Connecting church with community

Being a Christian, what does it mean? That is the core subject of a series of talks in Sixmilebridge during the Lenten period.
The talks, according to parish priest Fr Harry Bohan, are designed to stimulate a renewal of faith and to make a serious effort to connect the church with the community.
Fr Bohan said the church in Sixmilebridge parish has been making a serious effort to respond and connect with the real lives of people and they are trying to achieve this in practical ways at personal, family and community levels.
“There are indications that people may want to dig deeper, to know a little bit more of who or what to believe in and what this means in real life. In the business of life today, there is little time to reflect on these important issues. This is the thinking behind the talks,” he explained.
Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray will open the talks next Tuesday night when he addresses the topic What does it mean to be a Christian? Limerick pastoral worker, Noreen Lynch will speak on How can we better prepare ourselves and our children to connect to the Power of God? on March 6.
Brian McMahon will offer a layman’s perspective on What the Spiritual Life Means to Me Personally on March 13 while Bishop Willie Walsh will close off the series of talks on March 20 when he speaks on How can I be true to myself by confronting my doubts?
Fr Bohan said that in the parish of Sixmilebridge and Kilmurry, a parish of over 5,000 people, the belief is that renewal of faith begins at local level. “We see ourselves as a Christian community, we are all the time trying to make sense of what this means in practice,” he said.
“The words of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin made sense to us when he said ‘Jesus himself would be a little surprised to be told he had founded an organisation. What Jesus left behind was a communion of communities – a community which meets together to deepen their understanding of the word of God, to celebrate the Eucharist and to connect his message to real life.
“As we now try to renew our local church we believe it will only have credibility in its witness and that must always take the form of responding to people’s needs which are not met by anyone else. Whether that’s in the form of a co-operative needs of farmers, or the abuse of substances by young people, or the loneliness of people who are isolated, or have lost a loved one or the disconnection from neighbour and nature.
“All of this has to be Christ centred, connecting with him regularly throughout our gatherings that are meaningful and of the many social occasions and seasons of the year. These talks are intended to help us understand and deepen our understanding of what Christian community really means, Fr Bohan emphasised.