Archdiocesan Synod Update: Where Are We Now?

You may have been involved with the Synod over the last three years, or you may not have heard much about it. Here’s an update on where we’ve been, and where we are going.

What is a Church Synod? It is a formal representative assembly designed to help a bishop discern clear pastoral priorities.

Actually, there are two Synods going on simultaneously, there’s one in the world-wide Church, the Synod on Synodality that runs through 2024.

Our focus here at Nativity of Our Lord will continue to be the Synod in our local archdiocese under Archbishop Hebda. (Feedback from our local Synod has already been provided to the Vatican for the universal Synod.)

To recap where the local Synod has been over the last 3 years:

• Beginning in the fall of 2019, Archbishop Hebda led 30 regional Prayer and Listening events attended by 8,000 Catholics who provided 35,000 comments on what is working well in the Archdiocese and challenges as we move forward together.
• In August of 2020, based on the feedback from the Prayer and Listening events, Archbishop Hebda announced 3 focus areas for the Synod:

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

• In the fall of 2021, you may have participated in the Parish Consultation with Small Groups here at Nativity. This teaching and feedback series solicited feedback at the parish level. About 75 parishioners participated, including a good number of 7^th and 8^thgraders.
• At the Pentecost 2022 Synod Assembly at Cretin-Derham High, over 500 delegates including the pastor and two laypersons from each parish, prayed, discussed, and voted on 40 propositions gleaned from all the feedback. They are action steps to accomplish what participants viewed as most needed in our parishes.
• Then the Archbishop discerned and wrote the Synod Pastoral Letter, You Will be my Witnesses, published in November 2022. It gives the Archdiocese its “marching orders” for the next three years, based on the priorities that were discerned. Those are:
  • Year 1 - Small groups
  • Year 2 - Mass
  • Year 3 - Parents as primary faith educators for their children

The Synod Implementation process has now begun and will last at least three years.
In early 2023, Fr. Patrick chose 12 parishioners to form the Nativity Synod Evangelization Team, SET for short.

The Year 1 focus is to expand small groups at Nativity beginning this coming Lent. This will require many trained small group leaders, as well as organization and support from the SET team.

We began by first inviting those we have worked with in the parish who may have the pastoral gifts needed to lead on-going small groups.

We don’t want to miss anyone who may have the experience or gifts to be a small group leader, or who has the motivation to learn. Therefore, we are extending a general invitation to those interested in being a small group leader. You are invited to join us in this work.

Beginning September 3, the bulletin, the website, and postcards will all point to a QR code and website you can use to sign up.

What are you signing up for? This fall the archdiocese is providing a seven-week Small Group Leadership Training series in each parish. At this time, you are not yet committing to be a small group leader, just to go through the training. Our Training will be on Thursday evenings, beginning September 21.

At Masses on September 9 and 10, our priests will be talking more about the Small Group Leadership Training this fall. In January, there will be another general invitation for parishioners to participate as members in the small groups being offered in Lent.

Then, next Lent, the new small groups will begin meeting. The on-going small groups are being promoted as a new way to live as a parish.

Finally, Synod Evangelization Team members will be at all Lord's Day Masses this weekend, August 26-27, to greet you and answer questions after Mass.

The Synod team is excited about this opportunity to strengthen our parish, and we hope you are being drawn by the Spirit into that same vision. Please sign up!

If you are interested or have questions, please contact a member of the Nativity Synod Evangelization Team (SET) or Randall McClure at (651) 260-9045 or randallmcc715@gmail.com, or just stop by and see us after Mass this weekend!