Parish

ALTAR SERVERS To be an altar server is a special honor and a great privilege in the Catholic Church. One can look upon being an altar server as a special and unique ministry by which you, a young person, can help to spread the word and the love of Christ through your actions and words. The primary role of the altar server is to assist the priest in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Mass) and Eucharistic Processions. This is done through specific actions and by setting an example to the congregation by active participation in the liturgy by their actions, singing of hymns, responses of the people, looking alert and sitting or standing at the appropriate times. Meetings: 2^nd and 4^th Sunday of every month. Venue: Church Extension Eligibility: Std V to Std X. (only those who have received Holy Communion) Spiritual Director: Fr. Savio Lobo . BIBLE CELL We have ten members in our Bible Cell. We are happy for one of our members getting commissioned from our group and also who shared his teachings with us during the probation period.  We have begun with the Patriarchs and presently, we are teaching on the Book of Moses. We have our classes every Monday for an hour from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm.  The number of parishioners vary from 20 to 25 Spiritual Director- Fr. Savio Lobo Lay co-ordinator:-  Esther Henriques BOMBAY CATHOLIC SABHA The Bombay Catholic Sabha(BCS) established in 1989 under the patronage of then Cardinal Simon Pimenta, is registered with the Charity Commissioner under the Mumbai Public Trust Act, 1950. It represents the interests and concerns of the Catholic Community of Mumbai in particular and all Christians in general. It operates from an office at Mahim and has a membership of more than 58,000 Catholics of Mumbai from aCommunity strength of about 5 lakhs! It is the largest laypersons group and operates under the direct patronage of the Archbishop of Mumbai, Cardinal Oswald Gracias. The BCS liaises with the Government and makes representations to the Government on various issues on behalf of the Community. Many activities are undertaken and pursued with gusto to their logical conclusion. With special focus on encouraging the youth into Public Serviceand to contribute to national integration and welfare, three seminars on career opportunities in Civil Services were held lately in the city of Mumbai for the youth / students to lead our country. The Good Shepherd Church Unit of the BCS under the leadership of Dora Martis – Chairperson, R.P. Roy – Hon. Secretary, David Chandy – Hon. Treasurer, Walter Pereira – Jt. Treasurer, along with our dedicated committee members and parishioners, has completed 26 years of service to the community and has a membership of around 1,100 parishioners. Our Executive team sit at the Help Desk on Sundays, set-up to assist the Good Shepherd Flock in matters concerning their Sr. Citizen cards, Electoral Rolls Updation, Govt. Minority Scholarship Schemes, Govt. Schemes for poor students to get financial help in their career, Career Counselling and at the same time enrolling new members. The need of the hour calls for more parishioners to enrol themselves. Our parish unit has 15Executive Members and they are tasked with serving more than 5,000 parishioners of our Church. The Sabha stands committed to its mandate of leading the laity in civic, social and political activities. In the last few months the Sabha of our parish, held the Independence Day celebrations with distribution of India Flags and sweets, a Blood Donation Drive, students achieving exemplary results were felicitated with cash awards and a Certificate of Excellence, held a drawing competition for 42 children from 5 to 15 years. Cash awards and certificates were given to the winners in various categories. Under the guidance and support from our Spiritual Director – Fr. Jerome Lobo, our Parish Unit meets every month to discuss monthly and quarterly plans, moulding and fitting them into the Centre’s plans and acting as a cohesive and vibrant force in the community and local civic bodies. We, call upon all Catholics of our Parish to enrol themselves as members. Forms are available with committee members and at the ‘Help-Desk’ set up after every mass on Sundays. ‘Committed to a better Tomorrow, Today’ Priest in charge- Fr. Jerome Lobo Lay co-ordinator- Dora Martis COMMUNITY CENTRE & WELFARE FUND. COMMUNITY CENTRE (CC) The Parish CC is the nodal office for all Community welfare Activities, which are facilitated and coordinated by the Parish CWF COMMITTEE.  THE CWFC members are : Fr. Jerome Lobo ( 022 26370611 ); Edgar Menezes  (9833570783 ); Joe C. DSouza ( 9833682833 );  Freddy Fernandes (9892466619 ); Mabel Pinto ( 9920193662 ); Rosie BRAGANZA ( 9920853036 ); Kamla DSouza ( 7738005075 ); Roy Reynolds ( 9820021267). COMMUNITY WELFARE FUND ( CWF)  The rationale and basic thrust :  The CWF is meant to subsidize Parish Community needs, as far as possible. The goal is to care for the disadvantaged; to see that no child is deprived of education, because parents cannot afford the fees; to avert suffering caused due to lack of basic medical aid; to alleviate hunger, etc. To work towards this goal, the Archdiocese of Bombay has recommended that every earning parishioner, even the smallest wage earner, contributes at least 1% of his/ her gross salary towards this Fund, on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. This is loosely based on the biblical concept of tithing, and is a free will offering. The emphasis is on transparency in collecting and disbursing funds. The Accounts are displayed on the Notice Boards, monthly, and also announced MODE OF COLLECTION. Good Shepherd Parish follows an envelope system. The Contribution in Cash / Cheque, should be placed  in an envelope marked ” Community Welfare Fund ” . To be written : Name, Address, Contact Number, SCC Zone and Community, period for which Contributing. Cheques to be Crossed and drawn in favor of ” Good Shepherd Church Community Welfare Fund ” The  envelope should be dropped in the Box marked ” Community Fund ” or handed in to the Parish Office. Receipt will be issued. It is expected that every parishioner contributes conscientiously. For good order, GS Parish follows a family Card system, where their contribution is recorded, for ready reference. DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS: Since the Funds in CWF are the contribution of parishioners, it is but natural that it will go towards meeting the needs of the parish : 1.  Medical and Educational needs; miscellaneous requirements of needy parishioners. 2.  Defraying the expenses of Community work ( SCCs )  :  Zonal / Unit Activities, Annual Masses, Prayer Gatherings, Parents’ / Children’s , SR. Citizens’  Day, and any activity that helps “Community “building. 3.  Parish related activities;  pastoral / leadership training programs ( Catechetics, Word Ministry, IMFE etc ); providing Infrastructural support for regular  Free Medical Camps , and various ongoing Community Support and Welfare  Activities. 4.  Parish Reserve Fund , Church Contingency Fund etc. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT THROUGH COMMUNITY CENTRE:

