Our vision for the Catholic Parish of Christchurch North is of a missionary parish bringing people to come to know Jesus Christ personally, helping them grow as disciples, and going out to others with the Gospel message.

The Building Committee asks the question: How do we translate this vision into a design brief for our Church and Pastoral Community Centre?

The scope of the Building Committee includes the following:

• Demolition or retention of existing buildings

• Design and construction of new buildings

• Handover / commissioning of the buildings to the parish

• Sale of existing properties / buildings

• Defining a design process

• Managing the timeline

• Managing reporting lines and communication lines with the following:

  • Diocesan Office

  • Parish Leadership Team

  • School Leaders

  • Parish & Parish Groups

It is a little premature to make an assessment of whether the current Parish centre on the St Joseph’s site will or won’t be removed. The reality is there will be a significant master planning process undertaken to help us collectively determine the optimal layout for the development. We hope the Parish will be open to looking at this plan and a pathway that ensures we have the best hope of delivering a development that will last for more than 50 years.

Every year, each parish does a Mass count in October. We have a very clear picture of the past and current numbers when it comes to Mass attendance across the three parishes that came together in the north. We will also (with support from the Diocese) undertake research into our parish demographics and likely areas of residential growth.

Because of the Bishop’s intention that we gather as a community in one Church on a Sunday, our current Mass count figures and future aspirations for growth are factors in the Bishop’s decision to build one new Church in our Parish. Our current three churches are too small for our combined congregation and future aspiration.

Two of the three Churches require further strengthening – this too is a factor in the Bishop’s decision to build a new Church.

The Parish is going to establish a fundraising committee to assist with the process. This group will be separate to the building committee. There will also be a funding framework between the Diocese and Parish. The final setup of this is yet to be fully determined and is partly a function of the estimated development cost that will be established after the master planning and concept design work.

The exact outcome for these churches is yet to be finalised however it is likely there will be a move away from these facilities in the coming years as we look to centralise our activities around a vibrant and exciting hub. There will be a mix of land and asset sales required to support the Parish aspirations. As this becomes more definitive the plans will be shared with the Parish.

The Bishop’s intention is that we gather as a community in one Church. This will help with our mission and purpose across the schools and wider community of our Parish. Establishing a centralised base to focus our resources will help support the outreach we aspire to deliver.

This is a critical piece of work that is in the process of being completed. Understanding the demographics within our Parish will help us know who we will be serving and where they will live. Although the word ‘growth’ is not one many Parishes in NZ have been able to use over the last 20 years, let’s be aspirational. Let us all pray that through living out our mission and purpose we can connect with more people than ever before and allow ‘growth’ to return to our Parish.