Synod 2023 - St Augustine's Church, Parkwood, Kent

The Holy Father has set in motion a process of worldwide consultation leading to the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

Latest documents can be found here and on our facebook page.
People can email themselves (by 16th Dec) or feedback to either Roger Peacock or Emma MacQuillin by 15th Dec.
Working Document for the Continental Stage ..............Infographic for Synod Process
Synod national synthesis England Wales ......................Southwark Synthesis Final
Bishops Reflection .................................................... FAQ

Response to Synod Questionaire - feedback by Thursday 25th March
Roger and Emma have attended a Zoom meetingwhere the draft synthetic response to the synod questionnaire was presented. We now have the opportunity to feedback on the draft paper. The deadline for this is short - next Friday 25th March.
The document can be found here. Responses can be emailed to Emma MacQuillin at meloum@hotmail.co.uk

An invitation is extended to 'all of the baptised' to contribute on three principal themes:
Communion, Participation and Mission.
The process begins in the Particular (or Local) Church and then moves to the level of the Bishops’ Conference.
From there, discernment takes place in the Regional Area – for England and Wales, it would be steered by the European Council of Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) – before moving to the Universal Church with the final Synod Gathering of Bishops in 2023.

Synodal Response: Thanks to Roger Peacock and Emma MacQuillin for their help coordinating this.
There continued to be overwhelming acknowledgement of Father Adams' hard work and commitment to the Church. We have received 20 written responses and 10 attendees at the meeting. The responses will be presented sometime between 24th January and 18th February, via an online meeting, with the Archbishop of Southwark.
If anyone would like to make an online submission the closing date is the 18th February.
A full summary can be found here

Participation : There were many suggestions to aid participation including coffee mornings, parish council, quarterly magazine, Annual Fete, social media presence etc. It was felt the young and lapsed were least included and this could be tackled with community activities, social gatherings, helping hands group among other things. There was a suggestion made around celebrating the churches 30th anniversary this May and inviting all the community including the school, and deepening the involvement with the school.

Communion: Many felt the opportunity to access Communion at St.Augustines was excellent and that we should continue to pray for others to return to the Church. We need to improve on reaching out to the lapsed, we hope to remain welcoming and maybe by being included in the Action Forum and with the delivery of the Easter/Christmas cards we could make a start.
There was talk of how to develop more of a community - possibly with coffee mornings and/or toddler/baby groups, maybe one group to accommodate all.

Mission: The mission of the Church was listed as spreading the Good News with love, help and support for one another and that this could be shared within the Diocese with more 'get-togethers', communication and pilgrimages. There is a lot of fundraising within the Church for various charities but we could do more in the wider community.

More information can be found at:
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/synodal-church/
https://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/get-involved/synod/
https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/synod
https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/document/common/vademecum/Vademecum-EN-A4.pdf

Please pray for Our Holy Father and the Synodal process in our Archdiocese and worldwide, that the Holy Spirit will draw us more closely together in the truth and send us out as a light to the nations. May God bless you as we begin this journey together, confident that the Lord always works for good through those who love Him.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of the Church, intercede for us as we journey together on the path that God sets before us. As in the Upper Room at Pentecost, may her maternal care and intercession accompany us as we build up our communion with one another and carry out our mission in the world. With her, we say together as the People of God: 'Let it be with me according to your word' (Lk 1:38)

The Timetable for Southwark is as follows:
18 October - 19 November: Local listening phase
24 November - 10 Dec - Our delegates and clergy meet online with the Archbishop to contribute what has been learned locally.
7 January 2022 - Deadline for online submissions
January 2022 - Group of clergy, religious and lay people meet to prayerfully distill information into a 'synthetic' document.
February 2022 - Review of above document by participants in the process
March 2022 - Event to mark the conclusion of the diocesan phase.

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		The Holy Father has set in motion a process of worldwide consultation leading to the Synod of Bishops in 2023. Latest documents can be found here and on our facebook page. People can email themselves (by 16th Dec) or feedback to either Roger Peacock or Emma MacQuillin by 15th Dec. Working Document for the Continental Stage ..............Infographic for Synod Process Synod national synthesis England Wales ......................Southwark Synthesis Final Bishops Reflection .................................................... FAQ Response to Synod Questionaire - feedback by Thursday 25th March Roger and Emma have attended a Zoom meetingwhere the draft synthetic response to the synod questionnaire was presented. We now have the opportunity to feedback on the draft paper. The deadline for this is short - next Friday 25th March. The document can be found here. Responses can be emailed to Emma MacQuillin at meloum@hotmail.co.uk An invitation is extended to 'all of the baptised' to contribute on three principal themes: Communion, Participation and Mission. The process begins in the Particular (or Local) Church and then moves to the level of the Bishops’ Conference. From there, discernment takes place in the Regional Area – for England and Wales, it would be steered by the European Council of Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) – before moving to the Universal Church with the final Synod Gathering of Bishops in 2023. Synodal Response: Thanks to Roger Peacock and Emma MacQuillin for their help coordinating this. There continued to be overwhelming acknowledgement of Father Adams' hard work and commitment to the Church. We have received 20 written responses and 10 attendees at the meeting. The responses will be presented sometime between 24th January and 18th February, via an online meeting, with the Archbishop of Southwark. If anyone would like to make an online submission the closing date is the 18th February. A full summary can be found here Participation : There were many suggestions to aid participation including coffee mornings, parish council, quarterly magazine, Annual Fete, social media presence etc. It was felt the young and lapsed were least included and this could be tackled with community activities, social gatherings, helping hands group among other things. There was a suggestion made around celebrating the churches 30th anniversary this May and inviting all the community including the school, and deepening the involvement with the school. Communion: Many felt the opportunity to access Communion at St.Augustines was excellent and that we should continue to pray for others to return to the Church. We need to improve on reaching out to the lapsed, we hope to remain welcoming and maybe by being included in the Action Forum and with the delivery of the Easter/Christmas cards we could make a start. There was talk of how to develop more of a community - possibly with coffee mornings and/or toddler/baby groups, maybe one group to accommodate all. Mission: The mission of the Church was listed as spreading the Good News with love, help and support for one another and that this could be shared within the Diocese with more 'get-togethers', communication and pilgrimages. There is a lot of fundraising within the Church for various charities but we could do more in the wider community. More information can be found at: https://www.cbcew.org.uk/synodal-church/ https://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/get-involved/synod/ https://aec.rcaos.org.uk/synod https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/document/common/vademecum/Vademecum-EN-A4.pdf Please pray for Our Holy Father and the Synodal process in our Archdiocese and worldwide, that the Holy Spirit will draw us more closely together in the truth and send us out as a light to the nations. May God bless you as we begin this journey together, confident that the Lord always works for good through those who love Him. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Apostles and Mother of the Church, intercede for us as we journey together on the path that God sets before us. As in the Upper Room at Pentecost, may her maternal care and intercession accompany us as we build up our communion with one another and carry out our mission in the world. With her, we say together as the People of God: 'Let it be with me according to your word' (Lk 1:38) The Timetable for Southwark is as follows: 18 October - 19 November: Local listening phase 24 November - 10 Dec - Our delegates and clergy meet online with the Archbishop to contribute what has been learned locally. 7 January 2022 - Deadline for online submissions January 2022 - Group of clergy, religious and lay people meet to prayerfully distill information into a 'synthetic' document. February 2022 - Review of above document by participants in the process March 2022 - Event to mark the conclusion of the diocesan phase.