Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 12- June 2012
Divine Mercy Parish Mission Statement
“Guided by the Holy Spirit and in communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world, the people of Divine Mercy Parish of the Diocese of Manchester, seek to create a welcoming and compassionate community of faith, where we grow in grace and love of Jesus Christ. We strive to understand and proclaim His Gospel, building up God’s kingdom in our lives, our families and our towns. We provide a joyful home for prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist and all the sacraments. Through actions and words, we seek to embrace all those in need, defend the holiness and flourishing of human life and promote peace and justice.”
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Divine Mercy Parish Newsletter
“Coming Together, Growing in Faith”
Vol. 4 Issue 12- June 2012
Lauren Martin – Divine Mercy Parish Pastoral Council President
For parishioners who have not yet met Lauren Martin, take the opportunity to do so. Lauren is a vivacious, intelligent Peterborough resident who lives her personal belief that being a Roman Catholic means doing more than one is “supposed” to do. Her presidency of the Pastoral Council is but one component of a life of prayer and giving.
Lauren O’Connell Martin was born and raised in Worcester, MA, the fourth of five children. Raised in a devoutly Catholic household, she attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through graduate school. While a senior at Trinity College in Washington, DC, Lauren met Bill Martin, a Georgetown University medical school intern. They spoke briefly, but both returned to their studies - little did they know that within five years they would meet again, fall in love and marry.
After living in Boston, Lauren and Bill jumped at the opportunity to move to the peaceful hamlet of Peterborough, where Bill accepted a position at Monadnock Community Hospital. Once there, Lauren joined St. Peter Church, and was a member of the Women’s Guild. She continued her Girl Scouts service as a Brownies leader for three years, until she gave birth to Daniel, the first of their three sons.
As the children grew, Lauren’s volunteer activities grew commensurately, and her faith continued to be
fed by the Church. She volunteered at the Peterborough Elementary School once a week,
joined the Peterborough Women’s Club, taught religious education, and became actively involved in Peterborough Cub Scout Pack 8. Lauren eventually became Cubmaster, a position in which she (and the pack) thrived. For her efforts, Lauren was awarded the Mt. Monadnock District Cubmaster of the Year award. As her sons moved up into Boy Scouts, Lauren prepared the pack for her impending departure, ensuring that the program would continue without disruption.
Today, Lauren and Bill’s three sons are almost grown. Dan is 19 and a freshman at UNH; he plans to be a doctor like his father. Andrew is 17 and a senior at ConVal High School; he is planning a career in sound engineering. Both are Eagle Scouts. Matthew, 15, is a freshman at ConVal, and possesses the personality and deep baritone voice of a future communications major. Bill is now the director of the Hospitalist program at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, a position that allows him to do what he loves best – serve as an advocate for patients.
A recipient of the Scouting District Award of Merit, Lauren is now the District Commissioner for Mt. Monadnock district. She oversees and guides unit and roundtable commissioners, who in turn assist individual Cub and Boy Scout units within the district. She earned her Woodbadge beads, the equivalent of a Master’s degree in Scouting, and now teaches the Woodbadge course. For the past three years, Lauren has been substitute teaching in the ConVal district. She discovered that she has a certain affinity for troubled children, particularly those of middle school age. When she encounters an especially difficult child, Lauren prays for that child; she declares that it helps every time!
Prayer plays a major role in Lauren’s life. As a Eucharistic minister, she is humbly grateful for the opportunity to help Jesus feed His sheep. She is often overwhelmed by the needs of her fellow parishioners, and prays for those most in need. She hopes that she and the Council can help provide parishioners with the same sense of connectedness and mutual support that a family would offer in times of need. Lauren brings Holy Communion to two housebound ladies, which she considers a blessing for her as well as them. As she prays with them, she feels God’s goodness within herself.
Lauren appreciates the gifts that she has received as a member of the Pastoral Council. She feels that her faith has deepened, and her heart can take in more, so she can give more to others. The Pastoral Council is the connection between Father Gerry and the parishioners, and the Council’s job is to strengthen that connection as well as the connectedness among parishioners themselves. One of the Pastoral Council’s major goals this year is to reach out to inactive Catholics, helping them re-establish their personal connection with the Church. Lauren is “fed” by her faith, and wants to find ways that the Council can help these and others who desperately need the “food” of love, prayer, or even a kind word.
Lauren recently rejoined the Divine Mercy Women’s Guild, which she considers the model for our blended parish, a “family” of women from different towns, of different ages and background, all dedicated to a single goal – service to those in need. Like many parishioners, Lauren would love to see a new church building, but sees a greater importance in building love, connectedness and family among parishioners. If we have all three, we have the real foundation of a parish.
TOMATO, TO-MAH-TO: WHAT’S IN A NAME?
The transition in recent years from parish councils to pastoral councils is often a confusing one, sometimes prompting the question of whether it is just semantics. A brief history may help answer that question. The Second Vatican Council called for the creation of “parish councils” to serve in an advisory capacity to the pastor and in service to the church as it carries out the mission of Christ – a pretty vague description of what a council should be doing.
This commitment to involving the laity in leading the church has not changed ; over time, what has changed is the perception of the role of parish councils which had become more task-oriented as the memberships of these councils were usually the “doers” of the parish. Their role was primarily a practical one, advising the pastor on fiscal matters and planning various parish events. These parish councils were the ones making decisions on retaining walls, striping the parking lot and replacing the bell tower.
