Opening Prayer & Scripture
Gospel of the Day — Matthew 13:47–53
Spoken Reflection
Our Lord gives us two images. First, the Kingdom is like a net cast into the sea, gathering fish of every kind. The Church’s invitation is wide. We do not begin by deciding who is worth the trouble. We preach Christ, welcome the seeker and leave room for grace.
But the Gospel does not end with gathering. It also speaks of separation and judgement. That judgement belongs to Christ, not to us. We are not permitted to judge the secrets of another person’s heart. Neither are we permitted to pretend that response, conversion and readiness do not matter. Christian welcome is not indifference. It is an invitation to become a disciple.
Our task in catechesis therefore has three parts: to invite generously, to teach faithfully and to accompany patiently. We neither push people through sacraments because a date has arrived nor close the door because faith is still small. We help that faith to grow.
Then Jesus speaks of the scribe trained for the Kingdom, who brings from his treasure what is new and what is old. That is a good image for Catholic catechesis. We do not invent a new faith for each generation. We receive the one faith handed down by the Church. But we must bring that ancient treasure out in ways that people can hear, understand and begin to live today.
A mentor can serve precisely here: not as the owner of the treasure, but as a faithful servant of it; not standing over another person, but walking beside them; not replacing Christ, His Church or the sacraments, but helping someone draw nearer to them.
2. Welcome, Apologies and Confirmation of Minutes
Present: FJ; TW; OO; HC; KB; MF; AC; HL; GH; CM.
Apologies: LR; T&TM.
The Minutes of the last meeting were accepted as an accurate record.
T&TM offered their resignation from the Council due to other commitments. Their contribution has been gratefully recieved over the past year and we wish them well with the SVP.
3. Parish Priest’s Pastoral Overview
From good material to personal accompaniment
The main pastoral priority I want to place before you is the next stage of our individualised catechetical work. We now have increasingly clear pathways and approved material for Baptism, First Reconciliation and Holy Communion, Confirmation, the Way of Faith for adults, and those returning to the Church.
That is encouraging. People can find information, understand the next step and begin without waiting for a once-a-year programme. The website and the parish materials have helped us move from administration towards encounter.
But material alone does not accompany anybody. A document can explain the faith, but it cannot notice discouragement, remember a name, sit beside a nervous parent or help a newcomer learn the ordinary rhythm of Sunday Mass. People need faithful Catholics as well as faithful resources.
There is also a practical limit. One priest must guard the sacraments, conduct the initial and final discernment, provide doctrinal direction and remain pastorally responsible. He cannot also provide every conversation, every follow-up and every point of welcome across three churches. If individual accompaniment is to remain genuinely personal, it needs the careful participation of lay Catholics.
I am therefore considering a small mentor model within our catechetical pathways. I use the word mentor as a pastoral description, not as a new office in the Church. Some mentors may already be catechists. Their distinctive task would be to provide steady, prayerful accompaniment under the direction of the parish priest and using approved parish material.
Areas of encouragement
• Clear Catholic material is already available and can be used without the mentor having to invent lessons.
• Our three churches contain experienced Catholics whose ordinary fidelity could help another person feel at home.
• Several pathways already depend upon personal conversation, so a mentor pilot would develop work already begun rather than create another programme.
Areas requiring care
• The role must not become vague friendship without catechesis, or catechesis reduced to personal opinion.
• Mentors must not take over the priest’s discernment, the parents’ primary responsibility or the proper role of sponsors and godparents.
• Safeguarding, confidentiality, supervision and clear limits must be settled before any matching begins.
4. Focused Pastoral Reflection
What a mentor is — and is not:
The word mentor can easily become fashionable and empty, so we need to define it in a Catholic way. The model I am considering has three simple movements: welcome, walk and witness.
Welcome :-
The mentor becomes a reliable point of contact. They learn the person’s name, greet them at Mass, help them find their place in parish life and make the first response warmer than a form or an email. This matters because the response to a first enquiry can determine whether someone has the courage to continue.
