Synod

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A Diocesan Synod is an important event in the life of a Diocese in which Bishop, priests and lay-people come together in a spirit of prayer to discern together what God is asking of His Church in our Diocese and will help us to live out our calling to be Missionary Disciples.

The Vision of our Diocesan Synod is:

To enable true collaboration between the clergy and laity at diocesan and parish level by truly listening to each other.

To discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in Salford at this next stage of our journey.

It is important to remember that our Diocesan Synod is entirely distinct from the Universal Synod, called by Pope Francis. For more information on this, please click here.

Please scroll down to see our latest updates and further resources.

Latest Updates:

We are now entering into the Exploration Stage of our Diocesan Synod.

Between now and December, we are asking parishes to plan and facilitate four “Theme Gatherings”, each one exploring a different theme from our Big Listen Report.

The themes are:

Nurturing Faith for Tomorrow’s World

Building Connections

Enabling Access

Fostering Christ-like Care

A Summary Leaflet for each theme is now available. Please click on the above themes to read a copy online.

We ask you to read the leaflets carefully and prayerfully to be able to participate fully in the theme gathering meetings.

Your parish synod member will provide you with information on when your parish will meet to reflect on the themes and decide on two proposals to submit for each theme.

All theme gatherings should be completed by 16th December.

This will allow the Synod team adequate time to process parish responses in time for the Final Synod Gathering in March.

The aim of the Theme Gathering is:

To engage people in exploring the 4 overarching themes of The Big Listen.
To progress our synodal journey by enabling people to suggest proposed actions.
To embed further the practice of synodal listening in our parishes, schools and groups.

It is important to remember that we can only take forward what is within the remit of a ‘Diocesan’ Synod.

For more information and further resources, please visit our Exploration Stage page.

How to Get Involved

We are eager to encourage as many people as possible to participate in our diocesan synod and there are a number of ways you can get involved over the coming months:

Read the report and the summary leaflets

Join one of the upcoming “Discerning Proposals” sessions in your parish

Encourage your friends and family to get involved. We really do want to hear from as many people as we can.

Keep following and praying for our synod journey.

Take a look at our Resources section below to find out more.

Resources

On Saturday 18th May, hundreds of Synod members from across the diocese gathered to hear the feedback from our recent Big Listen, which drew to a close in January.

During the day, we explored four principal themes that had emerged from around 30,000 responses submitted during the Big Listen. The themes are:

Nurturing Faith for Tomorrow’s World
Building Connections
Enabling Access
Fostering Christ-Like Care

These themes were further explored through four presentations delivered by Rev Prof Peter McGrail and Dr Emma Swai of Liverpool Hope University, who have produced the Final Report.

Download the Full Report here

Discernment Video for Members

Report from the Big Listen

Prayer for Exploration Stage option 1

Prayer for Exploration Stage option 2

Template for Theme Gatherings

Formal Decree of the Synod by Bishop John Arnold

Information sessions for prospective Synod members

Commissioning of Synod members

The Big Listen

✓ An opportunity for the entire People of God in our part of Greater Manchester & Lancashire to
share what they feel God is asking of His Church in our Diocese, which will help us to live out our
calling to be Missionary Disciples and Ambassadors for Christ, accompanying each other on the
journey of life.
✓ A journey by which we, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, can together set the future
direction and priorities of the life and mission of our Diocese.
✓ An opportunity to grow in the skills of listening to the Holy Spirit and to each
other.
✓ An opportunity to foster true collaboration between the clergy and laity at diocesan
and parish level.
✓ An opportunity for the entire People of God to have active involvement and responsibly for the
development of the Church in our locality.

× An opportunity to change Church Teachings – this falls outside the remit of a Diocesan Synod
(although everything which is said will be passed onto Rome by Bishop John).

× A democracy where the majority vote ‘wins’.

× A parliament.

Synod members will include the bishop, priests and deacons, members of religious orders and lay members from each parish and deanery.

Diocese of Salford Synod 2023-2025 Roadmap

Click the Link to see the Roadmap which will guide us on our Journey

Bishop John’s Pastoral Letters

Bishop John has written two Pastoral Letters where he sets out his vision for the Synod and encourages all across the Diocese to get involved.

Pastoral Letter Advent 2022

Pastoral Letter October 2023

Synod Prayer Card