Synod

Quotes below are from Archbishop Hebda’s June 6, 2019 article in The Catholic Spirit. Find the full article at www.archspm.org/synod.

• “A Synod is a formal representative assembly designed to help a bishop in his shepherding of the local Church.’’
• The purpose is ‘’to discern and establish clear pastoral priorities in a way that will both promote greater unity and lead us to a more vigorous proclamation of Jesus’ good news.”

• The pre-Synod process has been designed to engage in a "sincere and respectful ‘mutual listening’ in which everyone has something to learn."
• “Moreover, it is not just listening to one another but to the Holy Spirit, the ‘Spirit of Truth’ (Jn 14:17), to know what the Spirit is ‘saying to the Churches’ (Rev. 2:7).”

• The pre-Synod process began fall 2019 engaging the People of God — laity, clergy, consecrated men and women and bishops — all walking together at the personal, parish, deanery, and Archdiocesan levels.
• The process culminates in the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly to be held Pentecost weekend, June 3-5, 2022, followed by a Pastoral Letter leading to a Pastoral Plan.

Fall 2021: Parish Consultation Process with Small Groups

• Small groups meet in every parish to learn, pray, and discuss the focus areas.
• Parish feedback on priorities within each focus area will help inform the Deanery consultation.

• Pastors and parish representatives gather one Saturday to learn, pray, and discuss the focus areas.
• Deanery feedback will help determine the Synod topics.

• Approximately 500 appointed delegates (including two from each parish) gather to learn, pray, and discuss the Synod topics and recommend pastoral priorities to Archbishop Hebda.
• After considering the Synod recommendations, Archbishop writes a Pastoral Letter (November - Feast of Christ the King) leading to a Pastoral Plan to move our Archdiocese into the future.

Three Focus Areas: Small groups will discuss the three focus areas that arose from feedback given in the Prayer and Listening events.

• Focus area #1: Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization.
• Focus area #2: Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call.
• Focus area #3: Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

Help Archbishop Hebda determine priorities under each focus area.
In his August 13, 2020 article for The Catholic Spirit, Archbishop Hebda unpacked each of the focus areas with hard-hitting questions such as:

1. What can we do to make parishes more welcoming and accessible?
2. How can we offer meaningful life-long formation for discipleship?
3. How can we better assist parents in forming children as disciples who know and love Jesus and his Church?

Small groups of approximately 8 people will gather to:

• Pray: Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Learn: Experience the compelling truth of the Catholic faith in today’s cultural context.
• Discuss: Examine questions under each focus area, sharing perspectives among a small group of sisters and brothers in Christ.
• Respond: Weigh in on how we as a Church might respond to these questions to help Archbishop determine priorities.

1. Facilitation: A trained facilitator will promote a meaningful and charitable dialogue between group members.
2. Feedback: Participants will complete an Individual Feedback Form. A trained scribe will submit the information, which will then be provided to your parish and Archbishop Hebda.
3. Location/Dates: Small groups will meet weekly at parishes across the Archdiocese for 6 sessions between September 19 and November 14. Each meeting will last 2 hours. Contact St. Peter's Parish Office for more information at 651-982-2200.