A Changing Church

Barbara Rowley and St Bernadette's Church, Lower Hutt

If there is one constant in the world it is probably change. Certainly, we live in a world that keeps changing, sometimes dramatically and often at a faster rate than people can manage. The church, too, has seen a great many changes, especially in the years since the Second Vatican Council.

On Sunday, February 9, I attended a liturgy at St Bernadette’s church in Naenae to farewell and thank Barbara Rowley for her 18 years of service as Lay Pastoral leader of the community. This marks a significant change for the community there.

Barbara was one of many Lay Pastoral leaders who emerged from The Launch Out program established in the Wellington Archdiocese by Cardinal Tom Williams. It started in 2001 to promote collaborative ministry in the church. The archdiocese opted to train lay people for parish ministry and chaplaincy work through a combination of spiritual, pastoral, and theological formation rather than opting for a form of ordained ministry (deacons). Barbara was the second lay leader to take up the new role.

The program received strong support initially from Cardinal Tom William and then from Cardinal John Dew. On May 11, 2024, the current Archbishop, Paul Martin, led a liturgy to mark the graduation of its latest candidate, Telesia Alaimoana.

One challenge faced by almost all Launch Out graduates was that in the beginning, some people were slow to accept them. The Catholic community had long been accustomed to male, clerical leadership. Adjusting to the reality of lay pastoral leaders, many of whom were women, was difficult for some. Many others were excited and delighted by the change.

The role of Fr Pat Greely, the PP of St Bernadette’s when Barbara took up her role, was especially significant and was specifically noted by Barbara in her address to the community. He was willing and able to step back and create a space where Barbara could establish her own style of leadership but was always there to mentor and support her.

Sitting in the church for the celebration, I noticed a few things that stood out to me.

1. The church was packed, a fitting tribute to Barbara's influence on the community's life. I hope it was also a sign of appreciation for the exercise of lay leadership in the church as they had experienced it through Barbara.
2. The prayers of the faithful include nine different languages, but the multicultural nature of the community could have included many more.
3. The president of the assembly was Fr Raja Commareddy, the Indian-born parish priest of Te Awakairangi parish, with his two SVD companions. The archdiocese clergy are now almost as multicultural as the people they serve. The SVDs took over their role in the parish just last year, another big change after many decades of being served by diocesan priests. It is 10 years since the original four parishes were combined to form the present parish – a change that was challenging for the four communities and for the new parish as questions arose about the best use of the properties, houses and churches in the parish.
4. For the final hymn, this multicultural community gave full voice to “Our Lady of Knock” - a tribute to Fr. Pat Greely requested by Barbara and obviously a hymn familiar to the people.

It was sad to hear after the celebration that the Lay pastoral leadership program was being phased out because the archdiocese does not have the financial resources to support it. I hope that Barbara is recognised not only for her service but as a model of what lay people generally and women, in particular, can bring to the church. In a synodal church I hope ways can continue to be found to facilitate lay people to exercise the full range of the ministries needed by the community.