“It’s an opportunity to listen, learn, and encourage more mission”

On Thursday 16th April, Bishop Patrick McKinney arrived in South Lincolnshire to begin what will be a two-year journey through every parish in the Diocese of Nottingham. Accompanied by the two Vicar Generals, Canon Eddy Jarosz and Canon John Kyne, he will visit every deanery in turn, not to inspect, but to listen.

For any parish feeling uncertain about what a visitation means, the Bishop was clear. “It’s an opportunity for me to come, to listen, and to learn what’s going on in each of the parishes, and to encourage more and more mission,” he said. He added that parishes simply thinking about mission and beginning to take their first steps is more than enough. He will be delighted with that, and he will want to encourage them.

What mission looks like in practice, he suggested, is a parish so woven into its local community that when a stranger winds down a car window and asks where St Mary’s is, the answer comes back without hesitation. “St Mary’s, of course, we know where that is. It’s the second on the left and then the first on the right.” The vision is a Church that is known, present, and genuinely part of the places it serves.

The evening began at St Mary’s in Boston, where Parish Priest Father Dominic O’Connor led a time of guided adoration structured around the three pillars of the Mission Plan: Encounter, Discipleship and Mission. People of every age gathered in the church. Children sat alongside their parents, each praying in their own way, but held by the same stillness. Father Dominic captured what the gathering meant. “As a deanery, we’re privileged tonight to have Bishop Patrick join us. It's not often in this large deanery that we come together, but it’s always a special occasion: the priests, the deacons, and the faithful, gathering with our bishop. That has a special significance, showing the unity of the diocese.”

After the service, parishioners had the chance to speak with Bishop Patrick informally over a cup of tea, a reminder that these visits are as much about relationship as they are about mission.

Bishop Patrick and the Vicar Generals will be visiting parishes across the Diocese over the coming two years. Keep an eye on your parish newsletter so you do not miss their visit.

Read more about the Diocesan Mission Plan, here.

‍