{"id":31241,"date":"2025-10-22T16:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.divinerenovation.org\/blog\/in-the-valley-of-dry-bones-a-letter-from-new-zealand\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:04:10","slug":"in-the-valley-of-dry-bones-a-letter-from-new-zealand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.divinerenovation.org\/de\/blog\/in-the-valley-of-dry-bones-a-letter-from-new-zealand\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Father Simon Story sharing at the Hope and Renewal Summit. Photo: T. Burton<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Dry bones, listen to what the Lord is saying to you, I, the Lord God, will put breath in you, and once again you will live. I will wrap you with muscles and skin and breathe life into you.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.\u201d\n Ezekiel 37:4
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\u00a0<\/p>

Father Simon Story | October 2025<\/p>

Originally shared at the Hope and Renewal Summit in New Zealand October 3-5, 2025<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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When I was training for 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 New Zealand, had become a firm friend and mentor to me.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

Well after he had departed this life (I had been a priest for maybe 10 years) I remember returning to his grave for a chat \u2014 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 \u2014 I didn\u2019t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel\u2019s valley of dry bones. <\/em><\/p>

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.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

Parish life was doing me in.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\"A missional parish model has simply transformed my priestly ministry, and \u2013I believe\u2013 the life of our parish.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFather Simon Story<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/i>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTweet<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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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, who were there only a few years ago. The sacraments of initiation that were celebrated: Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, were the beginning and the ending of most families’ participation in the life of the parish.<\/em><\/p>

I clearly remember a classmate from St. John\u2019s College turning up in Hastings, to have a child baptized. He and his family presenting themselves felt like a reconnection for me.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>

After the baptism, they never returned.<\/em><\/p>

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.<\/em><\/p>

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.<\/em><\/p>

This would occur over and over and over. I was frustrated, hurt and angry, discouraged, depressed and at a loss for what could be done.<\/em><\/p>

And then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Father Simon Story being prayed for at The Hope and Renewal Summit, New Zealand. Photo: T. Burton<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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Your story matters.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Everyone has a story to share. What’s yours? Email us at stories@divinerenovation.org<\/a> and inspire other parish leaders and fuel the movement with hope.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Father Simon Story with parishioners from Catholic Parish of New Plymouth<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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 in on evangelization, the Holy Spirit and leadership. This is what I needed to hear! I felt that dim flame of hope within me flicker.<\/em><\/p>

I knew I needed some joy in priestly work, some passion and hope for a future that was worth working towards. Focusing in on these things and 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.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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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 baptized 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 \u2014 it has brought me so much joy, and joy to everyone else in the parish who sees it happening!<\/em><\/p>

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 and excitement and peace I didn\u2019t know of before.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was training for 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, 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\u2019t realize it was so crushing. There I was in a cemetery; I was in Ezekiel\u2019s 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.
\n Parish life was doing me in.
\nAnd then, one day, I heard a message that was to change my priestly ministry and give me hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8189,"featured_media":31069,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[149,234,152,174,173],"class_list":["post-31241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-de","tag-evangelization-de","tag-father","tag-parish-renewal-de","tag-priester","tag-reflektion"],"yoast_head":"\nIn the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand - Divine Renovation Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.divinerenovation.org\/de\/blog\/in-the-valley-of-dry-bones-a-letter-from-new-zealand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the Valley of Dry Bones: A Letter from New Zealand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was training for 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. 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