The Holy Father has set in motion
a process of worldwide consultation leading to the Synod of Bishops
in 2023.
Latest documents can be found here
and on our facebook page.
People can email themselves (by 16th Dec) or feedback to
either Roger Peacock or Emma MacQuillin by 15th Dec.
Working
Document for the Continental Stage ..............Infographic
for Synod Process
Synod national
synthesis England Wales ......................Southwark
Synthesis Final
Bishops
Reflection ....................................................
FAQ
Response to Synod Questionaire - feedback
by Thursday 25th March
Roger and Emma have attended a Zoom meetingwhere the draft
synthetic response to the synod questionnaire was presented. We now
have the opportunity to feedback on the draft paper. The deadline
for this is short - next Friday 25th March.
The document can be found here.
Responses can be emailed to Emma MacQuillin at meloum@hotmail.co.uk
An invitation is extended to 'all of the baptised' to contribute
on three principal themes:
Communion, Participation and Mission.
The process begins in the Particular (or Local) Church and then moves
to the level of the Bishops Conference.
From there, discernment takes place in the Regional Area for
England and Wales, it would be steered by the European Council of
Bishops Conferences (CCEE) before moving to the Universal
Church with the final Synod Gathering of Bishops in 2023.
Synodal Response: Thanks to Roger
Peacock and Emma MacQuillin for their help coordinating this.
There continued to be overwhelming acknowledgement
of Father Adams' hard work and commitment to the Church. We
have received 20 written responses and 10 attendees at the meeting.
The responses will be presented sometime between 24th January and
18th February, via an online meeting, with the Archbishop of Southwark.
If anyone would like to make an online submission the closing date
is the 18th February.
A full summary can be found here
Participation : There were many suggestions to aid participation
including coffee mornings, parish council, quarterly magazine, Annual
Fete, social media presence etc. It was felt the young and lapsed
were least included and this could be tackled with community activities,
social gatherings, helping hands group among other things. There was
a suggestion made around celebrating the churches 30th anniversary
this May and inviting all the community including the school, and
deepening the involvement with the school.
Communion: Many felt the opportunity to access Communion at
St.Augustines was excellent and that we should continue to pray for
others to return to the Church. We need to improve on reaching out
to the lapsed, we hope to remain welcoming and maybe by being included
in the Action Forum and with the delivery of the Easter/Christmas
cards we could make a start.
There was talk of how to develop more of a community - possibly with
coffee mornings and/or toddler/baby groups, maybe one group to accommodate
all.
Mission: The mission of the Church was listed as spreading
the Good News with love, help and support for one another and that
this could be shared within the Diocese with more 'get-togethers',
communication and pilgrimages. There is a lot of fundraising within
the Church for various charities but we could do more in the wider
community.
More information can be found at:
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/synodal-church/
https://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/get-involved/synod/
https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/synod
https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/document/common/vademecum/Vademecum-EN-A4.pdf
Please pray for Our Holy Father and the Synodal process in our
Archdiocese and worldwide, that the Holy Spirit will draw us more
closely together in the truth and send us out as a light to the nations.
May God bless you as we begin this journey together, confident that
the Lord always works for good through those who love Him.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles
and Mother of the Church, intercede for us as we journey together
on the path that God sets before us. As in the Upper Room at Pentecost,
may her maternal care and intercession accompany us as we build up
our communion with one another and carry out our mission in the world.
With her, we say together as the People of God: 'Let it be with me
according to your word' (Lk 1:38)
The Timetable for Southwark is as follows:
18 October - 19 November: Local listening phase
24 November - 10 Dec - Our delegates and clergy meet online with the
Archbishop to contribute what has been learned locally.
7 January 2022 - Deadline for online submissions
January 2022 - Group of clergy, religious and lay people meet to prayerfully
distill information into a 'synthetic' document.
February 2022 - Review of above document by participants in the process
March 2022 - Event to mark the conclusion of the diocesan phase.