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A COMMUNITY OF MISSION
It is essential that we become truly welcoming communities, open to all and united in faith and in love. But if our only concern is the creation of close-knit worshipping communities, we will never be fully the Church of Jesus Christ. The Risen Lord calls us together, and binds us together, so that we can go forth together. As Pope Paul VI reminded us so powerfully, "Evangelising is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). The word 'evangelise' comes from the Greek words for 'good news'. The Church is called to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. That is true for our diocese, and it is also true for every parish. The call to proclaim the Gospel to the world, to be a radiant witness to everyone of Christ himself, is the heart of what it means to be a parish.Our diocese as a whole, and each and every parish, should seek to become a beacon community - or a modern day 'burning bush' - to which others are drawn and where they encounter the presence and call of the Living God. "Outreach and bringing the Gospel to people in many different ways, in particular by 'living it', is so very important"
(Gorleston parish)
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