BISHOP DON SPROXTON’S
MESSAGE
Episcopal Vicar for Parish Renewal
It is with great pleasure that we share with you this initiative for the Archdiocese of Perth, “Adsumus – Journeying together led by the Holy Spirit”.
“Adsumus Sancte Spiritus”, meaning ‘We stand before you, O Holy Spirit,’ is the opening line of the prayer historically used at Church Councils and Synods for hundreds of years. This prayer was also used before every session of the Second Vatican Council, which was convoked for the renewal of the whole Church. So, the prayer is most appropriate for us as we contemplate the renewal of our parishes.
The 2024 pilot version of Adsumus was extensively reviewed, and we now bring to all parishes across the Archdiocese of Perth a renewed Adsumus.
It seeks to assist parishes in forming parishioners to develop a true and deep understanding of their role and enabling their unique and necessary contribution to parish life.
Reaching out to as many parishioners as possible, Adsumus focusses mainly on the Sunday Liturgy, encouraging every parishioner to engage with the parish community in a Synodal process of listening to the Spirit.
The initiative calls all parishioners to prayerfully reflect on and respond to Christ’s call to become missionary disciples.
RATIONALE / HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Adsumus reminds us that every parish is a community, working together, led by the Spirit.
Archbishop Costelloe expressed this desire when he shared, “Parishes are to walk together to deliver a Christ-centred, faithful, vibrant, welcoming, inclusive and mission-orientated Church to enrich our own lives and the lives of those we are called to serve.”
In his Easter message, the archbishop also said: “Pope Francis, in leading the Church along a Synodal path - along a path of faith which we all travel together - reminds us that we are all brothers and sisters united in the one faith and in the one hope. It is, Pope Francis insists, a faith and hope which the Lord has planted in our own hearts so that, through us, the same faith and hope
In 2019, the Team began working to develop
renew Parish Communities. In 2023, it named this initiative, ‘Adsumus’, fina process and offered it to Parishes in the Archdioce Parishes accepted the proposal to trial this Adsumus and in 2024 these four presented and ran the initia 17 weeks within their Parishes. Following feedback from these four Communities further reflection, the Team is moving forward in stre the Process. Plans are in place to present the secon of Adsumus to Parishes within the Archdioc implementation in 2026.
THE CULTURE OF A PARISH
The Primary Focus
The primary focus of our work with the Adsumus initiative is to change the culture of a parish. One of the benefits of this is the increase in people who volunteer. However, it is the change of culture that needs to be addressed first.
The way we understand ‘parish’, the way we LIVE parish, conditions and determines the way we see ourselves and how we function as parishioners – as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel of Jesus is, primarily, about Meaning and Vision, not structures with rules and regulations.
The old thinking of ‘parish’ could be described as a kind of service station to which people come looking for Mass, Baptism, prayers, Marriage, funerals, etc. A ‘come and care’ system – yes, with some good points, but it helped develop a consumer mentality. A church seen as a supermarket of spiritual and sacramental ‘products’, regarded as necessary to obtain salvation. The emphasis is on personal salvation.
The vision of ‘Church’ proclaimed by Jesus and called for by Pope Francis, can be described in these terms - “The Parish Community”, the Pope writes, “is called truly to master the ‘art of accompaniment’. This challenge of changing culture is the call to see differently, to see through the eyes of Jesus for we are striving to implement not man’s ways but God’s ways, God’s work of renewing the Church.
A Synodal Parish is a community where every member enters into a deep encounter with Jesus, realises they are called by their Baptism to work together, accompanied by the Spirit, to be messengers of the Gospel.
ADSUMUS
The Initiative
The Goal - To build an understanding and commitment to this vision of a Parish Community in line with the Pope’s vision of a Synodal Community. Our Baptism is a Call to community: To live from that moment as a member of God’s People.
A Community (God’s people) is devoted to a loving and active Evangelisation
Living in a relationship with Jesus that encounters His loving presence in the moments of each day. It is an encounter that is then expressed through an ever-deepening relationship to personal prayer, liturgy and the sacraments. Being welcoming, hospitable, and openly accepting of those in need.
