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Pope Francis has called for a worldwide synod within the Catholic Church to run from 2021 – 2023. The theme of the Synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.” These three dimensions of the theme are profoundly interrelated for they are the vital pillars of a Synodal Church. A Synod means “journeying together” and it involves listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk together as a Church.
The Synod opened in Rome on October 9, 2021, and here in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe a week later. During October and November information was distributed about the Synod. Father Schultz selected Greg Joyner and Barbara Posler to serve as the leaders of our Parish Synodal Team, and they in turn selected ten team members. Four parish meeting dates were selected that ran from January to March of 2022. The meetings were scheduled at different days and times so as to be widely available. The meetings were open to anyone who wished to attend. We were seeking a broad representation of opinion and ideas. The purpose was not to critique or criticize, but to share visions of how the future of our Church might look. A total of 90 persons attended one or more of the meetings The overall question to be addressed by the Synod was: A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together.” How is this “journeying together” happening today in your local Church? What steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together?” Extensive notes were taken at each meeting and a summary was submitted to the Archdiocesan Synodal Team based on the following 3 questions. Many thanks to all who participated in this synodal process.
Top insights regarding: How is the Church moving together? How are we a synodal church of Communion, Participation and Mission?- We need to better engage and catechize the youth.
- We need regular opportunities for listening sessions in the parish.
- Many adult Catholics have adult children who no longer practice the faith. How can we reach out to them?
- Creating a culture of “welcome” in our parish.
- We need better outreach to the “fallen away” Catholics.
- We need more interaction with the broader community – people of other faiths or of no faith – to foster unity as the People of God.
- Increased opportunities for adult faith formation.
- Outreach to widowed, divorced, LGBTQ, persons in non-sacramental marriages, etc.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that we really do want to celebrate our faith together as a community and not as isolated individuals.
- We journey together through communal participation in sacraments and liturgy.
- Not everyone has access to on-line resources.