How St. Augustine’s Parish embraced Renewal

Parish Renewal – a concept and process that we at St. Augustine’s see as a great need.

With great enthusiasm, we began our process of Renewal at St. Augustine's Parish, guided by the Diocese's framework. We assembled a team consisting of our Catholic school administrators, parish staff members, and other parish community members who represented various groups.

As we considered the three areas of pastoral renewal, our immediate attention was drawn to the third focus area. We recognized the need to strengthen our families' faith lives, their connection to the parish, and to collaborate with the schools in encouraging the faith life of our young people. We also understood that this process needed to be approached with an eye toward the first two pastoral priorities. As a first step, a strong effort was made—and continues—to be very present in our Catholic schools during important events, with participation by either our pastor or deacon in religious education classes.

However, as the parish became very busy with the Lenten and Easter seasons, we experienced a bit of a lull in the renewal process. It was felt that we needed a significant event to kickstart things again. With the advent of the parish survey, we decided it was critical to truly understand where our parishioners were at so we could begin to focus our attention on their needs, the gaps they might see, and base our future plans on those results.

Already in progress was a new venture for us: a Corpus Christi procession throughout our town on the day of our young children’s First Communion. We took a deep breath and prayerful approach, knowing that the same date would also mark the kickoff of the renewal survey. It was all hands on deck. Planning for First Communion and Corpus Christi was already well underway, so the question became how we could piggyback on these events.

Recognizing that this would be a day when many people, both active and inactive, would be present, we prepared our parishioners for three weeks leading up to June 2, 2024 (Pastoral Survey Sunday). We made strong pulpit announcements about the survey and the need for everyone to make their voices heard. The church was plastered with posters about the survey, and the week before, we placed copies of the QR codes throughout the pews and on the walls of the church.

On the day of the survey, we celebrated First Communion with our young people before a packed house. At the conclusion of Mass, the First Communicants lined up to entertain the congregation with songs, and Father announced that, as they sang, the congregation could enjoy the performance while filling out their surveys. We also had team members available to assist anyone who needed help. We were amazed and pleased by the response—virtually everyone stayed to complete the survey.

Beyond this, we also made a strong effort to reach those in our seniors’ homes who might not be able to come to Mass. It is their lived experience of church that helped build our community, and their voices needed to be heard. 

The results of our efforts speak for themselves, as we had a response rate of well over 100% of our regular Mass attendance. Our team is now eagerly awaiting the survey results to guide us in creating our plans for Renewal.

[W]e also made a strong effort to reach those in our seniors’ homes who might not be able to come to Mass. It is their lived experience of church that helped build our community, and their voices needed to be heard."

Sometimes, when we set out on a new initiative, we can forget the positives of what we already do. We feel it is critical to remember that we have a vibrant and faith-filled parish to continue building on. As we think of renewal, we are also drawn to all that we do, or are beginning to do, within our parish to encourage and involve our parishioners. Below are just two examples, but there are many more. The first is new to us; the second is always ongoing!

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​Written by Deacon Brian Kinahan for Faithfully. Ordained as a permanent deacon in 2023, Deacon Brian has been assigned to St. Augustine’s parish in Taber. He has been a parishioner for 0ver 18 years having held many different ministry and volunteer roles within the parish. He and his wife Linda have seven children and eleven grandchildren. 

​Photos credit: Deacon Brian Kinahan.