Pastor’s Corner for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, by Fr. Bruce Botha SJ

Passenger or Crew?

 

I am sure you have all had the experience at a family gathering of always being the one to run around and get stuff done, while other members of your family or friendship group sit back and expect to be waited on. These gatherings can leave us tired and resentful, because on the journey of life which you share with those people, you have you have been relegated to the role of crew, while they are the passengers. It is a small and maybe silly example, but I believe it is illustrative of an attitude to life, the Church, and the world.

 

Crew are the people who have an engaged attitude to the world. They see what is wrong and want to contribute to making a difference. They are the hard workers, the ones who roll up their sleeves and get things done. They are the ones who accept responsibility, who ask themselves “if not me, then who?” There are many crew in our parish, the people who work in quiet ways to make sure that the liturgy is done well, that the finances are managed, that there are parish groups which offer ways of service and ways of connection. They ensure that there is a “family home” to return to, not just on Sundays but on every day of the week.

 

In any family, community, or parish there will also be the people who are passengers. They are the ones who accept no responsibility for making the situation better, whether it’s to offer to lay the table for dinner at home or volunteering for some kind of ministry at Church. In the light of our recent elections, I wonder if all of those who could have voted but didn’t aren’t also showing some signs of being passengers. A tell-tale sign to look for is whether people pick up litter when they walk past it in the Church parking.

 

I think it is possible to move between categories or be a passenger in one setting and crew in another. It is more difficult to be a passenger at work, when we are monitored, and our outcomes are assessed. More difficult but not impossible. For some people being crew eventually just tires them out, and they give up because they often feel like they are alone in their passionate caring and giving. Being a passenger is so much easier.

 

I believe there are ways of helping people to move from being passengers to being crew, from being less engaged to more engaged. The first is to be an invitational Church. We need to invite people to participate in some kind of ministry, by letting them know that we see in them a particular skill, talent or passion that we need and could make a difference in the life of our parish community. These are what we call “ICIU” conversations. We also need to have a clear leadership pipeline for our ministries, such as requiring all post-First Holy Communion children to try altar serving, or members of the RCIA class to volunteer once at the homeless soup kitchen. Finally, we must communicate our needs and our expectations clearly. Often people don’t realise how much work goes into making the community the wonderful space that it, and I think sharing those needs can prompt people to participate. Connected to that, we should have conversations with new parishioners where we clearly state that for people to get the most out of the parish community they need to give and participate in either a service, ministry, or connection group.

 

Fr Bruce Botha SJ