WESTMINSTER SYNODAL PATHWAY

“The Holy Father is offering us the opportunity to participate in a time of listening and reflecting. He hopes this will help us to discern how God’s presence comes into our lives and what the Spirit of God is prompting us to do anew, so that we might be more alive and creative in our response to the call of Jesus, our Way, Truth and Life.” (Pastoral Letter 2-3 October 2021, Cardinal Vincent)

“…the heart of the synodal experience is listening to God through listening to one another, inspired by the Word of God.” (Synod Vademecum)

What and Why?

From the Vatican Synod Office: www.synod.va/en.html

From our Diocesan website: www.rcdow.org.uk/synod

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Synodal Pathway Parish Representatives:

Each parish is asked to name someone who can help coordinate and facilitate the Synodal Pathway in their community, and to send their contact details to Warren Brown at the Agency for Evangelisation by 3rd October, or soon after (to catadmin@rcdow.org.uk). They will be kept in touch with developments every step of the way. A great Synodal Pathway Parish Rep would be….

• someone who can attend the Liturgical Opening of the Diocesan Synodal Pathway in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 16th October at the 6.00pm Mass, and the Pre-Synodal Diocesan Gathering at the Cathedral on Saturday 15th January 2022
• someone who can dedicate time to training, and to the planning and delivery of up to three parish meetings/conversations, using the resources provided
• someone who can communicate the Synodal vision with joy to fellow parishioners
• someone who knows the neighbourhood, and where those on the “margins” are

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What to expect:

After a time of preparation, including information and training events offered to Clergy, Parish Reps and others, parishes and communities will move into the ‘listening phase’. Resources will be provided to support this process:

• Simple resources to use on the Synodal Pathway launch weekend, 16th/17th October
• Material and ideas on how to engage people into taking part, including those beyond the visible Church community
• Accessible, interactive resources to use in different settings enabling people to participate in simple ways. This will include brief interactive activities which could be used after Mass or in a parish event or parish group
• Core material to guide synodal conversations in parishes and communities
• Ideas of how to use the material in different ways e.g. one-to-one, one off groups, a series of gatherings, online events, meetings with young people
• Tools to synthesise feedback to the Synod team in the Diocese.

There will also be regional listening events and opportunities for people to engage online. It is hoped that there will be wide participation, so that as many voices as possible can feed into the process which will culminate in a Diocesan gathering for representatives from parishes and communities in January 2022.

Timeline:
Preparation and Launch

Listening Phase

Diocesan Gathering

Look out for other events as the Synodal Pathway progresses.