1. In the last 6 months, we have organised several Community Welfare Activities, significantly, the Mega Cancer Detection Camp and a Camp for detecting Hearing impairment.  Due in 3rd week November, 2018, an Eye Camp. 2.  We have in place fixed day Consultation by : 3 Doctors, 1 Dietician, 1 Advocate, 1 CA,  2 Insurance Advisors. ( Details on the CC Notice Board ) . Several medical and other professionals are offering their services free of charge. Details are posted on the CC Notice Board. Parishioners desirous of availing of services, are advised to note their requirement ,  Name and Contact Number; drop in the CC drop box.A QUESTION MAY ARISE: Don’t parishioners contribute at Sunday Mass and other days ? The Sunday Mass Collection remains ones FREEWILL LOVE OFFERING, and is actually part of one’s charity. The first two Sunday’s collections are sent to the Archbishops House for the Archdiocesan Corpus to help with various activities of different parishes, some of which are poor. The next two collections are for the needs of the Parish.Contributions to other Archdiocesan collections are also FREEWILL Offerings, for specific needs , such as Vianney Sunday, Mission Sunday, Lenten Alms etc. May we respond to our Lords words in Mt. 25:40 : ” Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do unto me ” . And keep in mind the Lords promise in LK 6:38: ” Give and it shall be given unto you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back “

