St. Francis Parish Looks to Hear From All Catholics
“A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” That is how Judith Clayton, director of religious education for Saint Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, describes the current Spiritual Conversation Campaign being conducted as part of the worldwide Synod of Bishops.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to look at the Catholic Church and have a say – for everyone to speak their mind,” she said.
Last fall, Pope Francis formally opened the Synod of Bishops, a two-year process of listening and dialogue in the Catholic Church. Under the theme “For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission,” the purpose is “to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people’s hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.”
The Rev. Francis Di Spigno, pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish, further explained, saying the campaign aims to “encourage all parishioners and all baptized Catholics to gather, offer their insights and to encounter one another in prayer and active listening.”
As part of this process, the parish is holding two synod sessions – at 7 p.m. March 23 via Zoom and at 10 a.m. March 26 in St. Francis Church Hall, 4700 Long Beach Blvd. in Brant Beach. For questions or to register, synod.stfrancis@gmail.com.
Those who attend will gather in small groups and be asked three questions by a facilitator. A synopsis of each conversation will be recorded via notetaking and sent to the Diocese of Trenton. All participants’ names will be kept in confidence, and no names will be included in the report.
The diocese will then condense all information sent in by its parishes and send a report to the U.S. bishops on the national level. That information will continue on to the Vatican with a response expected in 2023.
The questions are as follows: 1. What have been the joys and obstacles in your journeying together with the Church? 2. After considering the comments from the other participants, what resonated the most for you? 3. Reflecting on the conversation, how might the Holy Spirit be prompting you, and all of us as Church, to improve the ways we are able to journey together?
Clayton said, “For those worried they are ‘not religious enough’ to be part of the conversation, just know that you don’t have to be a theologian. This process is about your own heart speaking.”
She added, “For me, the greatest importance is how we are looking at our own parish and seeing what we can do now for the people who are underserved in our parish – and beyond our parish.”
Arlene Morrison, a parishioner and member of the parish synod steering committee, encourages Catholics who may have fallen away from the Church to attend one of the synod meetings.
Clayton added, “The doors are always open, no matter your circumstances.”
Source: https://www.thesandpaper.net/articles/st-francis-parish-looks-to-hear-from-all-catholics/