Parish Guide for Principles, Prophecy and A Pastoral Response
It is important that Catholics understand where their contributions to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development go and how they are used. The following steps are designed to help parishioners use the Principles, Prophecy and a Pastoral Response booklet to prepare for the CCHD collection. The booklet and this guide encourage parishioners to learn about the Catholic social teaching tradition, the reality of poverty in the United States, and CCHD's response to poverty. The guide also encourages parishioners to actively bring the good news of CCHD's anti-poverty work to their parish and to promote their CCHD parish collection, which directly funds this anti-poverty work.
- Train parish facilitators who will convene the small groups
- Don't re-create, integrate! The small groups could be: RENEW or post-RENEW groups; high school or other youth groups; Journey to Justice Groups who want good follow up;
Bible Study groups; RCIA groups, etc…
- Everyone in the group takes the virtual poverty tour at www.povertyusa.org and explores that website for general orientation to poverty in the U.S.
- Give the groups either the CCHD Helping People Help Themselves video or the Among the People video to watch at their first gathering.
Begin with Prayer
Parishioners read chapter one and discuss what they have learned about how the Catholic Church, through CCHD, lifts up the dignity of persons who are low-income. Parishioners also review a list of projects funded by CCHD in their diocese. (DD or a local committee member might be present for the first week to assist the parishioners and to answer questions.) Watch Among the People, CCHD documentary on poverty in the United States. Members take the poverty tour at home (www.povertyusa.org) and report back on their experience next week or meeting.
Prayer
Parishioners read chapter two and discuss how CCHD assists in promoting the call to family, community and participation. In the effort to respond to this call, parishioners lay out their plan for promoting CCHD within their own parish over the next six weeks. This might be as simple as reading through the rest of the guide and following the suggestions for each week. Check out all of the online promotion resources (at www.usccb.org/cchd/resources/index.shtml) to decide which ones might work in your parish. One or two people could do this search and make recommendations
Prayer
Parishioners read chapter three and discuss the concept of rights and responsibilities of each person. Parishioners then plan for a site visit to a CCHD-funded group. Alternatively, invite a funded group member to come to speak to your group or a larger parish group. If there is no funded project in the diocese, parishioners read through the CCHD annual report section on projects funded by CCHD and visit CCHD's website, povertyusa.org. Based on your experience, write up a prayer for that weekend's "prayers of the faithful" and submit to the liturgist for inclusion at the weekend mass.
Prayer or group sharing on each person's experience or understanding of poverty
Parishioners read chapter four and discuss the Church's teaching and how it is brought to action through the Campaign for Human Development. Parishioners then select a CCHD funded project (perhaps the one they did the site visit with) and call the project to secure a leader to speak at the masses during the CCHD collection weekend. Watch the CCHD video Helping People Help Themselves.
Prayer
Parishioners read chapter five and discuss the role CCHD plays in promoting the Church's teaching on the dignity of work and the rights of workers. Parishioners then make arrangements for a bulletin announcement/brief story on a CCHD-funded group (in the diocese or any other one about which they might have learned from across the country). The announcement could focus on a CCHD funded project that is organized around a social justice issue. Use one of the special bulletin announcements at www.usccb.org/cchd/parish collection/good news.
Prayer
Parishioners read chapter six and discuss the Church's call to solidarity and CCHD's work to promote solidarity across economic lines. Parishioners then plan to meet with the pastor and other priests or deacons in their parish to encourage them to devote their homilies on the day of the collection to CCHD and how it helps low-income groups across the country break the cycle of poverty. Parishioners might provide information on a CCHD funded project and encourage them to include a story about the funded project in their homilies.
Prayer
Parishioners read chapter seven and discuss the concept of care for creation. Parishioners then plan to assist the parish secretary and/or pastor in posting and distributing the CCHD collection material, including fliers, posters, envelopes. Help the parish staff/ushers to recycle the material after Mass. Put a recycle box at the rear of the Church. Show the CCHD video, Helping People Help Themselves, with its beautiful nature imagery.
Challenging action: Consider arranging an "energy audit" for your parish. There are often state or local funds that will help pay for these audits, which can help you save hundreds of dollars on parish heating and utility bills. Older parish buildings are especially prone to energy loss; some small investments can save money and energy. You could allocate the cost savings to a local CCHD funded project or to the CCHD collection.