What is believed to be the first pastoral assembly of its kind in an Irish archdiocese, involving laity, clergy and religious, is to take place in Tuam archdiocese next autumn.
One of the issues it will address is preparation for a context where the age profile of its priests is rising while, for the foreseeable future, just one ordination seems likely for Tuam. The last ordination for the archdiocese was in 2000.
Next week a pastoral letter from Archbishop Michael Neary will be distributed at Masses in the archdiocese outlining plans in the lead-up to the assembly. Titled A Future Full of Hope it will be used as a discussion document at meetings in every parish next month, as part of the first phase in a process leading to the assembly.
In the letter, Dr Neary reflects that "in 1995 on my appointment as Archbishop of Tuam, a reporter suggested that my time as archbishop would be characterised as a period of crisis for the church. At that time I pointed out that the Japanese character for the word 'crisis' closely resembled that for the word 'opportunity' and that I would prefer to see the years ahead as a time of opportunity.
"The intervening years have indeed witnessed much pain and turmoil within the church but they also have been a time of unprecedented growth and development for the church," he said
He noted this was so particularly in areas such as the increasing number of people involved in parish life, the formation of parish councils in many parishes, parents' involvement in pre-sacramental programmes, and a growing interest in theology and spirituality.
"We are today, I believe, a much healthier and more mature church than the church of years past. Yet we realise that as we look to the future we face enormous challenges in sustaining and developing the faith. Let us face those challenges together," he said.
His hope was that a pastoral assembly next autumn would enable the people, priests, religious of the archdiocese, along with himself, "to shape a co-ordinated pastoral plan for the future". He hoped that at parish meetings next month people would discuss sharing ministry, renewing the liturgy, engaging with the young, building community and preparing for change.
"This is a huge undertaking for the Archdiocese of Tuam," he said. "The initial phase alone will involve up to 100 parishes and church-area meetings, which will be facilitated by over 80 trained volunteers."
The timetable involves parish and church-area gatherings to discuss next weekend's pastoral letter, to take place next month.
In December and January 2006 material gathered at the parish meetings will be collated, with feedback to parish groups next February.
In March the deanery/parish cluster meetings will take place, while Lent next year will involve "a movement of prayer" for the success of the process. The assembly will probably take place in September.