Parishes all over the island have, in these past weeks, been holding assemblies to discuss the implementation of the Maltese Diocesan Synod in their own environment.

The Balzan parish assembly was held on October 16 and 17 in the main hall of Stella Maris School in St Francis Street.

Leaders and members of the various Church associations, movements and groups, and other parishioners, took part in two sessions that were meant to discuss the six main themes of the Synod and propose projects that would give life to the synodal experience at the parish level.

It is a sort of going back to the origins. It is in fact important to recall that the very first exercise run by the Synod was a general consultation of the masses spread all over the island and belonging to the various parishes in Malta. That exercise involved more than 100,000 families who forwarded to the Synodal group, in writing, their views about the state of the church in Malta, their experiences and their aspirations.

These were analysed and sent back to the parishes in the sense that the members of the Diocesan Synod were, in the main, lay people chosen by the various pastoral parish councils so that, under the guidance of the Spirit, a pastoral plan for the diocese be formulated and translated into specific programmes.

This is why both meetings of the Balzan parish assembly were opened by a recollection of the activities of the Synod and a recapitulation of its main themes.

On the first evening Fr Joe Galea Curmi, who serves the Balzan parish and is also the moving force behind the Diocesan Synod's secretariat, gave a background talk on what has been going on at a national and parish level in these past three years. On the second day those taking part viewed a power point presentation set up purposely for the occasion. The six themes of the Synod were explained by means of illustrations and short interviews with Synod members.

Following these presentations, members of the assembly were divided into groups to discuss these themes within a parish context:

The parish: a community that evangelises; a community in communion; a community that provides formation; a community in dialogue; a community that serves; a community that shows solidarity with the disadvantaged and marginalised.

The two focal points which seemed to have been in the mind of the participants were evangelisation and service. All the proposals manifested a desire for a programme of evangelisation which was indeed topical, the Assembly being held on the eve of Mission Sunday and the start of a new evangelisation drive at Balzan by the Neo-Catechumenal Way the following week.

There were calls for a Sajda Muzewmina, for joint action by associations, movements and groups to spread the Word in areas of the parish with which contact was scarce. Emphasis was made on personal contacts, but not least on the need of a living faith that is manifested in one's personal life that serves as an example to others.

It was suggested, a problem common to all parishes, that the attendance of children for preparation to receive the sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation be monitored carefully, as also the follow-up of their attendance, or lack of it, after receiving the sacraments as if that was the end of their evangelisation needs. In this regard, emphasis was made on maintaining pastoral contact with families.

The second main theme that had the attention of the assembly members was the service that the parish could give to those in need. Recognition was given to the recent appointment of a Diakonia Commission to co-ordinate such activities.

Recent surveys show that even a relatively small, and certainly quiet, village like Balzan has its fair share of social problems.

A high percentage of elderly people live in solitude; so do a substantial number of those aged over 30. Family stress, insufficient education, gambling, insufficient spiritual formation, sexual violence in the home, alcoholism, are some of the other social problems in the village.

The refugees' problem was also emphasised by those interviewed. Assembly groups felt that Balzan residents should be made more conscious of the presence of a considerable number of refugees, housed by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and offer them help.

The Balzan community's pastoral occasions, such as the major, well attended, church functions, and processions should serve as an occasion to instill a spirit of Christian solidarity with the needy and the marginalised.

This would also strengthen the "fraternal" feeling that should inspire a Christian community that is open to all, including non-Christians and those who may have distanced themselves from the faith.

For this reason it was considered important that stress be laid on formation initiatives at all levels of the parish community - adolescents, youths, married couples, especially those in the early years of marriage, middle aged persons and the elderly.

Christian and social formation is a life-long process which also calls for a spirit of dialogue, another theme discussed by the assembly groups who were all in agreement on the need of on-going spiritual and social collaboration between the various associations and movements at Balzan.

The proposals formulated by the participants will now be forwarded to the Parish Pastoral Council for its consideration and eventual formulation of a Parish Pastoral Plan.

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