In the brief summary above, you have gauged the work that has to be done. On behalf of the Parish Priest and his Team, the CWF Committee invites each and every parishioner, to rise up to the challenge and reach out to the NEEDY AND UNDER PRIVILEGED. Priest in charge- Fr. Jerome Lobo Lay co-ordinator- Edgar Menezes COMMUNICATION CELL. We live in a society that, day by day, labels itself as “secular” anything religious is kept at a distance.  People often question the relevance of our faith and more often than not the observance of our faith becomes an individual choice where the communitarian dimension is often seen as unnecessary. We need to understand the context, influences and concerns of our people and engage them in effective and relevant communication. Information technology and social media platforms can be a powerful tool for this mission as we live in a time of intact communication where everyone responds to messages, tweets and updates, thus enabling instant sharing. It is effective and essential for the church to provide information about our faith as well as share about church related activities. Keeping this mind, our parish had received a directive from the Archbishop that all parishes in the diocese should encourage and use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Website for parish  related  events and activities. With the guidance of Fr. Prakash Rumao and Fr. Savio Lobo, The Good Shepherd Parish Communication Cell has been formed and it represents 10 advisory members of our parish. The team provides inputs that include content, posters, banners, videos etc and accordingly supervise the media implementation team members. The church has its own facebook page as ‘Good Shepherd Church’ and instagram account:- good shepherd_andheri already operational. The various upcoming events and activities are updated on facebook and instagram. The website is www.goodshepherdandheri.in. Through the website, a database of the parishioners is build up.  Apart from the personal details like name, address, community etc, the information sought also includes their interest towards volunteering for various parish related activities. Priest in charge:- Fr. Prakash Rumao & Fr. Savio Lobo Lay co-ordinator:- Jasmine Nair. EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY The Eucharistic Ministers are also known as “Extra ordinary ministers”. Our Parish have  25 Eucharistic Ministers from every zone belonging to each community. Every Saturday and Sunday , they visit the home bound and sick to minister “HOLY COMMUNION” to them. Those who need Holy Communion are required to register their name and address to the Parish office or Maria Janardan. Every Eucharistic Minister reaches out to the far end of the Parish with love. Priest in charge- Fr. Savio Lobo Lay co-ordinator- Maria Janardhan FAMILY CELL The Family Cell of the Good Shepherd Church is a vibrant team of 27 members empowered with the vision of helping build joyful, stable Christ-centered families in our Parish. A number of activities are conducted by this group to strengthen marriages and families. Talks and interactive sessions by Professional Speakers on building couple relationship, effective parenting and grooming of children, financial planning, understanding and managing obesity, etc. We have also conducted programs to influence children to learn to love ‘ all ‘.  While the primary object of the Family Cell is to resolve disputes and conflicts in Families, we work as above to avoid disputes and conflicts by influencing Parishioners positively along the said directions.  We also celebrate Family Day, in a big way with 350 to 370 attendees, including married couples , children, widows, widowers, single men / women. We as a team meet once a month on the first Saturday of each month. Priest in charge- Fr. Prakash Rumao Lay co-ordinator- Francis Coutinho FINANCE The Parish Finance Committee currently comprises of 4 members including the Pariah Priest and 3 lay parishioners.It is perhaps the only decision making body in any parish mandated by Canon Law.It oversees the Parish financial working and approves most major expenses besides ensuring safe deployment of all surplus funds. It is responsible for ensuring a fair and transparent handling of all parish finances especially expenses having a large outlay like major repairs etc. Priest in charge- Fr Jerome Lobo Lay co-ordinator’s- Al Rego/ Gerard Pinto GOLDEN HEARTS We the ‘GOLDEN HEARTS’ of Senior Citizens Association of Good Shepherd Church are affiliated to “BASCA” The Bombay Archdiocesan Senior Citizens’ Association. We follow the constitution of BASCA, prepared by Bishop Bosco Penha in the year 2011, with the assistance of the Office for Lay Collaboration in Ministry. Our vision is to reach out to all the senior citizens of this parish, the home bound and the able. We are a team of 15 committee members, with the President, Secretary and the Treasurer. We communicate via watsapp  group “Official GH Committee”. Priest in charge- Fr. Jerome Lobo Lay co-ordinator- Xavier Almeida LECTORS There are 50 lectors in the parish. The number seems to be growing.  This includes the Konkani Group also.  We had a training session  undertaken by Fr Savio for voice modulation and proclamation of the Word. It has  made a big difference to most of the Lectors. We have a monthly Roster, whereby appointments are made.  No sooner a lector is not available, it is put up on the wots app group for a substitute, so that there is no last minute search for a Lector. Spiritual Director:- Fr. Savio Lobo Lay co-ordinator:-  Esther Henriques.  LITURGY The parish has four liturgist writing the Liturgy for the church.  The themes are given to us, and they write the liturgy Sunday after Sunday.  Three parishioners have opted for doing a one year course on Liturgy, this will enable us to have more  people to write the Liturgy. Our Liturgies have to be prepared well in advance, for the translation from English to Konkani , as well for the school children. Spiritual Director:- Fr. Savio Lobo Lay co-ordinator- Esther Henriques. PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL ( PPC) The PPC consists of the Parish Priest, the Parish clergy, the Superiors from the  two Convents in the Parish, elected members from each of the Small Christian Communities and elected Representatives from five of the active associations within the Parish.  Guidelines issued by the Archbishop are followed for the constitution of the PPC. The PPC is a representative body of the Parish involved with an ongoing formation process in the pastoral care of the lay people. The Council does not deal with acts of administration which are distinct from pastoral policies and planning.   The meeting of the PPC is held on the first Sunday of each month to discuss items on the agenda which include items such as forthcoming Church festivals /  programs for Parish and programs promoting gospel values Following are some of the pastoral activities which could constitute agenda items for the Parish Pastoral Council:

• Programs of Church festivals and Sacramental life
• Catholic education of children and young adults
• Inclusion of youth and young adults in the life of the parish
• Outreach programs to people of other faiths
• Promotion of Eucharistic devotion / effective participation in the liturgy
• Reaching out to the poor and lonely
• Programs for Families, Senior Citizens and Konkani / Hindi language groups
• Home visiting
• Efforts at building up the Small Christian Community and various Associations
• Promoting the participation in activities of the Convents within the Parish
• Extra-parochial relations with the Archbishop’s House and Churches within the Andheri Deanery

