Parish Social Ministry
From Getting Started to Running
Smoothly
Goals
To provide the members St. Michael Parish – Waialua with the
foundation for Parish Social Ministry and models of organizing
social ministry in their parishes.
To provide helps in developing, expanding parish social ministry
in their parishes.
To provide the opportunity for parish sharing
What is Parish Social Ministry?
Definition
Parish social ministry is an organized effort
of the entire parish to serve those in need,
to advocate for justice and to work at
changing societal structures that
perpetuate injustices.
Parish Social Ministry:
Strategies for Success by Tom Ulrich
Provides a complete definition:
“In summary, the full mission of parish social ministry is to help
parishioners understand and act on Catholic Social Teaching.
It does that by organizing teams of leaders in (at least) four
ministry areas of direct service, legislative advocacy,
global solidarity/global justice and peace, and community
organizing. Those leaders, in turn, invite and recruit the
rest of the parish to participate. Finally, all the activity is
reinforced through formation and education in Catholic
Social Teaching.”
What is Catholic Social Teaching?

Simply put, the teachings of the Church known as Catholic
Social Teaching, are a body of doctrine that the church has
developed, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, to apply the
gospel of Jesus to our life together as members of one
human family. It has three aspects:
1.
It gives us principles for reflection
2.
It provides criteria for judgment.
3.
It gives guidelines for action.
Pope Benedict XVI
First encyclical in 2005, Deus Caritas Est
(God is Love), Pope Benedict states that
“social charity” is one of the three essential
responsibilities of the Catholic Church
Deus Caritas Est.
“The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her
three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the
word of God, celebrating the sacraments,
and exercising the ministry of charity.
Theses duties presuppose each other and are
inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a
kind of welfare activity which could equally be
left to others, but is a part of her nature, an
indispensable expression of her very being…”
Deus Caritas Est
(continued)
“The direct duty to work for a just ordering in
society…is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of
the State, they are called to take part in public life in
a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their
participation “in the many different economic, social,
legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which
are intended to promote the … the common good.”
Communities of Salt and Light:
Reflections on the Social Mission of
the Parish
US Bishops’ 1994 Document emphasizes the critical need for
parishes to be sources of Christ’s love in the world:
“At a time when the rich are getting richer and the poor
are getting poorer, we insist on the moral test of our
society is how we treat and care for the weakest among
us. In these challenging days, we believe that the
Catholic community needs to be more than ever a
source of clear moral vision and effective action…The
pursuit of justice and peace is an essential part of what
makes a parish Catholic.”
A Responsibility for the
ENTIRE Parish Community
Again, as the US Bishops stated:
“We need to build local communities of faith
where our social teaching is central, not
fringe; where social ministry is integral,
not optional; where it is the work of
every believer, not just the mission of a few
committed people and committees.
One Model, Not the Only
Model

There are many models that a parish can create to:

Ensure that “organizing” and “doing” social ministry happens

Ensure that our social mission is woven throughout parish life

Ensure that social ministry includes a variety of opportunities for
parishioners to act through service and through advocacy or working
for justice and peace
Experimentation is encouraged because the structure must meet the
unique qualities and challenges of each parish
Most important point is to make sure that a core group of people are
specifically responsible for helping the parish act on each of the
elements of effective parish social ministry.
Social Ministry in a Parish

Can take on a variety of forms and organization (structure)

They are incredible signs of Christ alive in our world, working
through the faithful to bring love to those who need it the
most and to transform the world’s social structures to better
reflect God’s Kingdom of peace and justice.

