Revitalizing the Archdiocese of Winnipeg

Revitalizing and energizing the Archdiocese of Winnipeg is a big job. But Father Darrin Gurr says he’s up to it.

Gurr, who was parish priest at St. Gianna Beretta Molla Parish in southwest Winnipeg for 22 years, started a new job this summer to lead a new initiative of the archdiocese called Together in Mission.

The goal of the initiative is to “awaken and engage both the laity and clergy of the archdiocese and to build a better and more promising future,” says Gurr, whose title is Episcopal Vicar for Stewardship and Mission. “I want to foster a spirit of renewal in all aspects of our church.”

That spirit of renewal is needed because the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, with its 155,000 members in 88 parishes, “has experienced malaise at every level,” he says.

That malaise, which is seen in a decline in attendance and participation in the life of the church, started before the pandemic. “But it was certainly exacerbated by COVID-19,” Gurr says.

The new task fits well with Gurr, 62, who has been a parish priest for 37 years and has a strong interest in the area of stewardship — he even wrote a book about it in 2019 titled Living Stewardship: How to be Grateful, Generous and in the Moment (Novalis).

By stewardship, Gurr means how Christians can use all their gifts and talents — finances, time, skills and abilities. “We are the recipients of God’s gifts and we are responsible to use them to make the world a better place,” he says.

Key to this revitalization for Gurr is seeing people return to celebrating the mass. But, he emphasizes, this isn’t just for boosting numbers or making people feel good about being there.

For him, the goal of the mass is to “bring people into discipleship as a response to the needs of the world … then to go out and engage in mission by bringing God’s love and kindness into the world.”

This is vitally important at a time when people in Canada are becoming more isolated, lonely, divided and polarized. “We are going in the wrong direction,” Gurr shares. “We need more people of goodwill.”

The problem, as he sees it, is that too many Christians have checked o ut and become “obsessed in their own worlds. We have lost the sense of mission.”

And what is that mission? For Gurr, it’s about addressing challenges such as poverty, homelessness, hunger, inequality and immigrants, among other things. “All aspects of society,” he says. “We need the church to speak into these realities.”

It’s not a public relations exercise for Gurr. “It’s not about nice words. It’s about actions, ideas and policies,” he says. And it’s about telling the stories about what churches and individual Christians are already doing. “We can take joy and pride in them, and be inspired,” he says.

One hopeful sign is the interest in faith shown by younger Catholics today.

“They want to make a contribution to the world,” he says. “Their hearts are being awakened. It is up to the church to feed that desire, to make space for them.”

But what if those same young people want to talk about changes to the church — things like opening the priesthood to women and being more accepting of LGBTTQ+ people?

Gurr acknowledges those issues are on the minds of younger Catholics, and some older ones, too.

“We need to be open and ready to listen, but at the same time be clear about what we can change,” he says, noting that change in the Roman Catholic Church needs to be universal. This is unlike in the Protestant world, where denominations can divide over theology and practice depending on different understandings of scripture. “We can’t become subdivided into a collection of individual churches,” Gurr says.

As for the task before him, he admits it’s daunting and challenging. “But it’s also exhilarating,” he says. And besides, “there’s no other option.”

Considering the shortage of priests in the archdiocese, pulling Gurr out or parish ministry shows how important this task is, says Winnipeg Archbishop Murray Chatlain.

“We want to pursue a deeper understanding of the spirituality of discipleship,” he says. “It’s a vision for all of us to express our gratitude to God for how he has blessed us.”

Gurr is perfect for the task because he is “passionate and gifted” in this area, Chatlain notes, adding Gurr has often spoken about stewardship in other dioceses across Canada. “Since we have an expert here, we wanted to use his gifts in Winnipeg.”

While there are challenges, there are also positive signs of growth, Chatlain says. This includes 40 people in one parish volunteering to teach the faith to children through catechism classes. And younger people in the archdiocese are showing greater interest in ways they can be involved in service.

Like a swimmer, the archdiocese needs to keep moving or sink. “We need to move forward or become stagnant,” he says.

Jdl562000@yahoo.com

The Free Press is committed to covering faith in Manitoba through our Religion in the News project. This reporting continues because readers like you step forward to fund it.

Donate now to support our reporting on religion.
Your donation is eligible for a charitable tax receipt. BECOME A FAITH JOURNALISM SUPPORTER