North Northampton Pastoral Area Discernment Process
The St Luke’s Pastoral Area includes Corby, Kettering, Rushden, Wellingborough and around a hundred villages and small towns. The area is changing rapidly with huge amounts of new building, but our Catholic structures date from the 1880s and 1960s. Bishop David reminds us that ‘new wine needs new wineskins’, and is asking everyone to reflect on our community life and mission into the future, including our priestly provision, finances and property. The area is growing and revitalising but the North Northants Strategic Plan identifies areas of significant poverty and ‘left behind’
neighbourhoods.
Combining Bishop David’s hopes for our area with the North Northants plan challenges us:
1. To support the local Catholic community to thrive through good stewardship of people, property and finances
2. Empowering everyone to deepen their faith, with a focus on children, young people and families
3. Becoming more active, welcoming and inclusive communities, open to the new housing estates and the needs of local people
4. And planning for a sustainable future by caring for our common home.
Underlying this vision are active and empowered communities, driven by local decision-making, shared identity, and collective discernment of the Holy Spirit.
PHASES OF THE Discernment Process
Prepare
Working with clergy
Training listeners
Gathering data
Listen
Listening groups held across parishes, schools, Catholic organisations and groups, engaging as many people as possible.
All voices are welcome.
Discern
A small local discernment group will develop key themes and scenarios from the listening. These will be turned into plans through ongoing consultation.
Act
Bishop David enacts the plan locally
Resources
If you would like to hold listening in your area, here are all the resources you need:
Further information related to this process will be uploaded here.
