Almost 60 participants from 3 countries and numerous parishes arrived at the St. Florian parish on October 19. The “living room” in the 5th district was the location for the “Day of Renewal for Your Parish” – a project organized by the John Paul II Center in cooperation with Divine Renovation and the Archdiocese of Vienna. The aim was to provide interested parishes with practical tools to help them promote renewal in their parish.

As head of the Resource Church at the Center John Paul II., Thomas was not only responsible for organizing the event, but he also led the participants through the day with his charismatic moderation and professional presentation. Anna Schinnerl was responsible for organizing the prayer times, leading the participants in worship with her voice.
Fr. George was also present as a speaker and workshop leader.

During an interview, Fr. George, Julia and Anna shared their experiences with the Center John Paul II. and their hopes for the new Center.

Among the participants was Margit Trauttmansdorff, who is also active in our parish – for example as a supporter and former participant of the BETA courses. However, she was present at the conference on behalf of her home parish together with other members, and shares her impressions, a review and her “learnings” with us.

This exciting and inspiring day with many priests and lay people from parishes beyond the borders of the diocese was not only framed by praise and deep prayer, but was also permeated and supported by it. We once again became very aware of how important prayer is – always and everywhere. In the first part of the event, it was explained to us that we are currently living in the post-Christian era, an apostolic age, where everyone is not only called to an authentic witness of what God has already worked in his/her life, but where the focus is also on being (further) led by the Holy Spirit. The motivation to survive as a parish is important, but not sufficient. The speaker reported on a parish that had blossomed and actually grown strongly and then sent members of this parish (lay people!) to the neighboring parish to give witness there, to work with the people there and to enable them to authentically spread the faith. That sounds like the early church and probably has the same effect: a parish shines through the people it sends out!

The development of the John Paul II. Center, whose vision is to reach those who are unchurched, but also to help other parishes to grow, was also very interesting: after many frustrating years with failed attempts to found a Catholic parish for young people, the breakthrough came in 2012 and today 350 young people regularly engage in the wide variety of ministries and opportunites on offer by the Center. Many have found a home there and involve themselves according to their talents. They live a distinctly welcoming culture and value the highest quality in everything they do. Music, which should always lead to prayer, also plays a major role. A high-quality sermon is also important to them and the aim is always for every visitor to have a truly relevant experience. One young woman said: “I come here because I am given responsibility and because it is always about the people, not the programs”. The priest in charge, Father George Elsbett, says: “We have to think in steps to achieve our goals. We have to take small steps and have perseverance.”

The Divine Renovation program is based on 3 so-called keys:

The power of the Holy Spirit (culture of prayer, giving up control)

The primacy of evangelization (always ask: does this or that offer of the parish serve evangelization?)

The best of leadership (developing gifts and talents; leaders train leaders)

In the afternoon, 3 workshops were offered; we skipped the one on developing a vision. One workshop was about “mission tools”, specifically 3 such “tools”:

  1. Living a welcoming culture: based on the parable of the prodigal son (Lk 15:11-32), we analyzed the characteristics and actions of the father together; we should be the same as a parish. Think about it for yourself!
  2. Primacy of evangelization: invest in the relationship with God (prayer) and in the relationship with one another (“People do not fall in love with ideas, but with people”). Therefore: give testimony (this is who I was before – this is what Jesus did – this is who I am today). Every person is entrusted with others to whom we should bear witness. Check whether we have offers that make witnessing possible…, this is not (only) about knowledge of faith, (especially in a cultural context of: “What is true is not what I think, but what I feel”)
  3. The best thing about leadership: identifying and developing existing talents and delegating real responsibility. Where necessary skills do not (yet) appear to be there, “tease” them out, motivate and invest. We must all surrender ourselves completely to God, only then will what we do be service in the Spirit of God.

The second workshop we attended was about leadership in more depth. Father George explained his approach to leadership and gave us many insights into his experiences. He gave us the following 5 steps of leadership:

  1. Lead the way: We must lead the way ourselves and serve more than manage as leaders. Jesus serves as an example here. He spent a lot of time with 12 people and built them up so that they could lead others.
  2. Inspire a shared vision: We need a shared vision that is worth setting out for and that we can also agree on where we want to go together.
  3. Keep questioning the process: We can use the vision to keep asking ourselves whether what we are currently doing is still serving our vision in the best possible way, or whether it is perhaps time to let go of one or two actions or programs.
  4. Enabling others to act: As leaders, we can learn to hand over responsibiliy to others and trust that other people will grow by taking on responsibility.
  5. Encourage the heart: It’s about sticking with it and seeing the treasure in other people.

The day ended with an hour of praise and prayer. One thing is certain for us: the foundation of everything we do is always prayer!

Divine Renovation offers support for the various development phases. It was very encouraging to realize that we in our parish have already come quite a long way and that we have already clearly defined our tasks. But we will only have time to rest in heaven…