by Gerard Hand

Fr. Willy Slavin, around the time the Justice and Peace Commission was starting in 1982, said that it was very important that justice and peace groups should not become parish sodalities – ie clubs or societies. As an integral part of evangelisation, justice and peace work is essential to all parish life and there is a danger that it could be seen as a club for the like-minded. The same could be said for groups of parishioners trying to gain a deeper understanding of the teaching of Laudato Si’ and the living that has to come from that.

The question for the J&P group is how to bring the ‘justice and peace dimension’ into the life of the whole parish, whether in the liturgy, sacramental preparation or working with those on the margins of society.  A second question is how to avoid diluting the prophetic challenge of the Church’s teaching in order to bring more people on board.

The same applies to a group committed to the environment and climate change. We need to keep balancing ‘direct’ Laudato Si’ work with integrating the values into parish life, and at the same time look for ways of co-operating with other churches and community activities. As we pray and plan, the challenge is to keep in tension working with our own congregation (many of whom will never be at an inter church meeting) and valuing the strength of working with other churches.  That has to be an ongoing task; the nature of the co-operation will depend on where each church is in its own life.

The group in the parish needs to be sufficient as a team to act decisively on the issues they have identified, while at the same time being open to helping people in the parish develop their understanding of what is before us. It needs to be accepted by the parish pastoral council and parish priest not as the conscience of the parish, but as a group of parishioners helping the council and the whole parish develop their consciences, so that we are open to the hard decisions and choices before us as a church and society.

As a parish priest working with the pastoral council and other groups, it is a challenge to make sense of all the calls for interest and action which come our way from the church and its agencies.  All are important but if we responded to each one what would we do? Little, I think. The best response I can see at the moment is to decide with the pastoral council which pastoral and teaching letter we want to concentrate on (in this case Laudato Si’); that these environmental issues are the ones we want to act on; and this is the political challenge to which we can commit ourselves and the parish. While not ignoring other issues, we need to help the parish go to some depth in understanding the situation we are in. There is no great value in beating ourselves up about what we are not doing; we need to discern and choose.

The Covid crisis causes parishes great problems.  We have not been able to meet. Many people are not yet back to Mass, and we don’t know how many will return and be available for parish life and work.  On the other hand, new ways of working and new talents have been discovered. Developing our commitment to environmental issues may help some re-integrate with parish life.

This is a call for conversion on every level.  It may teach us that we have to live with absence as well as great activity. It may be an opportunity to see what is demanded of us when we call for change. What is certain is that will require living the Cross to the full. Living on the surface and tinkering will not suffice.

One parish’s experience 

Some parishioners of Holy Cross, Edinburgh¹ came together last year to mark the fifth anniversary of Laudato Si’ and to see how they could help themselves and the parish know more of what Pope Francis was saying and deepen our sense what action was being called for. All meetings so far have been by Zoom.

All of us were trying to understand the issues of the encyclical and its implication for us. One member took responsibility for each of the following areas:  liaison with Eco-Congregation, a wild garden project, liturgy and spirituality. From the start we have been in touch with the diocesan justice and peace network and the Laudato Si’ support group.

At the same time we have also been working with the fabric committee to try and understand the questions that face us on church heating.  Two of our boilers are 27 years old and will likely break down soon. How do we equip ourselves to respond to these questions in the light of Laudato Sí? If we try and evade the questions that Laudato Si’ and COP26 raise, what kind of parish are we? The heating question may prove to be the real faith and ethical test as to where we are with environmental issues. At the moment we are researching what alternative forms of energy might be used. The technical questions are daunting, as are the financial questions, with our income down by 30% in 2020.

We have been trying to find ways to engage the parish in praying and thinking about climate change and the environment. To find the right tension between putting material into the parish newsletter and Facebook and not becoming a moralising single issue group is not easy. At the moment we are in the process of putting one item a week into the newsletter from the Eco-Congregation’s list of practical things that all of us can do.  The group is aware that trying to do major projects and failing is not the best way forward.

We have had some services through Zoom and also in the church. The Laudato Si’ Rosary has been a way in which we have been trying to engage people both in prayer and in learning more about the environmental issues of our time.  We try and contribute to the Liturgy through references to Laudato Si’.

We have had some interest, but we could not claim to have developed a lot of active interest. On the other hand, I think people do have some awareness of the issues. It is hard at this time of not seeing people and general restriction to gauge the level of interest and commitment. On the other hand there hasn’t been any sense of ‘what are you weirdos up to?’

The wild garden and wild meadow has attracted some interest. We are trying to provide space for wild plants and insect life to develop. Quite a number of parishioners took part in planting seeds earlier in the year. It is still early days and we are still communicating what the point of the wild garden is. As one of our group wrote, ‘There could be plenty of opportunities in those activities for people to learn more about environmental issues and solutions.  If done properly this could be a joyful and productive way to build community, improve mental and physical health, appreciate God’s gift of the natural world, and benefit the local environment.’

The parish centenary is next year and Laudato Si’ will be an important dimension of the celebrations and events. Fr. Basil Clark, vicar episcopal for Caritas, will be preaching at the inaugural Masses in January. He has been asked to preach on the topic of what a parish would look like that is trying to implement the values of Laudato Si’.  I know he is developing some ideas of how considering Laudato Si’ as well as Fratelli Tutti and the ongoing discussions of synodality can provide way of approaching parish and civic renewal. One of the ways in which we are preparing for next year’s centenary is to have a Laudato Si’ reflection morning led by a member of the Epiphany Group, an inter-church group committed to spiritual direction and supporting group and private prayer.  Towards Christmastime we will invite any willing parishioners to come and share their thoughts on what Laudato Si’ is trying to accomplish.

We are aware of other parishes praying and acting in similar ways.  We are looking forward to joining in diocesan and national efforts to help groups support one another.

Photo by Dominic Cullen

Fr Gerard Hand is parish priest of Holy Cross, Edinburgh