Walk :-
The mentor meets an individual or family using approved materials. They pray, read Scripture, discuss the teaching and encourage one concrete next step. They do not hurry grace, but neither do they leave the person without direction. Ordinarily, one mentor would accompany only one person or family at a time.
Witness :-
The mentor shows what ordinary Catholic life looks like: Sunday Mass, personal prayer, Confession, reverence before the Blessed Sacrament, charity and fidelity to the Church. The most persuasive lesson may be the presence of a Catholic who quietly lives what the material teaches.
The doctrinal and pastoral boundaries:
• The mentor hands on the teaching of the Church through approved material; difficult questions are referred rather than guessed at.
• The mentor may report signs of growth, but the parish priest conducts initial and final discernment and determines readiness for the sacrament.
• The mentor is not a counsellor, social worker or private spiritual director. Ordinary discretion is required, but secrecy can never be promised where a safeguarding concern arises.
• For children and young people, meetings take place with a parent or suitable adult present, in a public or visible setting, with no private messaging.
• The mentor supports parents; the mentor does not displace them. For adults, the role remains distinct from any canonical sponsor or godparent.
Selection, formation and support:
The best mentor will not necessarily be the person who speaks most or knows the most. We need practising Catholics who are faithful, patient, discreet, reliable and willing to be guided. They must love the Church enough to hand on her faith, and love people enough not to force them.
Mentors would be personally invited rather than recruited through an unrestricted appeal. Before beginning, each would receive a short formation session covering the parish pathway, use of the materials, listening, role boundaries, safeguarding and when to refer something back to me.
They would not be left alone. A brief monthly check-in and an occasional prayer or renewal meeting would allow questions to be raised early. We should ask for a small, realistic commitment: one person or family, usually meeting twice a month, with permission to pause when necessary.
How this could serve different pathways:
| Pathway | What a mentor could contribute | Boundary that remains |
| Baptism parents | Welcome the family; work through the approved preparation sheets; encourage Sunday Mass and prayer at home. | The priest determines readiness and the celebration date; the mentor does not replace parents or godparents. |
| Children and young people | Accompany the family through the parish material; model reverence, prayer and ordinary Catholic practice. | A parent or suitable adult is present; the priest makes the final readiness decision. |
| Adults, enquirers and returners | Offer regular personal contact; discuss approved material; help the person enter the worship and life of the parish. | The mentor does not improvise doctrine, act as counsellor or replace a canonical sponsor where one is required. |
5. Specific Consultation Item
Should we begin a small mentor pilot, and what shape should it take?
Working proposal for discussion:
• Begin with four to six personally selected mentors.
• Give each mentor one person or family, matched where possible by church, usual Mass and pastoral suitability.
• Provide one initial formation session, the catechist handbook, approved pathway material and clear safeguarding
guidance.
• Require a brief monthly check-in with the parish priest or delegated lead.
• Run an initial three-month pilot with people already in contact with the parish, then review before wider use.
1. QUESTION: Does the word mentor make the role clearer and more welcoming, or would catechist or companion communicate it better? After some discussion it was generally felt that the term ‘Catechist’ implied a bigger teaching role, and may well put some people off volunteering as they feel inadequate in their knowledge. Companion is more like the ‘Buddy’ system for welcoming new people to the churches, which has been put forward as one of the Parish Mission targets. It was more friendship and not enough guidance. The consensus was to stay with the term ‘Mentor’. People are familiar with the term in the workplace, and it implies gentle guidance and walking with the candidate and their family on a journey.
2. QUESTION: Which pathway should be used first for a limited pilot: Baptism parents, children and families, or adult enquirers and returners—and why? It was pointed out that we do not know how many may wish to begin any of the pathways. There may well be several inquiries in the new school year as that is the traditional time in the previous system for a course to start. It was agreed that all paths could be used as required, and mentors matched to the most suitable candidate and pathway.
