For some of us, our understanding of Synods has been that, from time-to-time, bishops would gather in Rome to deliberate and develop a consensus that guides and governs the Church. In October 2021, Pope Francis turned that notion on its head: he invited the entire church to participate in a Synod on synodality. By synodality, Pope Francis meant ‘journeying together’. In launching the two year endeavour he said, “...Let us journey together, in order to experience a church that receives and lives this gift of unity and is open to the voice of the spirit.”

An opportunity to ‘journey together’ came on Saturday, January 15th through a Zoom call hosted by Saint Benedict Parish. Using a format developed by the Archdiocese of Halifax -Yarmouth, Anna Stuart from the Parish Pastoral Council acted as MC and kept us on track. Fr. Alex opened the session with prayer where we were invited to be open to the Holy Spirit and feel the connectedness of journeying together.

We heard a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, describing the day of Pentecost when the Apostles received the Holy Spirit. We entered into a time of silence to focus solely upon how this passage spoke to us. Accompanying the reading were questions to elicit how we were moved by this passage: What did we think about the early church? What do we think about the church today, with its strengths and weaknesses? How would we like to see our church today?

Upon reflection, we were prompted to share our responses. In listening to others, I found myself experiencing growth in both the impact of the reading and in how I responded to the questions. We then listened to the scripture again, and then we shared further.

Then, we were read an historical account of how the early church experienced synodality. “In all things the faithful were consulted. They were not asked to vote – the final decision was discerned through prayer with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But their voices were heard. In this way early Christians experienced a feeling of community and inclusion... journeying together.” Then we tackled another set

of questions. The first asked if we could recall examples of this type of ‘journeying together’ in our parish. We were asked to record our feelings when this happened and when it did not. The second question asked us to call to mind a time when a ‘major’ decision was made at the parish – how did I learn of it – did I feel my voice was heard in it – and what voices were most influential. The third and last question asked where we thought God was calling our church right now to grow and progress.

Ample time was given for reflection, prayerful discernment, and sharing
our thoughts, hopes, and dreams. I personally found it inspiring to reflect in this way in an open forum with so much in common but with so many diverse points of view. Fr. Simon concluded the session by leading us in prayer and sharing his reflections on the experience of the afternoon.

The proceedings were recorded and passed along to the Archdiocese. They will compile them and send them to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops who will present them at the Vatican.

If you were unable to participate in the Zoom event on January 15th, I strongly urge you to journey with us by using the participant's guide on the Archdiocese website. Be sure to invite the Holy Spirit to journey with you and your synodality will be fruitful.