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Synod 2021-2023

Parish information from the 2021–2023 synodal journey.

Parish archive

Listening together as a Church

The synodal process invited Catholics to pray, listen and discern together, with particular attention to communion, participation and mission.

This page is retained as a parish record of the 2021–2023 journey and the resources shared with the community at the time.

Three themes of the journey

A simple guide to the three words that shaped the synodal process.

Communion

Growing together as the people of God and deepening our shared life in Christ.

Participation

Listening to one another and encouraging every baptised person to take part in the life of the Church.

Mission

Going out together to witness to the Gospel and serve the world with faith and hope.

Synod archive

Synod resources & parish information

The original parish information is reorganised here into shorter, easier-to-read sections. There is no second legacy page hidden underneath it.

About the journey

For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission

Pope Francis called the worldwide Catholic Church into a synodal process beginning in October 2021 and culminating in the General Assembly of Bishops in October 2023. The process invited clergy, religious and lay Catholics to participate according to the gifts and charisms of their vocation.

In the Archdiocese of Southwark, local parishes were invited to host listening meetings where the Church’s mission in parish and diocesan life could be prayerfully examined and discerned together.

Synod website Archdiocese of Southwark
Journeying together

What the three themes meant

Open a theme to read the fuller explanation retained from the parish’s original Synod page.

CommunionGrowing together in one faith

By His gracious will, God gathers us together as diverse peoples of one faith, through the covenant that he offers to his people. The communion we share finds its deepest roots in the love and unity of the Trinity. It is Christ who reconciles us to the Father and unites us with each other in the Holy Spirit.

Together, we are inspired by listening to the Word of God, through the living Tradition of the Church, and grounded in the sensus fidei that we share. We all have a role to play in discerning and living out God’s call for his people.

ParticipationListening and taking part

A call for the involvement of all who belong to the People of God – laity, consecrated and ordained – to engage in deep and respectful listening to one another. This listening creates space for us to hear the Holy Spirit together and guides our aspirations for the Church.

Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualified and called to serve one another through the gifts they have each received from the Holy Spirit. Genuine efforts are made to include those at the margins or who feel excluded.

MissionWitnessing to the Gospel

The Church exists to evangelise. Our mission is to witness the love of God in the midst of the whole human family. The Synodal Process has a deep missionary dimension and seeks to help the Church better witness to the Gospel.

It pays particular attention to those who live on the spiritual, social, economic, political, geographical and existential peripheries of our world, so the Church can more fruitfully fulfil her mission of evangelisation.

What is the Synod?

A process of listening and discerning

The Synod is a participative and inclusive process that offers people within and beyond the worshipping Catholic community the opportunity to express themselves, to be heard and to contribute to how the People of God can better “journey together”.

It was intended to help people dream about the Church we are called to be, learn from one another, recognise the gifts in every person, renew relationships and build bridges for our common mission.

Documents

Resources for the Journeying Together process

All of the useful parish documents are kept here as individual modern resource cards.

PDF resourceSynod PrayersPrayer and meeting material used during the listening phase.Open document PDF resourceSynodal Resources 1About the Synod and helping people walk the synodal way.Open document PDF resourceSynodal Resources 2Guidance on selecting parish delegates.Open document PDF resourceSynodal Resources 3Questions for parish listening, sharing and reflection.Open document PDF resourceSynodal Resources 4Guidance for facilitating spiritual conversations.Open document Word formParish listening response formThe original questionnaire form provided for parish conversations in 2021.Open form
Parish listening phase

What we/the Church were asked to do

Each local parish was asked to host a meeting, or series of meetings, and record the key points from conversations. The questions focused on how the local Church journeys together, proclaims the Gospel and shows love to the world.

The original parish page asked for answers to be sent to the diocese by 26th November 2021 and gave Murielle as the parish contact for completed responses. Those dates and contact instructions are retained as historical context rather than as a current call to action.

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