THE SYNODICAL PROCESS AT OUR SAVIOR

One translation of “synod” is “walking/journeying together.” It’s the ideal that respects the voice of the Holy Spirit in every member of the Body of Christ. For centuries, this was how the Church dealt with issues, questions, practices—especially focusing on the local or regional churches. Folks may be surprised to know that the American Church engaged in this form of governance in the 19th century, with the Plenary Councils of Baltimore in 1852, 1856, and 1884. They were what ultimately produced and approved the famous “Baltimore Catechism.”   Ignoring (for the time being) the desire of Pope Francis that the Church as a whole become more “synodical,” I am hoping that Our Savior parish can follow this path, the better to be come the manifestation of the Body of Christ here in West Mobile. The goal is to move from being too self-referential (Francis’ word, again) to being more evangelical (in the sense of becoming more evangelizing). Do our parish activities benefit ourselves only, or do they impel us outward (I love the quote from II Corinthians 5:14, which is actually the motto of the Daughters of Charity)? To this end, I’m asking folks to spend some Lenten Thursdays here (consider it your penance!), sharing your thoughts and desires for Our Savior, reflecting onthese four areas of our life-- I. Social a. How can we build a parish community more closely bonded to one another, for the purposes of strengthening our lived witness as Catholics? i. What are we already doing? ii. How can it become more effective? II. Faith formation a. In what ways can we strengthen our collective knowledge of the Catholic Faith, the better to respond to questions/challenges from others and to en rich our own understanding of the Church’s teachings and its history (including that of the saints as well as the sinners)? i. What are we doing? ii. How can it become more effective? III. Outreach a. Are there areas of life in Mobile (especially W Mobile) that need stronger ac tive participation or support or challenge by us in the light of our Faith? i. What are we doing? ii. How can it become more effective?

IV. Liturgical
a. How does our worship foster an evangelical spirit in our parish?i. What are we doing?
ii. How can it become more effective?

We’ll take each of these for one specific Thursday. I can promise you how seriously we (= I)
will take all your comments, even if not all of them can be implemented (at least, not right
away). Will you join in the process? Will you be that much more an active part of the Body of
Christ?                                                                                                                                -Fr. David