Oudtshoorn, 18 February 2010

“I have longed for this day when we can re-imagine ministry to God’s people in this way, where a group of priests and laity can form a team to serve a number of parishes that are close to each other – here in George we have the perfect opportunity to experiment with this provision as provided for us in Church law (cf. CCL. 517). we are entering unchartered waters.” – were the words of Bishop Edward Adams of the Diocese of Oudtshoorn, at the launch of the first experiment of canonical team ministry in his diocese on Saturday 13^th February 2010.

Referring to the practice of team ministry in other parts of the world, Bishop Edward explained that although it looks like a novelty the practice of team ministry was as old as the church itself. The priests, together with the deacons and the leadership of the parishes concerned will develop a pastoral plan to minister to the needs of the faithful. This pastoral plan will be developed from the vision of the SACBC Pastoral Plan, and deliberations emanating from the National Pastoral Forums subsequent to the launch of the Pastoral Plan. The advantages of team ministry for both the priests and the People of God are manifold in that priests will have an opportunity to minister out of their individual giftedness as opposed to being a generalist. For the faithful this means access to a much larger pool of gift-based ministries. Parishes will also engage in a greater collaboration and mutual enrichment through exchange and cooperation. Diocesan policies will find greater resonance as parishes are served by a single team rather than individuals. The parishes in the George municipality have been collaborating for a number of years already. There is a common Marriage Preparation Process for all the parishes. An ‘Advent in George’ initiative was implemented in which all six parishes participated last year. A similar programme is scheduled for the season of Lent this year. A post-Easter Scripture Academy for the six parishes is also scheduled. As one among equals, Bishop Edward appointed Fr. Brian Williams as the moderator of the team.