Members of a parish in England are praying for success in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
So are people in Milan, Italy, and other sites where a way of being parish through something called relational evangelization is flourishing.
They are watching as the archdiocese undertakes for the first time shaping parish life diocesan-wide under small groups formed as Parish Evangelization Cell Systems, or PECS. The archdiocese’s effort is fruit of the Archdiocesan Synod and Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s post-synodal pastoral letter released last November, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room.”
“Few bishops in the Catholic Church have a vision,” said Father Victor Vella of Holy Innocents in Orpington, an area in southeast London, while addressing archdiocesan parish leaders and staff gathered at Guardian Angels in Oakdale Oct. 5. “And this archbishop does. Support him, so that you are in obedience with your bishop.”
The gathering was Parish Staff Formation Day, and it included people from across the archdiocese learning how to implement PECS, a small group model designed to promote parish-based sharing and learning, adoration and constant growing and dividing to include more people. It is a way of being parish that grows from the inside to reach people outside the Church, proponents of the movement suggested.
Father Vella, who oversees PECS among parishes in England, was joined by Meghan Dimbylow, a secondary school science teacher from Reading, England, who works alongside Father Vella to coordinate PECS in England, and Father Paul Fenech, president of the International Organization of Parish Cells of Evangelization, based in Milan.
Bringing prayer for the archdiocese close to home, Dimbylow told those gathered that a parish using PECS — St. Michael in Tadley, England — is among those praying for the archdiocese. It is about 30 minutes from her own parish, which is taking its first steps toward PECS, Dimbylow said.
All three said small groups under PECS have focus but they are flexible; they can undertake any manner of prayer, study and ministry. And the movement appears to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, they and Archbishop Hebda said.
“There is a real movement of the Holy Spirit here,” the archbishop said as he answered questions during the all-day session. Father Fenech echoed that, saying, “It grows and multiplies through relationships … Let the Holy Spirit guide you.”
PECS has been used to good effect in the archdiocese, first introduced in 2010 at St. Stephen and Holy Rosary in south Minneapolis under Father Joseph Williams, now Bishop Williams and a leader of implementing the Archdiocesan Synod.
Several parishioners of those parishes attended the Oct. 5 session, including Juan Cuzco, Maria Hernandez and Monica Mesa. All three nodded their heads yes at the end of the day when asked if what they heard was familiar. Still, they came.
“I want to be very clear about small groups,” Cuzco said. “We want to be in the same place as the archbishop.”
The day began with Mass, and a Gospel reading from Luke that describes Jesus calling 72 people to go in pairs as witnesses to himself and his ministry. It was the reading of the day, not chosen specifically for the formation day, but “it is at the heart of what we are doing today,” Archbishop Hebda said in his homily.
“Bishop Williams and I have been praying to bring laborers to the harvest,” the archbishop told the congregation. “Brothers and sisters, that’s you. It’s important for us to recognize that we are called to go forth. We are called like those 72.”
Formation for PECS has begun across the archdiocese, with videos and other materials provided by the archdiocese in a seven-week program that will lead to further formation and bringing PECS to life in the archdiocese. The archbishop noted that, as well.
“The 72 didn’t have seven weeks to learn this, with videos,” he said to some laughter. “Nonetheless, they have confidence to go forward with the promise that God will provide. We need to believe that God has a plan for this Church, if we allow the Lord to bring us forward.”
Sessions during the day included remarks by Bishop Williams and Deacon Joe Michalak, director of the Office of Synod Evangelization, on preparing all small groups to take on aspects of PECS, and comments from Father Vella and Dimbylow on the good news of PECS for the laity and the parish. In addition, there was a session on pastors and parishioners sharing the responsibility of evangelization in the Church, and the way PECS paves the way for effective sharing of that responsibility.
Archbishop Hebda and other presenters fielded questions and more deeply explained aspects of the formation. Deacon Michalak likened preparation for small group evangelization to sports and the work it takes to compete.
“This is like the chalk talk,” he said. “And you can’t go straight from the chalk talk to playing on the field in one swoop.”
Nancy Jans, a member of St. Michael in St. Michael and faith formation director for middle school and high school students at St. Henry in Monticello, came for the day with her 6-month-old son, John Paul Joseph. She said in an interview that she is interested in how relational evangelization and organizing small groups around elements of PECS will impact other small groups
“I think small groups are crucial,” she said. “We won’t be a Church without them. At the end of the day, the only way is to jump in and trust the Holy Spirit.”
COMPONENTS OF PECS
Seven key elements in the small group model under the Parish Evangelization Cell System. Each meeting lasts 90 minutes.
- Praising God with songs and prayers
- Sharing recent experiences of God and our response to him.
- Teaching element, content depends on focus of the group.
- Discussing the teaching.
- Parish announcements.
- Intercessory prayer for people in and outside the group.
- Healing, prayer ministry within the group.
