Speak up! The archbishop is listening
Monday, May 14, 2012
Rosemarie Banich
As we all know, long-range planning is necessary in all aspects of our lives; from our families to our careers, it is important to take the time to evaluate where we are and decide where we want to go. The same need for planning applies to our Church. On April 3, Archbishop Wenski convoked “Disciples in Faith, Missionaries of Hope,” the second General Synod of the Archdiocese of Miami in order to call us all to this important time in the life of our faith community. This is a monumental task, involving thousands of Catholics and close to 100 parishes covering the three counties that make up our vibrant and diverse South Florida Church. The Synod is the process through which this planning will be accomplished.
The word “synod” comes from the Greek word for assembly, and that is exactly what we will be doing here in South Florida this summer. The first part of the Synod is a series of Listening Sessions: gatherings to which all Catholics are invited to share with each other our experiences of and hopes for our Church.
Archbishop Wenski will be at each of these assemblies, and he is eager to hear what the people of the Archdiocese have to say. There are three specific questions which will be asked of everyone who attends a Listening Session:
- What is the church in South Florida doing well?
- What can the church in South Florida do better?
- In the next 18-16 months, what three priorities should the Archdiocese of Miami undertake for more effective ministry and pastoral care?
Speaking of next steps, the second part of any planning project involves discerning where you want to be in the future. When he convened the Synod at the Chrism Mass, Archbishop Wenski declared that “it is our invitation and responsibility to become evermore generously disciples in faith, missionaries of hope.” How we move forward as a people of God in order to fulfill this dual call to personal faithfulness and evangelization will become the focus of the Synod upon conclusion of the Listening Sessions. In the next few months I will be blogging more about the next steps in the Synod.
In the meantime, for the dates and locations of all the listening sessions, and much more information about the Synod, please visit our website at www.synodmiami.org. We look forward to seeing many of you at a Listening Session, and ask everyone to keep the work of the Synod in their prayers.
Comments from readers
Thanks for keeping us informed about the whole process, we are eager to get started providing ideas on how to get going with the 'New Evangelization', as Aparecida said, "to be disciples and missionaries".
IN Christ,
I Remain,
Manuel Antonio Pel�ez,MA+