By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
Many parishes have a close relationship with schools. In some parishes, school premises are used on Sundays for Masses and various activities such as Sunday school, catechism groups, the meetings of pious associations, etc. Clergy are often invited to serve in schools, from conducting liturgies to speaking at morning assemblies, from chatting with students in the playground to sharing in the classroom, and so on. With such a good foundation, it is worthwhile to consider how we can strengthen the relationship and take the collaboration to the next level to achieve better pastoral and evangelisation results.
In recent months, we have had discussions on this issue in the deanery and several relevant diocesan committees. Amongst the many views expressed, I would like to share the following points with you for the reference of interested brothers and sisters.
In terms of structure, it is advisable to establish communication channels between the two parties. For example, a parish council should have an officer responsible for liaising with the school; for a school, the duties of the religious education co-ordinator should include “liaising with the parish and deanery, and working together to promote evangelisation in the school”.
It would be very desirable if regular meetings could be held between principals or representatives of Catholic schools in the district and pastoral workers to discuss ways for cooperation in evangelisation and pastoral care of Catholic teachers and students in the schools. There are also pastoral workers in Catholic schools, and if the parish can find parishioners from the community to take up the post, I believe this will certainly strengthen the ties between the parish and the school. I know of a school where three pastoral workers in 10 years have been young people from the parish to which they belong, thus establishing a close relationship between the parish and the school.
As for resources, there are many areas in which the cooperation between parishes and schools can be strengthened. For example, schools often purchase the services of outside organisations and sometimes invite professionals to conduct talks for students’ career planning activities. In fact, they can also invite professionals from the parish community to conduct similar activities at school.
In terms of activities, there are even more possibilities for cooperation between the parish and the school. For example, parishioners can be invited to the school to attend student performances, whether religious or non-religious, or the performance venue can be moved to the parish, and in turn parents of students can be invited to the parish to enjoy their children’s performances.
On the other hand, the parish can consider opening up some suitable activities, such as caring for the community and visiting the grassroots, for students who are not yet Catholics to join. Among all these activities, the annual Caritas Bazaar is a successful example of parish-school cooperation for many parishes.
The above examples are somewhat challenging to implement, but I believe there is a solution if one is committed! The key, after all, is whether we are willing to work together so that the parish-school cooperation can be taken to the next level.
