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Prayer for the Synod
Adsumus, Sancte SpiritusWe stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together
to eternal life and not stray
from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work
in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever.
Amen.
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Key Information for Individual Conversations and Parish Listening Sessions
St. Michael Parish Listening Session
Sunday March 6, 9:40 – 10:50 AM, Fellowship Hall. Where every participant can offer his/her feedback on the Church, especially related to your connection to the parish, diocese, and Universal Church, your positive and negative experiences of Church, and suggestions for the future. Feedback from the small group discussions will be given to the diocese. We will direct our conversations using the diocesan conversation guide.Training for Conversations
Sunday March 20: 9:40 – 10:50 AM, Fellowship Hall: Training for engaging others in the synodal conversations. We will provide suggestions on how to initiate the conversations, actively listen and encourage honest responses from others, and offer words of comfort and acceptance to those with painful experiences of Church.
Diocesan Conversation Guide
Click here to find the conversation guide developed by the Diocese of Lansing. We will use this as the guide for our listening session as well.Portals for Entering Responses
Following each of your conversations with others about their experiences with the Church, please use the diocesan portals to enter the information. All responses must be entered by April 29.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Synod?
"Synod" can be translated as "journeying together." The Church has been journeying together to discern direction for the church since the time of the Apostles. (See Acts 15 where the Apostles gather to work through some differences that came about in the early Church.) The current structure for synods began in the late 1960s to ensure a continuing collaboration and dialogue between bishops, theologians, religious, and lay faithful. Synods on issues affecting the Church are typically held every 2-3 years. The most recent synod was held in 2018 on "Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment."What is this Synod on Synodality and why do we need it?
Through this synod, Pope Francis is calling the entire People of God to journey together! He is asking us to dialogue with each other, listen to each other, and discern (always under the guidance of the Holy Spirit) direction for the Church and how we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
What happens with the feedback we provide?
The Diocese of Lansing will synthesize all of the feedback they receive through the portal into a report that they submit to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in June. The USCCB will then synthesize the information it receives from dioceses across the country to send to the Vatican.
Why do we have to submit our responses by April when the actual meeting doesn't take place until 2023?
As noted above, various entities need to synthesize feedback they receive before it gets submitted to Rome to prepare for the in-person gathering in 2023. Getting our responses in by the end of April will allow the diocese time to get their responses in by June.Do I have to stick with this conversation guide? Can I ask other questions, or can I just have an unstructured conversation with someone?
The conversation guide is truly just a guide. It's there to help you focus in on specific topics that the diocese discerned to be most important. Note the last question, though, that allows you to input responses from any other topics you covered in your conversation. Let the Holy Spirit guide you!
I want to start having conversations before the March 20 training. Can you give me some suggestions?
As we hear what's been working for people, we'll try to include that information here. One thought is that it may be easier to start a conversation like this with people if they've been warned it's coming. Maybe start out with an email that includes the conversation topics to give your potential respondent some time to reflect.
Am I limited to having this conversation with people from our diocese?
The diocese is not trying to limit any of our conversations - they are all important! And maybe the person you know from another diocese wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to participate, so definitely reach out to them. In the feedback portal you can put the zip code of the person you talked with, so this can help the diocese as they analyze the data. -
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