Phase II Speak Ups underway
By Kathleen Ogle
Managing Editor
BASKING RIDGE — Young adults, senior citizens, and men and women of all ages in between traveled to St. James Parish May 3 to offer their ideas for the future of Education and Parish Life in the diocese.
The event was the first of the Phase II Speak Up Sessions, part of the consultation phase of the diocese’s first synod. In addition to Parish Life and Education, these sessions will focus on Unity, Spirituality and Worship, Personnel in Ministry and Social Justice. Phase II sessions will be held throughout the diocese until mid-June.
Although many participants were from St. James Parish, people from other parishes near and far also attended. Sixteen people from Holy Trinity Parish in Perth Amboy traveled to Basking Ridge to participate in the Parish Life and Education sessions.
All together, 56 people attended the first Phase II session with 33 participants focused on Parish Life and 23 participants exploring ideas about Education. Participants were asked to review questions raised by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski about the topic and to come to the sessions prepared to respond. Each question related to the topic was discussed in three rounds. In round 1, participants were asked to offer their ideas. In round 2, participants discussed the ideas. “It’s a time to really engage in the conversation, the listening, the wanting to understand,” said Peg Garvey-Mitchell, facilitator of the Phase II Speak Up Sessions. In round 3, the group was asked to reach consensus on the ideas they generated. “Some groups may reach consensus about two or three ideas, whereas others may reach consensus about four or five,” she explained.
Garvey-Mitchell urged participants to speak and listen to each other with respect. “I believe God’s spirit has moved us to come and be here today. Let us honor the Lord who speaks through us and in us and with us, in our speech, in our posture, in our respect for one another,” she said.
Bob and Barbara Duffy attended the Basking Ridge session, which was geographically convenient to their home in Bernardsville, to discuss Parish Life. Although they found the Parish Life questions challenging, they described the session as well organized. Bob praised the scribe and moderator for keeping group focused.
“When you have a group of six people at the table there are always one or two who are looking to control the conversation, and it didn’t happen that way. Everyone got an equal voice and it was much more enjoyable that way,” he said.
Father George Farrell, parochial vicar of St. James Parish, served as a scribe for the Parish Life session. He expressed his feeling that lay participation in the synod “is a great opportunity to build faith.”
“It’s so easy to say, ‘Well this must be what the people’s needs are,’ whereas doing this we really know what the people’s needs are, we know what their dreams are, we know what their hopes are for the future. I think that really builds our faith when we do it this way,” he said.
Since scribes and moderators are not in a position to offer their own ideas during the sessions, Father Farrell plans to attend a Social Justice session elsewhere to participate.
“We focused in on the idea that there are a lot of things we can start at the parish level and you can share parish to parish, you don’t need top down direction,” said Paul Major of Our Lady of the Mount Parish, Warren, who sat at a Parish Life table.
Anne Marie Mattia of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Parish, Bridgewater, attended the Education session because of her interest in adult faith formation. She facilitates a women’s Bible study in her home because she has not been able to find what she was looking for in area parishes.
“I want to thank the powers that be for the opportunity to speak and be heard. It is our obligation to do this. We are the church,” she said. “We are the living body of the church. It’s like exercising our right to vote. Unless we do it we won’t be given the opportunity. That’s why it’s really important that we’re here.”
Input gathered at the evening’s proceedings will be forwarded to the Education and Parish Life Commissions. The commissions will draft synod proposals for the delegates to vote on during synod sessions in October and December.
For the Phase II Speak Up Session schedule visit the Synod website . For more information, call (732) 562-2454. Pre-registration is encouraged.
*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