At the Hope and Renewal Summit held on 3-4 October 2025, in front of over 500 participants, Fr Simon Story from the Catholic Parish of New Plymouth shared a personal account of his journey through challenges in parish ministry and the impact of adopting a mission-oriented approach. His testimony highlights the realities faced in contemporary parish life and the transformative potential of evangelisation, leadership, and the work of the Holy Spirit within a parish setting.
Please note: The reflections and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and are shared in the spirit of personal faith and contemplation. They do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Diocese of Palmerston North.
When I was training for the priesthood and close to ordination, I spent some time in Napier with an older priest who was preparing to leave ministry as I was preparing to enter it. Tim Hannigan, one of the last Irish priests in NZ, had become a firm friend and mentor to me. Well after he had departed this life, and I had been a priest for maybe ten years, I remember returning to his grave for a chat – to ask him what was to become of me. I was struggling, and I asked for his help, his prayers. I felt lost. I was depressed, racked with anxiety. I guessed I had probably misread my priestly calling – I didn’t realise it would be so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. At a loss for what could be done in a parish, I figured that life in a monastery might be my best option to run to.
Parish life was doing me in. The slow exit of families, young people, and even senior parishioners from the life of the parish was a painful reality. The ongoing absence of so many people on a Sunday – people who were there only a few years ago – was disheartening. The sacraments of initiation that were celebrated – baptism, first communion, confirmation – were the beginning and the end of most families’ participation in parish life. I clearly remember a classmate from St John’s College turning up in Hastings to have a child baptised. He and his family presenting themselves felt like a reconnection for me. After the baptism, they never returned. In fact, I became conscious that no other classmates were in the parish either. I wondered what had happened – that they all had no interest in the parish family. Couples preparing for marriage would, after the wedding, disappear. Time I invested with children and families in schools was great; however, this would end with the entire family graduating from the school – and from the parish – never to make contact again. This led me to despair for the future. It would occur over and over and over.
I was frustrated, hurt, angry, discouraged, depressed, and at a loss for what could be done.
And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.
At a national assembly of NZ priests in Christchurch in 2018, I heard about the incredible changes that can come about through a mission-oriented parish, focusing on evangelisation, the Holy Spirit, and leadership. This was what I needed to hear! I felt that dim flame of hope within me flicker. I knew I needed some joy in priestly work – some passion and hope for a future that was worth working towards. Focusing on these things, and on the living Jesus among us, and on how to place people on the doorstep of a meeting with the Holy Spirit – with a high chance of igniting discipleship in Jesus Christ – has been life-changing for me. As a friend once told me, there is no greater joy than seeing people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ in the parish. I too have experienced this.
Over the past few years, I have been part of a team of parishioners who have seen whole families arrive at the parish, ask to be baptised, and want to be engaged in the life of the parish – and in due course, be sent out into the world themselves. As a priest, that experience is so significant. It has brought me so much joy – and joy to everyone else in the parish who sees it happening!
A missional parish model has simply transformed my priestly ministry, and I believe the life of our parish. Making disciples of Jesus Christ, going fishing, putting out into the deep – has brought me a passion, excitement, and peace I didn’t know before.
Fr Simon Story shares his testimony at the Hope and Renewal Summit, October 2025
(photo: Gavin Abraham)