SYNOD UPDATES

This morning, the full schedule for the Synod assembly was published. It’s currently available only in Italian, but it gives you a sense of how the Synod Assembly will unfold this October. After a vigil of prayer in St. Peter’s Square on September 30, and a retreat from October 1-3, the assembly will begin with Mass in St. Peter’s Square on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis. Between October 4 and October 28, Synod delegates will have a busy schedule. They will meet every weekday from 8:45am to 12:30pm and then from 4:00pm-7:15pm, and on Saturdays from 8:45am to 12:30pm. Small group gatherings for “Conversation in the Spirit”—the same listening model most of us experienced in our Synod conversations here in the Archdiocese of Seattle—will alternate with meetings of the whole group. The Assembly will conclude on October 29 with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

There are two opportunities to pray with Archbishop Etienne before he departs for Rome to participate as a Synod delegate….

• TOMORROW, Friday, September 22 at 6:30pm, we will have a prayer service in the Cathedral. This prayer uses the same music and texts that will be used at the TOGETHER ecumenical prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square on September 30, the first official gathering of the Synod delegates. All are welcome. Please join in person or via livestream!  You can find all the details here.
• SATURDAY, September 23 at 5:30pm, Archbishop will celebrate a solemn Mass for the Synod in the Cathedral. Please join in person or via livestream!  Details here!

How can we be involved in the work of the Synod over the coming weeks? We can follow the headlines, of course…. But here are a few more constructive ways to get involved:

• Pray for the Synod. Each day during October, I’d encourage us to pray the Adsumus Sancte Spiritus prayer (available in many languages here). The Synod delegates will be using this prayer, which has been prayed at Synods and Councils in the Church for centuries. In addition, we have prepared a prayer resource for parishes in the Archdiocese of Seattle (it’s attached it to this e-mail).
• Read the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document the Synod delegates will be praying about and discussing. Reflect on the questions on your own or with a group.
• Participate in a Partners in the Gospel consultation in your parish. This may not sound very synodal—but it is! Pope Francis has challenged us to become a synodal church—not just at the Vatican, but at every level. The input sessions that will be happening in our parishes from September 23-October 14 are one way we’ve begun to incorporate synodality into decision-making here in the Archdiocese of Seattle. The Partners in the Gospel effort will impact our parishes for decades to come – let’s journey together and share our experiences and insights.

Also, you may have seen this already, but here’s a short article Archbishop Etienne wrote on synodality. Worth a read!