A cell-based approach to parish life, borrowed from Korean Pentecostal churches, is spreading in world Catholicism. The Parish Evangelization Cell System, known as “Pecs,” was first adopted by St. Eustorgio’s parish in Milan, Italy, turning it from a moribund inner-city church with fewer than 100 Mass attenders to a community of 1,000 people involved in 150 weekly cell meetings, with a multitude of outreach programs. The Pecs program is different than other small parish groups in that they are built into the structure of the parish, with cell leaders sharing in the pastoral ministry with the parish priest. “Each cell, which operates for the member like an extended family, creates a sense of belonging. Here prayer, practical help and evangelization are encouraged through the personal witness of the cell members,” according to writer Kristina Cooper. Teaching is provided via a fortnightly input on CD by the parish priest. Though modeled on Korean cell churches, Pecs has added Catholic practices to this structure; the introduction of the program in the UK last year included adoration of the Eucharist as a frequent devotion. The Pecs method is now formally recognized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, with the cell-based approach to parish life “now established on five continents and there are many thousands of evangelization cells in Catholic parishes across the world,” Cooper writes. (Source: The Tablet, July 4).
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- Reformed Christianity finds growing appeal in China
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