President- Fr. Jerome Lobo. Vice- President- Edgar Menezes Secretary- Sharlet Rego SUNDAY SCHOOL As a part of being a Catechist along with co teachers, We are a team of 11 teachers in the Secondary section of the Sunday School. Our prime focus is to teach the essentials of Christian faith, to give insights on the Christian faith and to make our children strong individuals and build a strong foundation. Sunday School commences immediately after the children mass at 8.30 am. It starts at 9.30 am at St. Louise School Building and ends at 10.30 am. Activities during Sunday School involves interaction with the children at personal level, use of audio visual aid, reading the word of God, knowing how to use the Bible, play acting, group discussion, prayer session, etc. Children from various Standards have to participate during the Liturgy during the Children Mass which includes Introduction, Readings & Prayer of the Faithful.  As a part of the Diocesan Pastoral Center, we follow the Study Material as provided by them. We also have various events during the year for the Children which includes Faith Formation Programs at Deanery level for various Standards, Parents day Programs, Rosary during the Novenas based on themes, Vacation Bible Joy during Vacations, Christmas Carol Competitions.  Our team works towards ensuring that our Goals of Building the children in their personality and values of Christian Faith. Priest in charge- Fr. Prakash Rumao Lay co-ordinator- Rajesh Colaco Confirmation The Sacrament: The sacrament of confirmation completes the sacrament of baptism. If baptism is the sacrament of re-birth to a new Christian life, confirmation is the sacrament of maturity and coming of age. Confirmation is a true sacrament instituted by Christ and different from baptism. It is administered by laying-on of hands and anointing with chrism accompanied by prayer. The chrism is blessed by the bishop and the bishop administers the sacrament. All baptized persons can and should be confirmed. The effect of the sacrament of confirmation is to give strength in faith and for the confession of faith and to impress an indelible character. In the Roman Catholic Church, Confirmation is usually administered to young people in tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grade who are ready to take on a more adult role in the Church. These candidates for Confirmation, or Confirmandi, as they are called, were usually baptized as infants and must now accept the Catholic faith as their own and make a commitment to live it out with God’s help. Most Confirmandi participate in one or two years of preparation classes before receiving the sacrament. As part of that preparation, each Confirmandi chooses a ‘Confirmation name’ (usually that of a favorite saint), which indicates that he or she is ready to assume a new position in the community. Adults joining the Catholic Church also receive the sacrament of Confirmation after baptism and a period of instruction. They, too, must freely accept the Catholic faith and commit to practicing it at all times. Any baptized person, even an infant, may receive Confirmation, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that it provides, if he or she is in danger of death. Effects of the Sacrament: The effects of Confirmation are as follows:

• An increased portion of the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, right judgment, understanding, courage, piety, and fear of the Lord
• A deepening and strengthening of the grace received at Baptism, which is considered the presence of God in the soul
• A more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ
• A closer bond with the Catholic Church
• The ability to take a greater, more mature role in the Church’s mission of living the Christian faith daily and witnessing to Christ everywhere
• A special mark, or character, on the soul that can never be erased

Each person’s ability to embrace these effects depends on his or her openness to the sacrament and willingness to accept it as God’s personal gift. What we do: In Good Shepherd Church, the preparation for the sacrament starts in June or July of the year. We classify the preparation into three sections: Cult, Creed and Code. We ensure Confirmandi understand the following rituals and codes followed by the church:

• The Bible
• I believe
• Our Father
• Eucharist
• Liturgy
• The Ten Commandments
• Moral Ethics
• Mary and devotions
• Seasons celebrated by the church
• Sacraments
• Religious life
• Family and marriage

Most of these preparatory classes are conducted by our internal teachers including Father Prakash and for some of these we have specialists in the field from the seminary. Confirmation is usually concluded in January or February the following year with the Bishop administering the sacrament at a regular church service. Priest in charge- Fr. Prakash Rumao Lay co-ordinator – Amit Furtado  USHERS The ‘Ushers’ in our Parish are like the uniformed guards in authority. A church usher is a person who helps ensure a smoothly running church service. They generally handle the crowds during church services and ensure discipline & order in the proceedings . During the church services on Sunday, they are responsible in collecting the offerings & make sure that it is put in the proper place. Ushers have a goal of minimizing distractions during the mass and sermon. They stand ready to assist anyone in the congregation who might need help, to aid latecomers in finding a seat, and to inform those in the church of any urgent matters. In case of an emergency, the ushers take the lead in getting people to safety in an orderly manner. Our ushers at Good Shepherd possess qualities of love, joyfulness, peace, patience, faithfulness, kindness & self control. Priest in charge:- Fr. Jerome Lobo Lay co-ordinator:- Allwyn Fernandes