We did it! With just a few short weeks of notice and just a few weeks more to complete the task, we managed to hold three listening sessions as a part of the interim phase of the international Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis. A HUGE thank you to parishioner Katie Dorner, who, with assistance from Tom Lenz and Deacon Chris Murphy, pulled all this together! To put things in context: The USCCB issued a request in mid-February asking parishes across the country to hold listening sessions to gather feedback between the first and second meetings of the Synod Assembly in Rome. The catch? The listening sessions had to be held during Lent, and a summary report needed to be submitted to the relevant diocese before April 1. An extremely narrow timeframe. So another big thank you to Katie and to all the parishioners who attended the listening sessions! (Learn more about the Synod listening sessions here.)
The following is the summary report (verbatim) of our parish listening sessions which was submitted by Katie Dorner to the Archdiocese of Chicago on behalf of our parish. The Archdiocese will send it to the USCCB, where it will be synthesized with other reports from around the country. It will then be used by the voting members of the Synod Assembly when they meet for their closing session in Rome this October. March 2024 Synod Listening Sessions Summary Saint John XXIII – Evanston, IL Archdiocese of Chicago Dear USCCB, Saint John XXIII is a vibrant, diverse parish in Evanston, IL, just north of Chicago. Saint John XXIII is a recently merged parish of Saint Nicholas and Saint Mary’s. We gathered in person this Lent to participate in this stage of the Synod on Synodality and are happy to share our synthesis here. There were 36 total participants across three listening sessions: two in English and one in Spanish. We wish to acknowledge that this is a small sample size of our large and active parish, given the time constraints of receiving direction in February to host these during Lent. However, we hope this summary still makes a helpful contribution to this stage of the Synod. After an opening prayer and a brief presentation about the Synod, parishioners met in small groups for Conversations in the Spirit. There was a notetaker and a timekeeper in each small group. There were three rounds of sharing for the listening circles, with these questions from the Archdiocese and Synod Office to guide the rounds:
The common themes arose in the listening sessions from our discussion on co-responsibility and mission were: the need and desire for deeper listening within our local and global Church – in particular between clergy and the laity but also among laity, a call for more holistic formation of both clergy and the laity, the inclusion of women in decision making and recognition of women in ministerial leadership, and a great love and concern for both our local parish and the global Church. The need and desire for deeper listening within our local and global Church. This theme arose in almost every small group. Parishioners valued this synodal model of listening and commented on the desire to put into practice this model of listening to/with the Spirit more often. Some noted a frustration that not more members of the clergy or parish council were present for these sessions. There is a hope to have more synodal listening in our parish life in general, not solely in listening sessions. There was a call for greater transparency within our parish so that more trust can be built between parish leadership and parishioners. In addition to greater listening between clergy and laity, there was also a desire for more listening among parishioners at our newly merged parish. One parishioner said, “Artificial divisions can be broken down by listening” and another, “We must create the space to recognition beauty in diversity.” A call for more holistic formation of both clergy and the laity. Formation was another theme that came up in all three listening sessions. In terms of the laity, one parishioner commented, “Ministries need formation: we like people to participate but we don’t take the time for formation." Another parishioner shared that when the laity experience good formation, we feel co-responsible and want to live co-responsibly in the Church. In terms of clergy formation, there was a call for the “rejection of clericalism on all levels.” There was a desire for the Church leadership to know their flock in order to serve them well – to have both good theological formation and also to be attuned to the community in which they serve. The inclusion of women in decision making and recognition of women in ministerial leadership. When discussion of women in the Church came up in small groups, there was both a sense of hurt and hope. One woman parishioner shared, “If you want me to be co-responsible, make my role equal.” There was a note to not avoid the tension of power difference in our Church structure when talking about co-responsibility. There was hope shared about the Synod discussion of including women in decision making processes and the diaconate. Someone said, “What will happen when we are dust?” and the importance of empowering and encouraging young women. A great love and concern for both our local parish and the global Church. There was a palpable love and concern for our local parish and the global Church in these listening sessions. In every session, conversations sincerely brought up the guidance of the Holy Spirit in where we go from here. A concluding note from one of the groups was “We have deep concern about our Church, faith, and community” and another, “We trust that the Holy Spirit will guide us forward.” Many of the small groups brought up a specific concern for young people in the Church, and a conviction to listen to them more fervently for the vitality of our Church. There is a shared hope to “follow and apply this method of synodal listening.” We are grateful for this experience to contribute to this phase of the Synod on Synodality and entrust these hopes and yearnings of all who attended the listening sessions to be synthesized on the national level. We also uplift our parishioners who were unable to attend these sessions due to logistical conflicts. We trust You, Holy Spirit, to gather all of our spoken and unspoken prayers through this process, and in light of the Adsumus Prayer, we pray: “Teach us the way we must go, and how we are to pursue it.” Want to learn more about the Synod as a whole? Check out our Synod on Synodality series! Comments are closed.
|
Worship & Events
|
|
Site powered by The Archdiocese of Chicago
|
© St. John XXIII Parish Site Manager |