PARISH ASSEMBLY HELD AT CRUZ DOS MILAGRES, OLD GOA
The Parishioners of St. John the Baptist Church, Pilerne, gathered at Cruz de Milagros, Old Goa on the 27th and 28th of May 2023, to have the first ever Parish Assembly in the Archdiocese of Goa. The Parishioners in attendance were more than hundred, witnessing the true Spirit of the Synod and demonstrating the key themes of Communion, Participation in preparation of a Parish mission.
The assembly began in the noon hours of Saturday 27th May, with an opening prayer service. The 13 themes chosen for the discussion were methodically categorized into the ‘experiences’/‘reflections’ of the parishioners and ‘suggestions’ of what can be done which they collectively gave, either as a part of the small Christian community or as a part of the various Parish associations. Each theme was represented by a presenter, who presented each theme to the gathering, explaining the crux of each of the theme. At a culmination of the day, all the parishioners prayed together to the thank the Lord for the day. The animators organized some recreational activities to break the monotony and promote ties among the people by making random groups.
The following day began with Eucharistic Adoration reflecting and invoking the infilling of the Holy Spirit, being the Pentecost Sunday. The Holy mass that followed was celebrated by Fr. Simiao, Director of the pastoral Institiute and concelebrated by Fr. Derick Fernandes, Parish priest of st.John the Baptist Church, Pilerne. Fr. Simao said, “It is truly a joy to see participants of all age groups in this Parish assembly, from little children to youth and adults”.
“Nourished by the Holy mass and inspired by the Holy Spirit, it was the right time to present the suggestions to the gathering”, said Fr. Derick Fernandes. The suggestions were presented theme wise, and at the end of each theme Fr. Derick simplified and explained the suggestions. The final stage was conducted by circulating the listed suggestions for each theme among random groups of 7 or 8 people, such that their opinion for each suggestion was noted as a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Four themes were discussed in each group. Ms. Gail Misquita, co-convenor of the Main Coordinating team for Pre-synodal meeting and Mr. Deron Rodrigues, joint secretary of the Main Coordinating team for Pre-synodal meeting assisted in consolidating all the worksheets and data. This systematic approach helped in assessing the people’s opinion and prioritizing the suggestions within each theme. Finally, three keys and foremost suggestions were chosen for further discussion or implementation at the Parish level, based on the number of opinions.
Parish priest, Fr. Derick Fernandes, expressed His gratitude and explained how this event was chosen by God Himself to be on the Pentecost Sunday. He also added that every proceeding of the Assembly preparation was a slow unfolding of the plan of God, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.