Parish Leadership Group Update
Last week, Gerry Palmer and I attended the latest Parish Leadership Group meeting with Father Kevin and other representatives of our new parish. Significant progress has been made since our first meeting in January.
Over the next few weeks, we will complete an audit of all church organisational structures, which will enable us to assess consistency of approach and reduce duplication of effort. We also hope to launch a new parish website by the end of spring, which will help us communicate more effectively across all our communities.
Plans are also underway to centralise financial arrangements and meetings with all current parish treasurers will be taking place shortly.
The major focus for April, however, is the development of a new Liturgical Strategy. The current situation is not sustainable, given the limited number of priests available to carry out liturgical duties such as saying Mass and holding Adoration and Reconciliation services. The challenge lies in reimagining our provision of services based on the geographical boundaries of our new parish, rather than the existing church catchment areas.
Currently, there are four priests serving the Eastbourne hub, which covers seven churches. However, we must plan on the basis of having only three priests to ensure a sustainable workload, allow for rest days, holidays, and potential illness, and to reduce the risk of burnout.
According to Canon Law, one priest may celebrate no more than three Masses across Saturday evening and Sunday. This means our maximum capacity for weekend Masses across the hub is nine. An audit will therefore be carried out across the seven churches to determine how best to reduce the number of Masses accordingly.
Importantly, this assessment will also consider factors beyond just attendance—such as the spiritual and community significance of individual Masses.
The next step is to prepare a draft proposal, which will then be shared for consultation. This process will allow all congregations to provide input before any final decisions are made.