Talk on Maintenance vs Missionary
(10 July 2019)
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) group of the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Ipoh, organised a talk by Rev. Fr. Patrick Massang, C.Ss.R., Parish Priest, on "Maintenance vs Missionary Church, Part 1" at the church on 10 July.
Fr. Massang, started his talk by reflecting on Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” It is through the missionary zeal of the apostles and disciples that many who heard the Good News were converted. As time went by, beautiful churches were built where we wanted to contain God in it and somehow we lost the plot. Churches were full then but now it is not so especially in Europe.
Is OMPH a ‘maintenance’ or ‘missionary’ church? A church where we spent a certain amount of money to maintain its building and administrative machinery each month or a church who reaches out to the needy, the marginalised bringing forth conversion and transformation? Pope Francis has said that the Church is a field hospital and therefore, to cater to the wounded, the lonely, the lost. Where are they? We need to re-think our set-up, our support system. Some points to ponder:-
Address: Church: 1 Jalan Serindik; Redemptorists Community: 19-21 Jalan la Salle; 31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia; Tel: (60) 05 5458220; Email: omphip@gmail.com; FaceBook: https://m.facebook.com/OMPHipoh/
| COMPARISON* | |
| MAINTENANCE VALUES | MISSION VALUES |
| Nice people | Spiritual people |
| Attendance | Availability |
| Parishioners | Disciple-makers |
| Works-led | Spirit-led |
| Self-focused | Others-focused |
| Meetings | Gatherings |
| Weak leaders | Strong leaders |
| Settling for less | Expecting more |
| Visitors who visit | Guests who stay |
| * (from "Mission Driven Church" by Dan Russel) | |
Make Her Known
Acknowledgements: report by Kenna Lau; video and photos by Tony Chen.
| Maintenance-Driven Parish | Mission-Driven Parish |
| Getting people involved in events and activities in the parish. | Helping all people encounter Jesus and experience conversion through their involvement at the parish and outside. |
| Forming individuals to take on parish leadership roles. | Forming individuals to discern their charisms and God-given vocation. |
| Getting parishioners to give more time, talent and treasure to the parish | Helping individuals commit their entire life to Jesus and live out that commitment daily. |
| Sustaining the current parish structures and number of people. | Sustaining a culture of discipleship, nurturing and sustaining the work of conversion individuals. |
| Passing on the faith by relying solely on Catechesis as the means of transmitting faith. | Transmitting the faith through showing that God is outside the classroom. |
| Providing formation for ministries exercised only for the parish. | Providing formation for individuals to both. Take part in parish ministries and make a difference in the secular world. |
Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help,
Ipoh, Malaysia