BACKGROUND
WHAT: We all want to make our community and our country a better place. As Catholics we are called to be active participants in civic life. However, it can be difficult to know how get involved when political activism is dominated by political parties and special interest groups.
Parish Action is a new non-partisan initiative from the Archdiocese of Toronto that will empower parishioners to work with political leaders to make Canada an even better place.
This ministry could take many forms: working with a municipality to install a crosswalk near a parish; defending Catholic education at the provincial level; advocating for conscience rights at the federal level; or any number of other projects.
Regardless of the project, we will harness our parishioners’ strengths to work towards the common good.
WHY: There’s a need for Catholics to defend their rights and advocate for their interests in an increasingly secular society — sharing our voice from a faith perspective should be a part of the respectful discussion taking place in the public square.
We know that engaged citizens create strong communities. Parishes provide a large network of likeminded Catholics with diverse gifts who can work together to achieve a common goal — that’s a recipe for success as we engage with our elected political leaders at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. We can use our collective knowledge and experience to identify and solve problems.
WHO: Any Catholic who is willing to share their time and talents in a respectful, cooperative and non-partisan manner. You don’t need to be a political expert to get involved; your commitment to your faith, community and country are far more valuable.
HOW: Unlike many ministries, Parish Action won’t necessarily have regularly scheduled meetings or activities. It is more important that there are parishioners ready to do things like meet politicians, write letters to the editor and organize others when the time arises.
WHEN: In early 2020, the archdiocese will provide training to help you understand how governments operate and how you can work with them. After that training Parish Action committees will start forming.
WHAT’S NEXT: If you’re interested in learning more about Parish Action groups, please fill out the survey that can be found here (please complete by December 2, 2019).
Your survey responses will give us valuable information on who is interested in this project, preferred training methods and particular areas of emphasis moving forward.
Thank you for your assistance!