Spreading the mission of the Good News of Jesus through everyday works that evangelise and bring salt and light to the world.
Encouraging growth and renewal of its members and the challenge that finding new pathways bring. Modelling a Servant Leadership that is marked by its collaboration and respect for all.
ADSUMUS INITIATIVE
The Process
Preparation with Parish Priest and Parish Pastoral Council Material focused on the Sunday Liturgy (where the majority of parishioners gather)
The message is promoted by the Parish Priest and Parish Leaders
Resources provided by the Parish Renewal Team
The message is addressed to every parishioner
The process is designed to extend over 14 weeks to develop a culture permeating parish life
The process highlights two fundamental questions
What is a parishioner & what is my part in this parish community?
What is a parish & what is the true role of a parish?
ADSUMUS INITIATIVE
The Resources
Offered by the Parish Renewal Team (PRT)
· Initial correspondence and work with the Parish Priest, the Parish Pastoral Council, Ministries, Groups
· Notes for each week’s Homily, Bulletin, Commentary
· Images to highlight the Sunday’s themes
· Videos to be played at Mass endorsing Adsumus from Bishop Don Sproxton and Fr.
Nino Vinciguerra
· Plans for activities to enhance these themes, throughout the implementation weeks and in the following years
The Adsumus Initiative is designed as a beginning; it is an effort to enable each parishioner to come to a truer understanding of their place in the parish; to discern the unique contribution each can make to the life of the parish; so that, working together – sharing gifts and talents – the parish community will grow into an even stronger instrument leading people to the full life God is offering.
The initiative is also designed to enable the parish to come to a true understanding of their place in the archdiocese; to discern the contribution each parish can make to the life of the archd port the archdioce
ADSUMUS INITIATIVE
The Four Steps of Implementation
Firstly, a Parish Pastoral Council demonstrates their interest in implementing Adsumus. After that, the Parish Renewal Team collaborates with the Parish Pastoral Council / Leaders to outline the four-step process.
Step 1: Preparation & Awareness
Two Sundays: Adsumus is briefly outlined at Sunday Masses - giving all parishioners two weeks to appreciate the opportunity, seek further explanation, ask questions, before beginning the Adsumus Process. (This awareness/consultation time may extend another week or two.)
Two Sundays: launching Adsumus, signalling a time for preparation and outlining the initial phase.
Step 2: Renewal of Heart & Mind
Four Sundays: Addressing the main theme of Adsumus. Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us into a deeper Christian commitment, both personally and as a community for we are on a journey of faith as a community. It is ‘WE’ who gather to celebrate Mass, rather than ‘I’ who comes to Mass. And it asks us “what is a parishioner & what is my part in this parish community?” and “what is a parish & what is the true role of a parish?”
Step 3: Synodality in Action
Four Sundays: Devoted to commitment and action arising out of our renewal of heart and mind. Step 3 outlines various options for parishioners to discern how they can play an active role in parish life. This step of Adsumus is consolidated at a ‘Commitment Sunday’.
Step 4: Ongoing Formation
Two Sundays: To encourage reflection by individuals and by parish leadership, to promote avenues for the ongoing learning that is vital if the parish is to continue forming parishioners devoted to a deep relationship with Jesus, to becoming devoted disciples calling others to Christ. This period provides an opportunity to introduce & promote the various agencies of the Archdiocese of Perth.
ADSUMUS
What does it achieve?
An Australian study into parish life by Trudy Dantis of the ACBC Pastoral Research Office, identifies eight key areas that lead to stronger parishes, namely:
Planning
Faith Formation
Liturgy
Community
Hospitality
Social Outreach
Mission
Leadership
Significantly, these areas are consistently verified by other international research into parish renewal, both Protestant as well as Catholic.
What is a parishioner & what is my part in this parish Community?
What is a parish & what is the true role of a parish?
Adsumus - looking at these two questions above, in the context of pastoral planning, we believe addresses the eight crucial areas that lead to stronger parishes identified by Dantis.
