Windber Area Middle School issued the following announcement on Jan. 5.
The Diocese of Greensburg has announced that it will begin the initial process of listening to the faith community as part of Pope Francis call for a "Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission". Bishop Larry J. Kulick, JCL, celebrated a solemn opening of the Synod in the Diocese of Greensburg with Mass on October 17, 2021. The solemn opening took place in Rome on October 9-10 and will conclude in the Vatican in 2023 with the assembly of bishops from around the world.
In April 2021, Pope Francis initiated a synodal journey, a gathering of clergy and laity, to take place in individual Dioceses in 2022. The Holy Father called it a 'Synod on Synodality' and it is intended to inspire the faithful to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to learn from one another, to enlighten minds, warm hearts and restore the strength through our common mission. To accomplish that goal, the 'Synod on Synodality' calls for the work to begin at the Diocesan level, by listening to the faithful by sharing this journey together.
In the Diocese of Greensburg, a major effort is underway to hear from a broad range of people in our faith community and to learn about the major issues together. The goal of this listening process of to hear where the Holy Spirit is calling the Church. "Our Holy Father has stressed that he wants to hear from everybody", Bishop Kulick said. The Bishop added that it is very important that parishioners take advantage of the many ways to participate in the Synod.
The weekend of January 22-23 will be 'Survey Sunday' across the Diocese. Parishioners will be asked to complete a short pastoral connectivity survey that will be placed in bulletins in each parish. Parishioners will also be able to take this survey online at www.dioceseofgreensburg.org/synod. All responds are anonymous, but the overall results of this survey will be presented to Bishop Kulick and then to the Holy Father at the Ordinary Synod of Bishops in October of 2023 in Rome.
Beginning in February, Bishop Kulick is inviting the members of the community, including young people, to join him and participate in one of seven Town Hall Listening Sessions in the Diocese of Greensburg or at one of three online E-Synod meetings scheduled. The Town Hall Listening Sessions are not exclusively for members of the parish where they are being held. Parishioners and members of the community are invited to join Bishop Kulick at any of them, no matter the location. Each will begin with a short prayer service in the church then move into small group break-out sessions in the social hall of each parish. "We want you to be heard and by filling out a survey or by participating in one of the planned listening sessions, your voice is able to be heard about how we plan together for the future", Bishop Kulick said.
Original source can be found here.
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