Parish Synod (February 26, 27 & 28)

February 1st, 2010

By Eileen Hutchinson

What is the Parish Synod?
As Fr. Ken has explained in his homilies and in his bulletin column, our Parish Synod is “a holy process of faith.” Over the course of a weekend, a large group of parishioners will gather to share opinions, suggestions and desires that are “for the good of the whole parish community.”

How did the Parish Synod evolve?
Fr. Ken had been prayerfully pondering this concept for over a year. In the summer of 2009, he asked Maureen Poulin and me to co-chair a committee…the Preparatory Steering Committee…that would gather the initial data for discussion. The committee (Bev Gicinto, Jose Mediavilla, Art Pfaff, Peg Walter, Maureen and me) met in early September and identified six areas of focus:

Facilities and Finance
Faith Formation and Education
Justice and Social Service
Marriage and Family
Pastoral Care
Prayer and Worship

Ad hoc task forces were organized to draft a mission statement for each of these areas and identify central themes/components that would be necessary to achieve that mission. For each theme, we then brainstormed as to what we are doing well (our strengths) and areas we could improve in (our concerns). Finally, each task force was asked to submit priorities based upon those we cannot continue without, those that would greatly enhance parish life and those that would be nice if everything else was in order. Through the collaborative effort of over sixty individuals, reports have been drafted that will be used as the starting point for discussion at the Parish Synod.

What will occur at the Parish Synod?
The logistics are still being ironed out; however, I can tell you that everyone will have an opportunity to reflect on each of the above topics. Background information will be shared with the entire group and then discussed in small groups.

St. Charles Borromeo Church is blessed with devoted and passionate parishioners. We don’t expect consensus on every matter but we hope that we can facilitate a forum where everyone feels comfortable expressing his or her opinions… opinions that are “for the good of the whole parish community.”

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