Prayer, presentations and discussion. Catholics who have participated in any part of the three-year 2022 Archdiocesan Synod process are unlikely to be surprised by the core elements of the Synod Assembly, scheduled for Pentecost weekend, June 3-5, at Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul.

Archbishop Bernard Hebda recently approved the event’s general schedule.

The Assembly weekend is scheduled to run 7-9 p.m. June 3, 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. June 4, and noon-6 p.m. June 5. The event is structured around the Archdiocesan Synod’s three focus areas: 1. Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2. Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’s love and respond to his call, and 3. Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

Each focus area session will begin with prayer, followed by a presentation. Those focus area presentations will be given by local Catholic leaders Douglas Bushman, director of parish formation and mission at St. Joseph in West St. Paul; Michael Naughton, director of the Center for Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul; and Liz Kelly, an author and national speaker, who wrote theological orientation papers for the Synod earlier this year. With that preparation, participants will engage in table discussions followed by large group sharing. Assembly participants will then provide feedback, including voting on propositions they believe the Holy Spirit is inviting the archdiocese to prioritize to renew the local Church.

The propositions were developed as a result of the feedback from the Parish Consultation with Small Groups, a six-week series held in parishes in September and October 2021. They were then refined through the Parish Synod Leadership Team Consultation, which took place in parishes in late February and early March.

The prioritization of the propositions given through the Synod Assembly voting will inform Archbishop Hebda as he prepares a pastoral letter slated for release on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 20. The letter, which will provide priorities and direction for parishes, will be followed by an action plan.

About 500 people, including two participants from each of the 186 parishes in the archdiocese, are expected to participate in the Synod Assembly. Other attendees will include local Catholic leaders.

Assembly participants will be expected to sign a profession of faith, affirming they believe in the truths of the Catholic faith. The profession is a requirement of canon law for those with voting rights in diocesan Synods, as well as or other Church councils.

The Synod Assembly is the culmination of a process that began fall 2019, which included 30 initial Prayer and Listening Events attended by Archbishop Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens, then the auxiliary bishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Those events helped Archbishop Hebda discern the Synod’s three focus areas, which he announced in August 2020.

Initially planned to take place over two years, the Synod process was extended a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional year included several virtual series addressing topics raised during the Prayer and Listening Events. Those series focused on prayer, healing, faith and culture, and growing in faith at home.

SYNOD TEACHING ONLINE

Miss any of the Synod’s online teaching series? Visit archspm.org/synod for video and audio files for the following:

  • Praying with Scripture Series (five sessions)
  • Healing and Hope Retreat (five sessions)
  • Faith and Culture Series (four sessions)
  • Synod at Home: Tips and Tools for Growing in Faith (four sessions)

View the Synod Small Groups videos (six sessions) at archspm.org/synodsmallgroups.

View the three Parish Synod Leadership Team consultation presentations (one session) at archspm.org/synod.