Recently a shift occurred which moved away from the focus on specific program planning to a new model which calls for the parish pastoral councils to lead the parish in the discernment and expression of its mission, the goals and objectives related to it, and the fulfillment of the pastoral mission. Council members traded in their hammers and screw drivers and were asked to share the responsibility of leading.
It is a revisioning of the parish pastoral council and is reflective of the early Church where the laity gathered together in prayer and service to their community, placing their individual gifts at the service of all. By virtue of their baptism, the laity are empowered to participate in the vision of the church and in the pastoral activity. They assist the pastor in long-range pastoral planning affecting the whole of parish life.
The pastoral visioning and planning function of the council are separate and distinct from the day-to-day routine decision-making that needs to take place for the parish to operate on a daily basis. These operations are the responsibility of the pastor and parish staff. This change freed the councils to leave the practical matters to another group and to focus on envisioning where the parish is headed.
Our Parish Pastoral Council has been hard at work transitioning to this visionary body that is tasked with identifying pastoral needs. They have participated in workshops helping them to identify the Seven Elements of Parish Life: evangelization, worship, word, community, service, stewardship and leadership.
Our Mission Statement was developed by the Pastoral Council. They have discerned several goals and developed objectives to achieve these goals. One of these goals was to develop a youth ministry that excites its members and sustains their faith and parish involvement. The Youth Ministry program began in the fall of 2011 and is still growing. The Catechetical Committee was formed and is working to identify faith formation needs from “cradle to grave.” They recently polled the parish about their needs and are working to formulate a plan that incorporates the responses. Another goal was to provide a program for inactive parishioners or lapsed Catholics. “Let’s Talk” resulted from this goal.
Pastoral planning is an ongoing, cyclical process which is always mission-motivated and involves discernment, consensus, goal setting, developing objectives, implementation and evaluation. Their job is to lead all members of the parish body in making our mission a reality:
Guided by the Holy Spirit and in communion with the Catholic Church throughout the world, the people of Divine Mercy Parish of the Diocese of Manchester, seek to create a welcoming and compassionate community of faith, where we grow in grace and love of Jesus Christ. We strive to understand and proclaim His Gospel, building up God’s kingdom in our lives, our families and our towns. We provide a joyful home for prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist and all the sacraments. Through actions and words, we seek to embrace all those in need, defend the holiness and flourishing of human life and promote peace and justice.”
So while you may no longer see Pastoral Council members with tape measures and shovels, they are out there, using their individual and collective gifts for the development of our parish.
BOOK NOOK
By Linda Kepner
Do you think you know Harry, the wizard? Chances are, you don’t. Harry Dresden, a grown man – not the wizard you’re probably thinking of - is a professional wizard-for-hire in Chicago. He specializes in missing persons, particularly lost children. Odd Jobs, by Jim Butcher, is a collection of short stories featuring this eccentric human being, and all the friends, acquaintances, and enemies he makes throughout his work. Among them are his brother Thomas, a vampire (who is nonetheless protective of his “clueless” little brother); students of the University of Chicago, who are also practicing werewolves; his assistant Molly, whose father is as remarkable as she; the diminutive Sgt. Karrin Murphy, head of the Chicago Police Department’s Special Investigations unit, who makes legible police reports out of weird happenings and provides an almost-love-interest; Gard, who serves as a mob boss’s bodyguard as her day job, but is a genuine Valkyrie; and a host of slimy things that climb out of Lake Michigan and try to take over the city. Harry’s meeting with the angel Uriel is one of the highlights of the book, in my opinion. It’s consoling and uplifting to hear an angel chide Harry and remind him that when God does nothing, He’s doing something.
Spoiler: The book ends with a sad story, Murphy functioning without Harry, who has disappeared. Even so, the stories are funny and uplifting, true to legend (for the most part), and show what a truly adult wizard can accomplish, on his own. (Harry does make a few disparaging comments about ‘Death-Eater wannabes.’)
On the serious side, there are rites and ceremonies for which we should all have a little knowledge. Should guests attend the interment at a Baptist funeral? Is a gift expected at a Jewish wedding? A Hindu birth ceremony – when and where, and does one only attend if invited? The answers to these quandaries can be found in How to be a Perfect Stranger, by Arthur J. Magida. This book is so popular, a Volume 2 was created for religions not covered in Volume 1. This is a handy volume for creative writing as well as personal use. One never knows when this kind of information might come in handy. Go ahead, look yourself up.
Kendall Wiggin (once the NH State Librarian, now the CT State Librarian) once said, “Ninety-five per cent of all reference questions can be answered with the almanac and a good encyclopedia. For the other five per cent, they need us.” Put the odds in your favor by purchasing an up-to-date World Almanac. It’s often better than the Internet, and more likely to be true. Be an info whiz! Find thumbnail sketches of the governments of nations and states, a map of time zones, top sports scores (national and international), major crime statistics, economic data, calendars, and political trivia, all in this little paperback that sells for $12.99.
So fly with Harry, and come back down to earth with some good, inexpensive reference sources.
FOOD FOR FRIENDS
(Formerly Brown Bag Sunday)
In an effort to improve and increase our parish
support of local food banks, we have changed our name to FOOD FOR FRIENDS and will be having special theme- based collections. Beginning this summer, we are starting with CHRISTMAS in JULY! Look for the Christmas Tree outside of the church and pull a tag. We are collecting food for the entire month of JULY to help fill the shelves on the two local food banks. Both the Peterborough Human Services and Monadnock Area Food Pantry will have envelopes with pre-printed labels on the tree, along with grocery gift cards and specific food items.