3. QUESTION: What qualities would make someone trustworthy in this role, and what warning signs should prevent an appointment? It was unanimously agreed that a mentor should primarily be a faithful attender at Mass, be able to communicate well with people; be reliable; be faithful to the materials and not try to deviate from the pathway; be discreet and able to maintain confidentiality; understand, and adhere to Safeguarding expectations.
4. QUESTION: What support would mentors need in order to remain confident, faithful and realistic without creating additional bureaucracy? Several suggestions were put forward. The Mentor group will need to meet before starting their role to receive training and advice. A monthly meeting should be held with all the Mentors together to listen to any issues they may have, give support, and clarify instructions if required. It was felt that if they grew as a group they would support each other in a variety of ways, including working with a group of candidates who were friends. It was also suggested that one of the weekday Masses each month could be for the candidates and the mentors, and could rotate round the churches.
5. QUESTION: What practical difficulty have we not yet seen: time, matching, transport, communication, safeguarding, or something else? Candidates and Mentors who work shifts could struggle to find a suitable time to meet up. The issue of where to meet was discussed. It should be in a neutral place such as one of the church halls. Before or after Mass was suggested and that could work well, although the halls at St Edward’s and St Mary’s 11.00am Mass are used for coffee which is not conducive to leading prayer. Transport could be a problem for some families and Mentors.
Other relevant suggestions: We need mentors to be appointed from all three church communities as it is desirable, though not essential, for a Mentor to usually attend the Mass that is most convenient for the candidate. A quick word from a friendly, trusted face can be so reassuring and affirming.
6. Parish Life & Administration Snapshot
Finance and buildings:
- The work at St Mary’s Presbytery is now complete and workers have been paid.
- Tenants have moved into St John Bosco Presbytery. Huge thank you to AJ and PB for all their work.
- St Edward’s is still waiting for work to be started on parts of the roof and the doors. Johnson’s have given a quote, but we are awaiting approval from the Diocese.
- Fr Jude is still resident at St Edward’s. We were asked to host him for two months – it has now been a year, may God give him clarity and security for his long term future.
- St Mary’s and St John Bosco are still under what is required for financial security, but we have had to meet big bills preparing the Presbytery for the rental market, and repairing St Mary’s Presbytery. Now that rent is coming in it will take 10 months to catch up financially. St Edward’s is secure.
Safeguarding:
- The Diocesan Safeguarding team have now combined St Edward’s list with that for St Mary’s and St John Bosco.
- The information has been transferred to our own records, but has had to be sorted into alphabetical order for easy access.
- Several renewals are coming up soon.
- The Diocese are no longer automatically adding DBSs to the update service so recipients have a month to do it themselves. Despite reminders it is sometimes not happening.
- Hilari now has a comprehensive list of all the non-DBS volunteers across the Parish and the roles they undertake. Again, forms will be going out to recent volunteers who have not completed them yet.
Administration and communication:
- Fr John reported that the website has received 42,000 hits this year so far, including from America and Australia. This is more than the total for the last three years combined.
- A question was asked about the proposed Deanery hub. We do not have one yet – the Deanery only want a hub for Electrical and Buildings advice, not for administration.
Social:
- The next event is St Mary’s Patronal Feast on 6th September. A BBQ will be held after the 11.00am Mass as usual.
- St Edward’s will be holding an Autumn Fayre on 19th September.
7. Matters Proposed by Members
This is an opportunity to propose matters for a future agenda.
Item proposed: None offered.
8. Summary by the Parish Priest
Fr John summarised the discussion:
- We are praying that we implement the new catechesis well.
- It should be simpler and clearer once it is embedded.
- The Sacraments will be respected.
- The faith of each individual, wherever they are on their journey, will be respected.
Thanks were expressed to Chris for all his work in the Parish and on the PPC as he will be leaving the Parish and moving to his new home before the next meeting.
9. Closing Prayer led by Okiemute
Next meeting: 1st October 2026 7.30 pm St Mary’s Hall.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 