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Pastoral Priorities

What are the Pastoral Priorities?

As followers of Christ we are called to live the mission that he entrusted to us: Go preach the gospel and make disciples!

How are we doing this in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth? In January of 2020 we began the journey of becoming a diocese with 20 parishes (plus the Cathedral). At the end of year that saw us trying to become new parishes oriented to our mission in the midst of a global pandemic, we also faced another major diocesan change: the succession of a new bishop. Archbishop Dunn became the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth on November 27, 2020. As our new bishop, Archbishop Dunn wanted to build on the hard work the people and parishes of the Archdiocese began. To so, in January 2021 he shared four pastoral priorities that he wants us as a diocese to focus on. These priorities are shaped by our already established diocesan values of mission, community, and, formation.

The four pastoral priorities are: Evangelization, Homelessness, Parish Identity, and Catechesis. Archbishop Dunn offers his reflections on these priorities in a Pastoral Letter to the faithful release on January 28.

Pastoral Priorities: September 1 Report Template (MS Word)

Emergency Tiny Shelters Program

Many of us have seen the increasing news coverage regarding the intense housing shortage in our Province. In response, Archbishop Dunn named homelessness as one of our four diocesan pastoral priorities. This priority asks all of us to do what we can to combat homelessness and housing insecurity at every level and encounter the Lord Jesus in the those who do without (cf. Matthew 25:45). To that end, Archbishop Dunn invites parishes to consider supporting an emergency tiny shelter.

Winter is coming and the homeless need shelter from harsh conditions.  Emergency tiny shelters are one temporary solution. Placing these shelters on church properties provides a measure of protection from eviction on public land.

The Archdiocese has established a support team to answer questions and help parishes with this undertaking while continuing to explore other initiatives that will help to bring permanent housing to those in need.

If your parish would like more information on this program please join us for an information session with the team, via Zoom, on Thursday October 14, 2021 at 7:00 pm.

To sign up for the meeting  click here.

Archbishop Dunn encourages all the faithful to prayerfully consider how our communities of faith can help those in our province who are in great need.

For more information on the Emergency Tiny Shelters Program initiative contact John Stevens: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Priority - Parish Identity

Parish Identity

“Every one of our new Parishes needs to commit to developing a new Parish identity that is positive and united, regardless of the number of people or number of buildings. The focus must be on the whole community of the faithful that makes up the parish, rather than particular groups that gather at individual churches. Doing so will require fostering healthy relationships and new understandings of Parish life and roles.”

Priority - Homelessness

Homelessness


“While many are without homes in Nova Scotia, many more are presented with the impossible choice of whether they spend what little they have on shelter or food. I realize that many of our Parishes have ministries dedicated to these and other social issues, e.g., food banks, various kinds of outreach, etc. This can provide a variety of opportunities where we can collaborate with our brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations. Our new Parishes have many properties, some of them surplus, and I ask Parish leadership to consider whether some existing resources can be diverted for the service of the homeless in some way.”

Priority - Evangelization

Evangelization

“Evangelization – proclaiming the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ – is the primary activity of the Church. Each new Parish must have a plan for evangelization with a commitment to a particular program of evangelization. Significant time, energy, and resources should be invested in reaching the various audiences of the new evangelization: those who have never heard the Word of God, those who have heard the Word of God but fallen away, and those who have heard the Word of God yet require ever deepening conversion”

 

How do we live out these Priorities in our Archdiocese?

So how do we, as a local Church bear fruit under each of priorities? For each of the above priorities Archbishop Dunn gives parishes a task and a timeline for those tasks. To support parishes in these activities the team in office of Pastoral Life & New Evangelization (PL&NE) and other diocesan staff will:

  • develop and implement resources related to each priority
  • research and curate existing initiatives and tools to share with parishes
  • pray with and for parish leadership, that our combined efforts will be guided by the Holy Spirit!

Resources for this work will be made available on this page – so check back!

2021 Pastoral Priorities Presentation by Thinkific

Archbishop Dunn has recently offered webinars that highlight each of the four pastoral priorities he has set for the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.  These webinars were presented to parish leaders across our diocese to help encourage and inspire their parish communities to live as missionary disciples. These presentations are available to the faithful on Thinkific, an online learning platform.  See the links below: 
 
• Parish Identity - Thinkific Link 
• Homelessness - Thinkific Link
• Evangelization – Thinkific Link
• Catechesis – Thinkific Link