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Models of the Church and Parish Model

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Models of the Church and Parish Model Models of the Church and Parish Model by Msgr. John S. Mbinda The Models of the Church by Avery Cardinal Dulles was first published in 1976, revised in 1987 and again in 2002. This book is a considered a classic on ecclesiology (study of church) that describes the traditional local community Christian church mission. In his book, Cardinal Dulles puts forth six dimensions of active parish life. Catholic (Institution) Community (Mystical Communion) Sacrament Engage/Evangelize (Herald) Servant Disciples of Jesus (Community of Disciples/Stewards) Cardinal Avery Dulles’ understanding of the Church in terms of various models contributes a lot to our understanding of the parish. Most parishes include the one or more of the models in their mission statement in one form or another. Our Mission Statement here at St. John Apostle & Evangelist, Mililani, attempts to include all six models. The statement is outlined below to indicate how the various models are included. A close look shows that we have expanded our vision and mission statements into a value statements that underlines the Church as communion. Our Vision Statement “We strive to become a Spirit-led stewardship parish in Central Oahu”. Stewardship as a way of life is what fuels our parish community. Our Mission Statement “We are a Catholic Christian community, called to develop a deeper relationship with Christ. Such a relationship is fostered through active participation in: Word, Sacrament, Renewal Programs, Ministry / Service and other Spirit-led activities. We dedicate our time, talent and treasure to install in our parish community, the basic building blocks of Christian living, to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to all through our words, deeds and lives.” Value / Model Mission Statement We are a Catholic Catholic Christian Christian community Community Word Word Sacrament Sacrament Spirit-led activities Spirit-led Dedicate our time Stewardship Time Dedicate our talent Stewardship Talent Dedicate our treasure Stewardship Treasure To preach the good news Evangelize 1 Our Value Statements Catholic – We find our identity in rich tradition of the sacraments and in full communion with the universal Catholic Church and its timeless tradition. Christian – We are by virtue of our Baptism disciples and stewards of Jesus Christ. Community – We are part of the Body of Christ and help each other to grow in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ as a parish community to become God’s presence in this world. Word – We are grounded on the Word of God in reading the Scripture and the Liturgy of the Word. Sacrament – We celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments initiated by Jesus Christ and receive God’s grace to live in God’s love. Spirit-led – We believe that the Spirit of Jesus Christ guides, directs and accompanies us. Stewardship Time, Talent and Treasure – We strive to become a Spirit-led stewardship parish in Central Oahu. (our vision statement) Evangelize – We are called and sent to go and proclaim the good news of God’s love by actively inviting and welcoming everyone to join us and grow spiritually by living a life grounded in God’s sacred Word. The following is a brief explanation of each of the Dulles Models to help us reflect on our Value Statements: Catholic – Catholic literally means “universal.” The tradition and truths of the Catholic faith are carried forth by the teaching authority of the institutional Church. The Church hierarchy defines how we worship in Catholic liturgies and what we believe in the catechism. By being a truly universal body and perhaps the very first “global” organization, the Catholic institution model defines the doctrines of faith that make the universal Catholic Church possible. Community – Dulles named this model/value as “Mystical Communion.” The parish community brings the individual “in-union” with others and with God. Communion is the same Greek root word as community. Being “mystical” describes the local church in union with God, the parishioners in union with each other and all Christians present, past and future. The local parish has the intimacy of a community as opposed to the written rules and authority of a society. The parish mediates a horizontal union with fellow humans and at the same time a vertical union with God. It bridges the internal individual spirituality with the external sacramental and community spirituality. The Catholic institutional model includes some aspects expressed in the catechism and canon law. The spiritual based community model is in many ways not measurable. It is the linkage of the eternal God into historic time, the immaterial Word incarnated into the material world, our spiritual with our physical presence. This is “the Body of Christ” (1 Cor 12:12) since Christ formed this mystical communion to be His Risen Body. The community value also includes the Communion of Saints. The local parish community becomes the Body of Christ acting in unison with the Communion of Saints. Sacrament - The sacraments are the source of the grace that flows from God through the church to the faithful. The sacraments are outward signs of the grace bestowed by God but all sacraments come to us through a community and six of the seven sacraments are through the local parish. The only one that is not administered at the parish level is Holy Orders. Sacraments are administered to the physical body although their impact is on the soul. The most frequently received sacrament is the Eucharist. The Mass that includes the Eucharist is probably the biggest difference between Catholic and most other Christian communities. The Eucharist is not an isolated part of being Catholic community; it is an essential part of 2 the community. Just as God’s love for us sends Christ into the world, sacraments are a sign of our becoming Christ to the world and loving our neighbors in all the ways that we are able. Eucharist and sacraments without the action of actively being God’s love to the world is hollow of the full meaning of sacrament. Engage/Evangelize – Community and sacrament are models for those who already believe in Christ but without evangelization how does the church grow? For Evangelical and many other Christian denominations “The mission of the Church is the proclamation of the Word of God to the whole world. … All else is secondary.” (Models of the Church/Dulles) Evangelical Christians describe evangelizing as the “Great Commission” based on the last words of Jesus to His disciples, “Go and make disciples…”(Matthew 28:14) Fr. Robert Baron from the Chicago Archdiocese evangelization office asks, “Does the Church have a mission or does the mission have Church?” and answers, “The mission has a Church.” Catholic parishes may not rely on transfers and births for growth but actively evangelize the unchurched. This occurs not only through the RCIA program and but also by encouraging parishioners to live their faith and inviting their neighbors to parish activities. Servant – This is an important model for our leadership style, particularly the more we observe the leadership style of Pope Francis today. In the first four values the Church acts on the world by delivering tradition, communion, grace and a message to follow Jesus. In the fourth value, the Church serves the world and asks for nothing in return. The Church foregoes claims to power to take up the towel and basin of Jesus the foot-washer (John 13:15). Its scriptural basis is in Christ who came to serve and not to be served. The servant value describes how God’s love is channeled through the parish community to redeem all persons whether rich or poor. Disciples of Jesus – While on Earth, Jesus set in place a plan to be carried out after His death. He gathered a small band, a community of disciples and trained them through His teachings and sending them out on training missions. He did not write anything down (the Gospels were not written until 50-100 years later) and He did not form a church in His lifetime. He lived a lifestyle and instructed his disciples to live a life that was contrary to societal norms. The Christian lifestyle was first persecuted by the Roman occupying rulers in the age of martyrs until Christianity became the religion of the realm under Emperor Constantine in the in the fourth century. In some ways living in contrast to society become even harder after the Church was recognized and accepted by government authority. To be a disciple and steward of Christ calls for: Self-denial of desires, possessions, worldliness Humble service Identification with the needy, the most vulnerable Patience in adversity Courage and boldness in facing challenges Faithful adherence to these norms runs counter to the media saturated, consumer culture prevalent in the world even today. All the Values/Models are Complementary There is not one model of church nor is there one dimension to the church. The multiple models of church function to make our spiritual life complete in varied and complementary ways. No value is superior to another although all the individual values may in some ways incorporate the other values. A summary of the models shows that all models build on each other: 3 Institution – conveys the tradition that interprets God’s message to the world by listening to the “sense of the faithful” at all levels. Community - unites one person with many and the eternal God through the Body of Christ Sacrament – brings God’s grace; God’s life in Christ into the world through the Church. Engage/Evangelize – proposes the best way to live as proclaimed in God’s Word, so that others may discover the best way to live. The parish exists to make disciples; share good news of the best way to live so that others may be the best version of themselves.
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