Parish Council 堂區議會

(click here for English)

弟兄姊妹們:

在這個2023年12月31日的除夕日子，謹代表2024-2025的堂區牧民議會職員預祝大家新年快樂！主寵日隆!

職員名單：

• 主席: Kitty Chan
• 秘書: Jane Fan
• 科技支援: Peter Ho
• 外務副主席: Kamus On 及 Vicky Wang
• 內務副主席: David Chan 及 謝為興

我們中有男有女；有退休的、在職的、以及在校的；本身是不同的粵語、國語或英文善會的會員，實在是我們中華殉道聖人堂的縮影。

願景 :

我們的願景是「上下一心，重新起步」，因為疫情沉寂了幾年，我們覺得是再次舉辦堂區大型活動的時候，通過大家的互助合作，激發我們的團體精神。

2024 年牧民計劃：

根據多倫多總教區，堂區牧民議會是一個諮詢機構，與主任司鐸合作處理與堂區牧靈生活有關的所有事務。堂區牧民議會由神父和信眾共同研究商議，專注於解決堂區的牧民需求，以便根據教會的普遍和特殊法律促進牧民計劃。(i)

普世教會：主任司鐸提醒我們教宗方濟各定2024年為祈禱年，已於將臨期開始了，讓我們配合總教區未來的指示， 好好以祈禱作2025聖年的準備。

堂區需要：我們都感覺到彌撒出席率下降，尤其是青少年。事實上，這是普世教會的持續問題。早在1998年，教宗若望保祿二世在「主的日子」書函已指出除了些年輕的教會外：「世界上其他地方…參加主日禮儀的人，比例上相當的低。」(ii) 根據安格斯里德研究所2022年的統計，加拿大超過三分之二承認自己是羅馬天主教的教徒表示他們很少或從不去教會。(iii) 我們堂區正視並嘗試處理這個問題，在數月之前已開始每月舉行兒童及青少年彌撒，鼓勵我們的年青一代更投入參與感恩聖祭，我們新一屆堂區牧民議會職員會繼續支持牧職團這方面的努力。

聖人：我們將以聖人為主題連結2024年的活動，諸位聖人以言以行甚至自己的生命見証了天主教信仰，我們每週介紹一位聖人，一面用學習聖人的祈禱來切合祈禱年，另一面以聖人的故事啟發青少年及幫助他們培養基督徒的價值觀，期望他們因而與基督建立密切關係，自動有參與感恩聖祭、領受聖體的渴求。

願我們的堂區藉著天主之母榮福瑪利亞及天上諸聖的轉禱、在牧職團的帶領下和教友的共融中在主內茁壯成長。最後，我們獻上最衷心的祝福:「願上主祝福你，保護你；願上主的慈顏光照你，仁慈待你。願上主轉面垂顧你，賜你平安。」(戶 6:24-26)

2024-2025堂區牧民議會主席陳玉芙
天主之母節前夕

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Dear brothers and sisters,

On this New Year’s Eve day of December 31, 2023, on behalf of the 2024-2025 Parish Pastoral Council Executive members, I wish you all a Happy New Year! May you grow in God’s love and grace!

Executive Members:

• President: Kitty Chan
• Secretary: Jane Fan
• Tech Support： Peter Ho
• External VP: Kamus On and Vicky Wang
• Internal VP: David Chan and 謝為興

There are men and women among us; some are retired, working, and in school; we come from different Cantonese, Mandarin and English ministries. We are indeed the epitome of the Chinese Martyrs’ Catholic Church community.

Vision:

Our vision is "Resume our Journey, Together as One."  Due to the epidemic, we have been inactive for several years; we feel that it is time to hold our big parish events again to build our sense of community through working together.

2024 Pastoral Plan:

According to the Archdiocese of Toronto, “A Parish Pastoral Council is a consultative body that works with the Pastor regarding all matters pertaining to the pastoral life of the parish. The Pastoral Council involves priests and people in common study, focused on the resolution of the pastoral needs of the parish, in order to facilitate pastoral planning in accordance with the universal and particular law of the Church.” (i)

Universal Church:

Our pastor, Fr Andrew Deng, reminds us Pope Francis has designated 2024 as the Year of Prayer, which has already begun during Advent. Let us follow the future instructions of the Archdiocese and prepare well for the Holy Year of 2025 through prayer.

Parish needs:

We are all feeling the decline in Mass attendance, especially among our younger generation. In fact, this is an ongoing problem for the universal church.  As early as 1998, Pope John Paul II pointed out in his Apostolic Letter "Dies Domini" that except for some young Churches, "in other parts of the world... the percentage of those attending the Sunday liturgy is strikingly low." (ii)  According to 2022 statistics from the Angus Reid Institute, in Canada, "More than two-thirds of those who identify as Roman Catholics… say they attend church rarely or never. " (iii)  Our parish has tried to address this problem. Starting from a few months ago, the children’s and youth mass has been held each month to encourage our younger generation’s participation. We will continue to support the Pastoral Team’s effort in this regard.

The Saints:

We will connect the 2024 activities together with the theme of “The Saints”. Our saints have witnessed the Catholic faith through their words, deeds, and even their own lives. We will introduce a saint each week. On the one hand, learning from how the saints prayed fits in the Year of Prayer. On the other hand, we hope to inspire young people with the stories of the saints and help them cultivate Christian values. Hopefully, they will establish a personal relation with Christ and in turn have the desire to participate in the celebration of mass and receive the Holy Communion.

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and the saints in heaven, under the leadership of the pastoral team and in the communion of all parishioners, may our parish grow in God’s love. Finally, we offer our heartfelt blessings: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)

Kitty Chan
President of 2024-2025 Parish Pastoral Council
Vigil of Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

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(i)   https://www.archtoronto.org/siteassets/blocks/offices--ministries/administrative-offices/volunteer-screening/mpds---english/parish-pastoral-council-member.pdf

(ii)  http://archive.hsscol.org.hk/Archive/database/document/P199.htm

(iii) https://angusreid.org/canada-religion-interfaith-holy-week/