Synod 2021 – 2023

Pope Francis and the Synod office in Rome are inviting the whole Church to become Synodal.

We are invited to journey together, listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the lives of the people we meet.

The whole ‘Synod’ will be a two-year process beginning in every diocese in October 2021 and moving on to a national then international listening exercise.

The Synod prayer, Preparatory document and the Synod Vademecum provide us with an in depth understanding of what the synod entails.

Information sessions to help us with understanding the process in Clifton are to be held in early November. These will be followed by parish meetings with specific areas for reflection during the season of Advent.

Please continue to look at this website for further updates.

Prayer for the Synod

Adsumus Prayer for the Synod

Preparatory Document

Synod Vademecum

The documents below are the Delegates’ Guide to Synodal Pathway. They are for clergy, parish representatives and those organising the synodal pathway. Videos for the information day can be found below.

Delegates Guide to Synodal Pathway

For a Synodal Church – Facilitator’s Guide

For a Synodal Church Toolkit

Interactive Listening Activities

Questions Communion Participation Mission

Recorder notes

Submitting Data

Report on the Process

Synodal Conversations – Participants Materials

A guide to listening deeply

For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission

Group Session Record Form

Parish Listening Exercise – Process Flow

Conversation Starters for non-parish based synodal groups

Report on the Process

In collaboration with the University of Newcastle in Australia and the Catholic Women’s Council, Catholic Women Speak is conducting an online survey—available in six languages—to gather feedback from women around the world for the Synod:

https://catholicwomenspeak.com/catholic-women-international-synod-survey/

Bishop Declan welcome’s the Synod process

The next two years in the life of the Church

what exactly is synodality and what does it mean for Catholics in England and Wales? Fr Chris Thomas, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, and Father Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission, discuss the process and explain this invitation to communion, participation and mission.

Bishop Declan introduces the information day

Fr Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission and National Ecumenical Officer at Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales

Sarah Adams, Adult education and evangelisation department

Synod Listening Conversation presentation 12-01-2022

Journeying Together Information Session

Slides to accompany the audio above: Journeying Together Information Session

There is a Parish Listening Session Synod Summary Report online for that can be filled out and submitted below:

This form is to be completed by the Parish Delegates, drawing on all the group listening sessions and activities that have taken place in the parish. It can be emailed to Synod@cliftondiocese.com or completed on-line at www.cliftondiocese.com/synod.

Name of Parish and Deanery *

Name of Parish Priest *

Name of Parish Delegate filling out this form *

Contact Details of Parish Delegate 1

Telephone number *

Email Address *

Additional Parish Delegates – Name and Email Address

Please provide a brief summary of your parish’s listening session for the Foundational Question:

A Synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together”. How is this “journeying together” happening today in your parish? How is the Holy Spirit inviting your parish community to grow in “Journeying together”? Where in these experiences do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. 1500 characters max *

Core Question 1 – Listening

How is God speaking to us through the voices that are in our midst? How is God speaking to us through voices we sometimes ignore, including those on the peripheries? What space is there to listen to the voices on the peripheries, especially cultural groups, women, the disabled, those who experience poverty, marginalisation, or social exclusion?

Core Question 2 – Speaking Out

What enables or hinders you from speaking courageously, candidly, and responsibly in your parish and society. What space is there in your parish for the voice of people, including active and inactive members of our faith?

Core Question 3 – Sharing Responsibility for our Common Mission and Sharing Authority and participation

How are the baptised members of your parish able to participate in the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel? What hinders people from being active in your parish? How is authority or governance exercised in your local parish? How are teamwork and co-responsibility put into practice in your local parish?

Core Question 4 – Discerning and Deciding

How does your parish use the methods of listening and speaking (consultation) to make decisions? How does your parish promote participation in decision making within the hierarchical Church? Does the decision making of your parish help you to listen to all members of the community, including those who are on the peripheries of parish life?

Core Question 5 – Celebration

How do prayer and liturgical celebrations, especially Sunday Mass, inspire and guide your parish? How does your prayer life and celebration of the Mass inspire and inform your personal decisions and decisions in the parish community? How does the parish invite all baptised Catholics, including our ethnic communities, youth, families and persons with disabilities and their families, into the active life of the parish, especially Sunday Mass?