REPORT OF THE SESSION FOR MODERATORS AND SECRETARIES
The Diocesan Pastoral Secretariat and the Diocesan Pastoral Council organized a seminar for all the Moderators and Secretaries of the parishes of Goa on 28th August 2022 at St. Joseph Vaz Spiritual Renewal Centre, Old Goa. Around 200 Members attended the seminar. The day started with the Eucharist celebrated by Fr. Leo Fernandes, Executive Secretary of the Diocesan Pastoral Secretariat followed by tea and refreshments.
The compere for the day, Ms. Suzana Rodrigues, Joint Secretary of DPC welcomed all the members and to set the tone Mr. Terryll Coutinho and team organized an action song.
The first session highlighting the Role of Moderators and Secretaries was delivered by Rev. Fr. Barry Cardozo, Director for Diocesan Centre for Social Communication Media. Saying that the Parish Pastoral Council is the main pastoral body of the Parish representing all sections of the people of God in the parish, he briefly explained the tasks of the Executive Committee of the PPCs. He highlighted the specific tasks of the Moderators and Secretaries and practical ways of conducting meetings and proceedings were shared to make meetings effective. Important Tips were given to both Moderators and Secretaries so as to facilitate their smooth and effective functioning.
As in the Pastoral Year 2022-23, the archdiocese focuses on strengthening families, revitalizing Small Christian Communities and pastoral visits, the next section comprised of input sessions regarding the same. At the onset, Rev. Fr. Albano Fernandes, Director of the Diocesan Family Service Centre, focused on Participation and Mission in families. He briefed about the diverse initiatives and programmes (Formation/Awareness and Renewal) undertaken by the Diocesan Family Service Centre to strengthen families and to promote culture for the service of life. He urged the members to participate in these various programmes for the growth of family life. Further he enlightened on upholding the dignity of family members especially seniors, homebound, widows, disabled, servants etc. Listing the three types of relationships (Husband-Wife Relationship, Parent-Child Relationship, and Child-Parent Relationship) indicated in the pastoral letter equally essential to fulfil our mission, he said that each family member needs to fulfil his/her duty with sense of responsibility.
Dr. Roshan Nazareth was then invited to enlighten the members on the Parish Family Service Cells. He said that PFSC is a coordinating body for the needs of families, through families and by families to build the domestic Church. He informed the members that the PFSC is formed in consultation with PPC or constituted by the Parish priest. Further he explained the vision and mission statements of the PFSC and the various tasks of PFSC. He concluded requesting the members to take keen interest in establishing and strengthening the PFSC in their respective parishes.
Rev Fr. Jorge Fernandes, Director of Diocesan Centre for Lay Apostolate, delivered a session on revival of SSCs. Stating that the SSCs are essential for building the Parish community He explained that in SSCs, our mission consists in coming together in prayer, reflecting together on the word of God sharing in the joys and sorrows of one another on diverse occasions, reaching out to the needy, comforting the afflicted, joining hands to resolve social issues, etc. He also mentioned that Small Christian Communities does not mean coming together once a month; the mission of the SSCs does not end with organization of the liturgy in the church, it is not just another association of women or a common prayer group. The leadership in the SSC is not dominating but rather animating, encouraging, acknowledging talents, gifts and empowering every member of the church to be active in the mission of Christ. In order to bring the mission of SSCs to completion we need to draw insights and inspiration from the exemplary life of the early Christians, he added.
Rev. Dr. Simião Fernandes, Director of the Pastoral Institute, Convenor of the ongoing Formation of priests, shared insights on the topic ‘Leaders Visits’. In his session, he listed a few examples of visits in the Bible (Old Testament as well as New Testament). Enlightening the members about the various types of visits (i.e. Social Visits, Visits for Pastoral Work, Other Visits etc.), he urged the leaders to follow certain guidelines before the visit, at the time of the visit and after the visit and said that the leaders should choose an appropriate time for visit and shouldn’t judge anyone on the basis of the visit. He concluded his session by affirming that when we visit others we get to know each other, our relationship strengthens and we understand and appreciate others better.
Fr. Leo Fernandes, the Executive Secretary of the DPS proposed the vote of thanks. The programme ended at 1.30 p.m. with a fellowship lunch.