Report from Our Lady of Victories Parish Pastoral Council (PPC)

Your Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) has had two meetings since the Information and Discussion Evening which was held on September 28^th. We will be reporting bi-monthly on our PPC meetings, in the Parish Newsletter and on the website, for the foreseeable future.

 Suggestions from Information and Discussion evening and need for volunteers

We thank all those who attended the Information and Discussion evening for their encouragement and helpful suggestions.  All of these suggestions have been discussed at length at both meetings and we have endeavoured to act on them, where possible.  We also thank those who volunteered for ministries and jobs in the parish. However, we need more volunteers and, to this end, we are including the volunteer form again in the December edition of the Newsletter. The volunteer form is also available on the web by clicking here. Please leave any completed volunteer application forms in the sacristy.

 Child Protection

It is our policy to keep Child Protection top of every meeting's agenda and we are delighted to report that all is well and there is nothing adverse to report. We were already audited by the HSE in April (reported in the June Newsletter) and got very complimentary feedback.

CLUSTERING, DEANERY MEETINGS AND THE

FORMATION OF AN INTERIM DIOCESAN PASTORAL COUNCIL

Clustering

In response to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin's call for collaboration in ministries and sharing of resources by clergy and laity alike to ensure the best possible service, co-operation between the parishes of our Cluster Group is moving forward steadily.

Quarterly meetings between the Chairpersons of each Parish Pastoral Council are continuing. The purpose of these meetings is to develop the latest clustering initiative which started in our parish and to gain a better understanding of each parish and the priorities of each PPC. Each council is presently working within their own parish to ensure that the necessary pastoral ministries are in place, so that their parishes can function efficiently despite diminishing numbers of priests. Each parish will retain its own individual identity but will be drawn more and more, in the coming years, into closer working relationships and sharing of resources.

Deanery Meetings

At a Deanery Meeting on October 4^th, names were presented of Designated Leaders (priests) to bring the Clustering process forward apace. Fr. Brendan Quinlan of Ballygall Parish was selected for our Deanery (Finglas South West). It is envisaged that the Area Vicar (Monsignor Fitzpatrick), in conjunction with the Vicars Forane (of whom Fr. John is one), will meet the Designated Leaders to assist them in finalising the grouping of parishes. This should be completed by November 30^th.

Interim Diocesan Pastoral Council 

Last July, Archbishop Martin expressed his wish to set up a Diocesan Pastoral Council. An Interim Diocesan Pastoral Council is now being formed, with between 25 and 30 primarily lay people, part of whose task will be to prepare the ground for the finalised Statutes of the new Diocesan Pastoral Council. Archbishop Martin asked for one lay nominee to be put forward for election by each of the 16 Deaneries.  We are proud to announce that our own Heather Fagan was elected from Finglas South West Deanery.  She will attend future Deanery meetings with Fr.John. We wish Heather well and we are sure she will be a wonderful representative of our Deanery and our Parish.

OLV Parish 3rd World Project 

Marie McVeigh and Vera Butler were invited, to our November meeting to speak to us about the Parish Third World project.  They felt it was important that the Pastoral Council should know the provenance of the project and the way it is handled, to ensure it's continuation.  We thank Marie and Vera for their tireless and efficient running of the fundraising on behalf of three projects since 2000.

 Church Repair Works

Repair work on the Church is progressing very well and it is envisaged that we should see completion of most jobs before Christmas. We have reported the details in a previous Newsletter. Only two unforeseen difficulties have arisen:  the spire cannot now be taken down for sandblasting and the positioning of a disabled toilet in the Crying Room will involve some extensive, underground pipeline work which could take some time to complete.

 Evenings of Prayer

A committee, lead by our Pastoral Worker Peter Siney, is working with members of the PPC, past and present, and some parish volunteers to formulate meaningful half-hour Evenings of Prayer for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 19h30, when there is no evening Mass in our church. The first of these sessions was held on December 1^st. The Rosary continues to be said after these sessions.

 Happy Christmas and New Year