Mags Gargan
Lay visitation teams are calling to all the homes in four parishes of the Archdiocese of Armagh as part of a pilot reach-out project.
During the month of October lay visitation teams are setting out two-by-two calling to all the homes in four parishes of the Archdiocese of Armagh, as part of a pilot reach-out project called ‘Galilee’.
Named after a place in the Gospels where Jesus felt welcomed, and organised by the Diocesan Vocations Commission and the Office for Pastoral Renewal and Family Ministry, the aim of the project is to build points of contact in the parish community and to eventually develop the visits into a tool for evangelisation.
Organisers say that the visitation of homes used to be a big part of the ministry of priests and religious but as their numbers decline, it is becoming more and more difficult to keep this important point of contact alive, and so a number of committed lay people have now taken up this role.
“Basically the project is an effort to try and show the Church going out to people rather than expecting them to come to the Church,” said Dr Tony Hanna, from the Office for Pastoral Renewal and Family Ministry.
“The teams will provide information and contacts for the parish and maybe give people a small token like a cross or bottle of holy water, but we hope to move on from there as we need to be ready to give the Good News and as people build relationships we hope to present evangelisation.”
The parishes involved in the project were chosen from both north and south of the border: Dungannon, Co. Tyrone; Kilmore, Co. Armagh; and St Patrick’s and Holy Redeemer, Dundalk, Co. Louth. Approximately 30 volunteers from all ages and walks of life from the target parishes have received training for the initiative and four teams of two will visit 200 homes in each parish throughout October.