Our Catholic doctrine insists that these tasks are constitutive
(essential) dimensions of living out the Gospel and are
necessary responsibilities of our parishes.
The Two Feet of Christian
Service
Charity
Justice
Direct Service




Social Change
It takes two feet to walk.
Otherwise we lose balance.
If we use only the first foot
(direct service), we can make
matters worse by fostering
dependency.
If we use only the second foot
(social change) we run the risk of
becoming too far removed from
the reality of the problem
A true Christian faith requires
both steps
GlobalGlobal
Solidarity
Solidarity/Justice
andLegislative
Justice and
and
Peace
Peace
Education
Advocacy
Community
Education
Organizing
Legislative
Legislative
Advocacy
Advocacy
Community
Organizing
Legislative
Community
Advocacy
Organizing
Community
Organizing
Direct
Direct
Services
Direct
Services
or
Outreach
Direct
Services
Services/
Outreach
Catholic Social
Catholic Social
Teaching
Catholic
Social
Teaching
Catholic
Teaching
FORMATI
Social
FORMATION
Formation
ON
Teaching
FORMATION
FORMATION
One Model, Not the Only Model
The Coordination Team
Direct
Service
and
Outreach
Global
Solidarity
Community
Organizing
Legislative
Advocacy
Parish Social Ministry
Coordination Team

Usually made up of leaders or
representatives from each of the social
ministry sub-areas

They meet regularly (monthly) to keep ach
other informed about parish social ministry
activities.

A chair person or co-chairpersons convenes and
runs the meetings.
Setting the Stage*
S t y le s o f M in is t r y
S o c ia l C h a n g e
O r g a n iz in g
A dvocacy
The
fo c u s
is
on
th e
p o w e r le s s
r e p r e s e n t in g t h e m s e lv e s t h r o u g h
c o m m u n it y
o r g a n iz in g
and
d e v e lo p m e n t .
T h is
in v o lv e s
le a d e r s h ip
d e v e lo p m e n t
am ong
t h e g r a s s r o o t s , b u ild in g a b a s e o f
power
th ro u g h
o n e -o n -o n e
r e la t io n s h ip s
and
m a x im iz in g
c it iz e n
p a r t ic ip a t io n
in
th e
d e c is io n s
th a t
a ffe c t
p e o p le ’s
liv e s .
The
s tra te g y o f a d v o c a c y fo c u s e s
on
th e
p o w e rfu l
s p e a k in g
fo r
th e
p o w e r le s s .
T h o s e w h o b e n e f it f r o m t h e
e x is t in g
s y s te m
w o rk
ve ry
h a rd
to
r e f o r m , o r f ix t h e
s y s t e m , b e lie v in g
it
s h o u ld b e n e f it e v e r y o n e f a ir ly .
E lit e
G ra s s R o o ts
D e c is io n M a k in g
C h a r it y a n d O u t r e a c h
S o li d a r it y
Program Goals
The
s tra te g y
o f m a in t a in in g , e n a b lin g
and
s u p p o r t in g
m in is t r y
w it h
p e o p le
w h o a r e h u r t in g .
P r o v id e s a s s is t a n c e
t o o t h e r s t o c o p e in t im e s o f s o c ia l a n d
e c o n o m ic c r is is .
S o c ia l S ta b ilit y
The
id e a
th a t
hum ans
a re
r a d ic a lly in t e r d e p e n d e n t a n d t h a t
th e
c o n c e rn s
of
one
p e rs o n
or
n a t io n
a re
th e
c o n c e rn s
of
a ll
p e o p le o r n a t io n s .
S o lid a r it y c a lls
a ll p e o p le t o o v e r c o m e b a r r ie r s o f
ra c e ,
r e lig io n ,
e t h n ic it y ,
n a t io n a lit y , g e n d e r a n d e c o n o m ic
p o s it io n .
Communities of Salt and Light Basic
Structure for Parish Teams
Prayer and
Worship
Leader or
Team
IssueSpecific
Teams
Community
Organizing
Leader or
Team
Parish Social
Ministry
Coordination
Team
Global
Solidarity
and Peace
Leader or
Team
Education
and
Formation
Leader or
Team
Family,
Work,
Citizenship
Leader or
Team
Charity and
Outreach
Leader or
Team
Advocacy
Leader or
Team
How to organize a team of leaders?
Step 1:
Find 3-5
allies
who
want to
start a
ministry
.
Step 4: Clarify
committee
structure and
purpose.
Step 2: Meet
and discuss
what you want
to do & why.
Step 3:
Organize
and execute
parish
analysis .
Step 5:
Recruit
and
train
people
on CST.
Step 6: Act
from original
plan and
create
evaluation
process.
The PSM Coordination Team
Primary Oversight and Support Functions
1. Coordinating social ministry activities to ensure a smooth, well
functioning operation.
2. Providing oversight of the integration of the parish social ministry
effort into the overall life of the parish.
3. Providing oversight (and coordination) of the planning for t he
different social ministry activities.
4. Developing an effective and comprehensive system of
communication with special emphasis on communication with the
pastor and pastoral council.
5. Identifying emerging parish and community social ministry needs
and potential leaders.
6. Providing social ministry skills training opportunities for parishioners.
7. Maintaining communication with diocesan offices (OSM) that can
deliver professional skills training and support for social ministry
leaders.
8. Emphasizing the seven touchstones described in Communities of Salt
and Light.
Differences – Organizers and Doers
WE NEED BOTH!
Organizers tend to do the
following activities:








