Over the next few years, all parishes of the Archdiocese of Liverpool will join other parishes in new groupings called “Families of Parishes.” Families of Parishes are groups of parishes, generally three to six, sharing resources to advance the mission, including having multiple priests, deacons and lay people serving the Family of Parishes. This model will allow the priests, deacons, religious and laity associated with each parish to better share their gifts and talents with the whole Family of Parishes.

Our shift to Families of Parishes is a response to the synod recommendations, which called for a renewal of structures of our parishes to make them radically mission oriented. Our goal is to make our parishes places where individuals and families can encounter Jesus anew, grow as disciples, work synodally and be equipped to accompany one another within our communities and beyond their boundaries.

We have listened to the voices of the archdiocese in the Synod recommendations to be bold and creative.

Our mission hasn’t changed, but how we approach that mission must shift in response to our circumstances. We must move forward together synodally with greater collaboration and better stewardship of our resources.

This was amongst the first tasks of the newly formed Deanery Synodal Council (DSC). A preliminary list of Parish Families was developed in a discernment period from May 2022 onwards leading to the establishment of the first families of parishes in March 2024. This was done together with the DSC and archdiocesan personnel including surveyors, before being brought to the Archbishop’s Advisory Board. This list would be presented to Archbishop Malcolm for his approval.

The discernment of these Families need to be based on the reality of what makes the most sense for the future of the archdiocese when there will be fewer priests, people and resources in many parts of the archdiocese.

The first criteria for consideration is collaborative working coupled with mission orientation. Initially the families should remain within deanery boundaries.

Parishioners will become part of a larger faith family, working together and using resources in pursuit of our mission. They will still be part of their own parish communities unless their own discernment suggests otherwise. They will worship alongside and work with other members of their new Family. They will be ministered to by priests from all parishes in the Family and in many cases access to the Sacraments will be increased. They will share best practices and benefit from competent and improved lay leadership of the various ministries managed through the Family structure.

As parishes come together to form Families of Parishes, they will begin to discuss the practical ways in which the clergy and administration is best handled.

A Family of Parishes is not the same as a cluster or merged parish. Rather, it is a group of individual parishes led by an intentionally formed team (which will develop) to address and focus on mission. The Families of Parishes structure includes multiple priests and deacons, with the support of lay pastoral workers and administrators, serving a Family of Parishes under a renewed ministry structure. This allows for greater collaboration and alignment to mission, better care of the faithful, and maximising the use of our resources.

As each Family discerns how to best align resources, they may decide to retain their separate identities and worship spaces. Others, after a careful and honest review of existing resources, may opt to close worship spaces or merge with partnering parishes. These decisions will be left to the discernment of that Family, with assistance from the DSC and the Archdiocese of Liverpool, guided by the Pastoral Plan and the best interest of the entire community.