chosen for the discussion were categorised into the “experiences/reflections” of the parishioners and “suggestions” of what can be done which they collectively gave, either as a part of the small Christian community or as a part of the various Parish associations.
Each theme was represented by a presenter, who presented each theme to the gathering, explaining the crux of each theme. The animators organised some recreational activities to break the monotony and promote ties among the people by making random groups.
The second day began with Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Mass that followed was celebrated by Fr Simiao Fernandes, Director of Pastoral Institute and concelebrated by Fr Derick Fernandes, Parish Priest of St John the Baptist Church, Pilerne.
“It is truly a joy to see participants of all age groups in this Parish assembly, from little children to youth and adults,” remarked Fr Simao Fernandes.
The suggestions were later presented to the gathering theme-wise, and at the end of each theme, Fr Derick simplified and explained the suggestions.
The final stage was conducted by circulating the listed suggestions for each theme among random groups of 7 or 8 people, such that their opinion for each suggestion was noted as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Four themes were discussed in each group.
Gail Misquita, co-convenor of the Main Coordinating Team for Pre-Synodal Meeting and Deron Rodrigues, joint secretary of the Main Coordinating Team for Pre-Synodal Meeting assisted in consolidating all the worksheets and data.
This systematic approach helped in assessing the people’s opinion and prioritising the suggestions within each theme. Finally, three keys and foremost suggestions were chosen for further discussion or implementation at the Parish level, based on the number of opinions.
Parish Priest Fr Derick Fernandes expressed his gratitude at the assembly and said every proceeding of the assembly preparation was a slow unfolding of the plan of God, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