Planning
Being strategic
Recruiting leaders and
participants
Bringing people together
Organizing training sessions
on Catholic Social Teaching
and social ministry skills
Facilitating problem solving
discussions and meetings
Visioning
Listening and communicating
Doers of social ministry are
busy with:





Putting the solutions into
action
Being energetic and dedicated
to completing tasks
Learning ministry skills
Deepening their baptismal call
to serve through participation
in on-going formation
Providing input, ideas, data,
that shapes the planning
process
“Doers” versus “Organizers or Leaders”
As distinguished from the leaders of social ministry who are
the “organizers”

Make sure specific tasks get done

Are the people who make the home visits to the elderly, who collect/distribute the food,
write the letters to the legislators, attend the rally sponsored by a community
organization, make a trip to with fellow parishioners to a homeless shelter.

They do not organize the effort, they perform the service.

Of course, organizers can be doers and vice versa.

However, the critical thing is to know the difference and to make sure the parish has a
structure or system that includes leaders or organizers, who make sure many
parishioners have opportunities to become “doers.”
Important Purpose for Meetings



They provide a setting for creating and maintaining an effective system
of communication about PSM activities, making sure that the various
leaders and activities are not “bumping into each other” due to
duplication, poor communication, unplanned recruitment, or other
reasons.
They ensure that each social ministry leader or team produces some type
of annual plan so that the efforts are well thought out and the tasks
identified can be accomplished.
They provide opportunities to identify situations where two or more
leaders or teams might work together. For example, the global
solidarity leader and the legislative advocacy leader might work together
to help the parish respond to a crisis somewhere in the world. Part of the
response might involve a collection of money or goods. Another might
involve lobbying on U.S. policy related to the crisis or related to poverty
in the U.S. and abroad.

They allow the leaders or teams that relate to other ministries in
the parish (e.g., prayer/worship and education)/formation) to
keep abreast of what other social ministry leaders are planning so
they can identify opportunities to make connections among
parish ministries. For example, the education/formation leader
might learn from the advocacy leader about plans for a pro-life
rally on island and might work with the DRE to arrange for
Confirmation candidates to participate.

They provide a forum for proposing and discussing major new
social ministry initiatives in the parish. For example, they
might provide a forum on faith-based organizing and what it
means for the parish and community.

They provide for accountability. If a leader or team doesn’t
have anything to report, they may not be doing their job!
A few more general concepts…

Decide on a model that will work best for your parish

Pull together a good team…no lone rangers…even Lone Ranger
had Tonto

Create vision, mission, objectives/action plans and goals
Official connection to pastoral council


Intentional communication with other appropriate parish
ministries

Pastor and staff support – A Must!

CCHD, CRS, Catholic Charities, Respect Life are social justice
connections that are important to recognize.
Key Elements for Success

Not “my” ministry. It is “our” parish’s ministry.

Focused, and addresses the full mission of social ministry.

Thought and planning goes into organizing and developing leadership
teams.

PSM efforts are known, integrated into, and supported by the ENTIRE
parish.

Explore the deeper social, political, and institutional causes of problems
and issues being addressed by the parish.

Be an active part of the Diocesan social ministry network.

Dedicated and committed leaders…not wearing too many hats.
Have Fun!

No one wants a grim and grumpy dogooder
OSM is only a phone call away –
reinforcements on the way
Questions, comments…