Synod update: Consultation is complete
By Kathleen Ogle
Managing Editor
PISCATAWAY — The consultation phase of the Diocese of Metuchen’s first synod is complete. Using responses from the Phase I and Phase II Speak Up Sessions, topical commissions are currently developing proposals that eventually will be voted on in synod sessions beginning in October.
“Now we’re really at the point where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak,” said Msgr. William Benwell, vicar general and moderator of the synod, at a diocesan staff synod update July 11 at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center.
The synod process, which began in June 2003 when Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski announced the diocese would have its first synod, will conclude in January when the bishop promulgates decrees and and declarations to help guide the future of the diocese.
Msgr. Benwell described the consultation phase as “the heart of the synod process” because it involved “listening to the Spirit as the Spirit speaks through the faithful of the diocese.”
Approximately 6,000 people participated in the Phase I Speak Up Sessions; in these session participants talked about what they liked about their parish as well as areas they felt needed improvement in the church at large.
Nearly 500 people participated in the Phase II Speak Up Sessions; these
sessions focused on specific topics within six areas: Parish Life, Education, Unity, Personnel in Ministry, Social Justice, and Worship and Spirituality.
Peg Garvey-Mitchell, a consultant to the diocesan synod, said the turnout was somewhat less than she had anticipated, but she emphasized that the number of people who participated was “not really the point.”
Enthusiastic participation
“Those who came were called to be there,” Garvey-Mitchell said. “They were enthusiastic, and they certainly entered into the conversation on the topics at hand.”
The three topics that drew the largest number of participants, she said, were
Parish Life, Social Justice and Education.
She attributed the relatively low turnout to the difficulty of generating specific ideas. “It’s very easy to say, ‘You know what the diocese should do? You know what that pastor should do?’ But to sit down and try to come up with specific ideas is very challenging,” she said.
“People found it easier, I think, to speak about the desired state, what they would like to see, whether that would be that they would like the church to be more welcoming or they would like people to grow closer to Jesus,” she continued. “But in terms of coming up with the concrete suggestion, that was much more difficult for people.”
Garvey-Mitchell, who served as the lead facilitator at all 12 Phase II Speak Up Sessions, said she was impressed with the lively discussions she observed as people engaged in the process of generating ideas.
“What was very obvious to me was that people brought enormous love for the Lord and for the life of the church with them and that was what had drawn them there,” she said. “The synod process allowed people an opportunity for conversation about faith.”
She praised the organization of the Speak Up Sessions and the generosity of parishes hosting the sessions.
Difficult issues
Garvey-Mitchell acknowledged participants’ diverse socioeconomic levels and range of perspectives. “We had all schools of thought represented,” she said. “There were people from a more liberal place, people from a more conservative place and people looking for some kind of middle ground, but everybody came. So imagine the feat of people respectfully listening to one another.”
In general, she said, participants appreciated the diversity of their groups and the commonality of their cares and concerns. However, she also witnessed participants struggling with some of the more difficult issues facing the church, such as the role of women in the church and how to be more welcoming to gays and lesbians into the church.
“This was no surprise to us,” she said. “These are thorny issues. They are dilemmas for the faithful who are struggling, trying to figure this out.”
Despite these struggles, many participants said they found the process enjoyable. “People would say, ‘I liked my table so much we’re trying to find out when we can do it again,’ ”she said.
Because participants were assigned tables, they often sat with people they did not know or did not know well. “People shared with me that they learned so much from one another. They learned so much about the diocese and other parishes, and they were inspired to be with people who cared so much about being Catholic and the life of the church,” Garvey-Mitchell said.
Dominant themes
Having participated at some of the Phase II Speak Up Sessions, Msgr. Benwell said he and others recognized three themes throughout the consultation phase. Those themes were accountability, community and education. Education was discussed in a “broad sense,” he said. “It wasn’t just schools and religious education; it was really faith formation. How these work themselves out into proposals remains to be seen.”
Throughout the consultation phase, the synod as been a “broad process involving many, many people,” he continued. “Its focus now becomes a little bit narrower as it involves just the synod secretariat, the synod commission, the topical commissions, the delegates and ultimately the bishop.”
The six topical commissions — Parish Life, Education, Unity, Personnel in Ministry, Social Justice, and Worship and Spirituality — are now “mining” the material, according to Msgr. Benwell, to develop specific proposals and initiatives.
Each commission will present from four to 15 proposals for the discussion and consideration by synod delegates. The topical commissions’ proposals will be reviewed for theological and canonical accuracy before being presented to the bishop.
With the bishop’s approval, the proposals, which will total between 30 and 90, will be forwarded to the synod delegates for their review. “Synod delegates are being asked to read the proposals, reflect on them, pray on them and then submit their recommendations and suggestions with respect to language and emphasis, additions and deletions,” Msgr. Benwell said.
After reviewing the delegates’ suggestions, the topical commissions will finalize the proposals to be voted on during actual synod sessions.
Synod sessions are scheduled for Oct. 7, Oct. 21 and Dec. 2. At each synod session two topics will be addressed by the delegates. For example, Parish Life may be addressed in the morning and Education in the afternoon.
During the sessions, the delegates will meet in small groups to discuss the merits of each proposal before voting whether to recommend them to the bishop, Msgr. Benwell explained.
Profile voting
The delegates will use profile voting to give the bishop an idea of the level of support for each proposal. For each proposal the delegates will have five options. They can say they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree or abstain.
Even a strongly supported proposal is only a recommendation to the bishop, he noted. “All votes are consultative. The church encourages us to play a part in the process but it is up to the bishop to be the legislator,” Msgr. Benwell explained.
The synod process concludes with the diocese’s observance of its 25th anniversary. On Jan. 31, Bishop Bootkoski is scheduled to promulgate decrees and declarations from the synod “as part of the vision and policy of our diocese moving forward,” Msgr. Benwell said.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law