The Final Vote
On Saturday 1 March 2025, our Diocesan Synod journey came to a close as members gathered to vote on its final recommendations.
Over the past two years, people across the diocese have been prayerfully discerning what God is asking of the Church in Salford and how it is being called to respond to the challenges we face in the modern world.
More than 30,000 responses were gathered throughout the process and after careful analysis, were condensed into 40 recommendations across four key themes.
The themes were:
- Leadership & Collaboration
- Spirituality & Formation
- Young People & Schools
- Community & Outreach
All 40 recommendations were presented to members in a final moment of discernment in March, after which members voted to reorder these recommendations to create a list of priorities to form our Pastoral Plan.
You can read the final recommendations and outcome of the vote here.
Closing Service
These recommendations were presented to Bishop John in a prayerful service of thanksgiving, during which the bishop reminded us that underpinning all of our discernment and decision making must be the mandate to love both God and neighbour. He said:
“That opens up a real sense of freedom. Circumstances change all the time and you have to be open to the possibilities of love. We’ve got to recognise what God is asking us to do each day, as well as the opportunities he’s giving us to love our neighbour. “In our changing world, we’ve got to accommodate the world in which we live so that we may have as many Gospel values in the reality of our lives, and that’s why the Synod is so important.”
Following the presentation of the recommendations, focus groups consisting of lay parishioners, clergy, catechists, teachers, and more, were appointed for each of the themes, to explore and discern all of our prioritised recommendations and to submit proposals before the close of the year. Click here to read more.
Through these proposals, concrete action can begin to take place, realising our vision of a missionary Church, motivated by love and service to all in our diocesan community.
