Programs Scheduled For LGBTQ & Ally Participation in Synod on Synodality

With the Synod on Synodality now fully underway, New Ways Ministry is announcing two programs in early 2022 to help LGBTQ people and allies engage with the synodal process. The details of the programs follow below.

Webinar: “Celebrating Synodality: Synod as a Spiritual Practice”

Conducted on Zoom on Sunday, January 23, 2022, 4:00 – 5:15 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time.

Description:  Rather than just “holding” synods and councils, the church “celebrates” them. A synod is not a meeting at which there happens to be some prayer, but instead is itself a liturgy, a collective act of prayer and discernment.

Dr. Brian Flanagan, a theologian at Marymount University, Virginia,  will outline the liturgical and spiritual foundations of synodality, and explore how all Catholics, especially LGBTQ Catholics and their supporters, can prepare and respond to Pope Francis’s call for full and active participation in the Synod on Synodality.  Dr. Flanagan is currently writing a book on synodality.

For more information or to register, click here.

LGBTQ Spiritual Conversations for the Synod

Conducted on Zoom on two separate dates:

Sunday, February 13, 2022, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time.   

This is a one-session program offered at two different times to accommodate different schedules.  Participants need only attend one of these sessions.

Description:  New Ways Ministry will host Spiritual Conversations for LGBTQ people and their supporters to to contribute to the Synod on Synodality.  If you would like to participate, These Spiritual Conversations are rooted in the Ignatian tradition for discerning the will of the Holy Spirit in a community of faith. In small, intimate, prayer-grounded conversations of six-eight people, a space of encounter with the others and with the Spirit is created.  The fruits of these conversations are captured by a note-taker and sent to the Vatican’s Synod Office to be included in the larger Synod process.

The program will be facilitated by Dr. Robert Choiniere of Fordham University’s theology department, an expert on church consultation processes. He will be assisted by a team of trained discussion leaders.

The conversations include three rounds of speaking and active listening. In addition to contributing to the Synod, the Spiritual Conversation model is meant to be a time when individuals are invited to open their hearts to the faith experiences of others and become active participants in discerning the will of God for the Church.

For more information or to register for one of these sessions, click here.

Ongoing Programs and Resources

The synodal process has only just begun, as it will continue well into 2023. For the latest developments on New Ways Ministry programs related to it, opportunities to engage, resources about the Synod, and more, please visit www.newwaysministry.org/synod.

You can also receive updates on these programs via New Ways Ministry’s email list (which is separate from being a blog subscriber). You can sign up for that list by clicking here.

To read Bondings 2.0’s coverage of LGBTQ involvement with the synod, click here.  The news contains an unprecedented apology from the Vatican to LGBTQ people as a way of inviting their participation.

If LGBTQ people and allies want the church to learn about their experiences, they must step up and participate in these synodal discussions. We hope you will join us in the New Year!
Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, January 4, 2022
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