Summary and Reflections of the Archdiocesan Synod

By OLG Parish Synod Representatives Tom Bierbaum and Keyona Elkins

For the past 3 years, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has been deeply engaged in the Archdiocesan Synod, the first since 1939! The mission of this Synod was to help Archbishop Hebda guide, direct and shape the future of this local church, with voices coming from lay people throughout our archdiocese. We are a listening church, and as such, Archbishop Hebda sought feedback from his flock on both strengths and shortcomings to guide us into the future.

There were some remarkable details that emerged out of this 3-year process. In fall 2019 and winter 2020, you may have participated in listening sessions held in parishes throughout the archdiocese. Over 8,000 participants from the archdiocese attended a listening session. This generated around 68,000 feedback forms. Archbishop Hebda, along with a carefully selected leadership team, sifted through the information on the feedback forms and discovered three high-level focus areas:

1. Forming Parishes That Are in the Service of Evangelization

2. Forming Missionary Disciples Who Know Jesus’ Love and Respond to His Call

3. Forming Youth and Young Adults in and for a Church That is Always Young

In the fall of 2021 our parish, and most others around the archdiocese, facilitated 6 sessions where every participant could learn more about and reflect on each focus area, be part of a small group discussion, and submit a feedback form. A committee comprised of lay people and clergy pared this feedback down to 40 propositions—actionable steps that can realistically be implemented by our parishes.

On the weekend of June 3-5, two delegates from each parish throughout the archdiocese met for 3 days to engage in prayer and discernment with these 40 propositions, as a means to listen to what the Holy Spirit is calling us to accomplish in our archdiocese for years to come. It was a gathering of nearly 500 people praying, discerning, discussing in small groups and ultimately voting on priorities under each of the focus areas previously mentioned. This group voted on the top 5 propositions to consider prioritizing at the archdiocesan level. Reflections from our OLG Representatives, parishioners Tom Bierbaum and Keyona Elkins, who attended the weekend are below.

Taking tens of thousands of comments from the beginning of this Synod process and distilling them to 5 meaningful and executable propositions for this local church is a simply amazing! It is now in the hands of Archbishop Hebda to take the culmination of 3 years of work and the propositions and publish a Pastoral Letter later this fall for all clergy and parishes to use as a roadmap.

Thank you to all who participated throughout these past 3 years. May God bless you all, and please continue to pray for the successful implementation of this Synod.

Reflection from Keyona Elkins

Representing OLG at the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly was such an incredible experience. Over 500 passionate Catholics set aside a whole weekend to attend, and it was really driven by prayer, with adoration, praise and worship, a multilingual rosary, and Mass with the Archbishop each day. The entire weekend was very multicultural, representing and welcoming to all. I especially loved hearing the Pentecost vigil readings proclaimed in Spanish, Vietnamese, Polish, Hmong, and French.

I truly felt the Holy Spirit at the assembly so strongly, present and working with us. I got to talk with parishioners of all different ages, races, and backgrounds. People shared their ideas and insights honestly, listened with empathy, and challenged each other lovingly. And at the end of each session, I was surprised to see that we actually agreed on a lot! The same themes and solutions kept popping up in our large group sharing sessions and polls—a testament to the unity that the Holy Spirit brings to our beautifully diverse Church.

Some of the propositions that many felt the Holy Spirit calling us to prioritize included: equipping parents as the primary faith educators for their children, more formal and widely available adult formation and small groups, creating standards for Faith Formation and Confirmation programs focused on a relationship with Christ, increasing service opportunities, education on the Mass, and more parish collaboration.

I'm so grateful I could participate and look forward to taking action together!

Reflection from Tom Bierbaum

I was so blessed to be part of the delegation to this Synod and represent Our Lady of Grace. Personally, the experience was profoundly humbling and incredibly moving, as we could certainly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding our conversations and forming our insights. One might ask what it feels like to be moved by the Holy Spirit. How do you know? That’s very hard to explain, but as the weekend progressed and the various sessions unfolded, there was a peace and a deep unity with those attending. The journey was a process of humble listening, attentive dialogue and prayerful discernment.

There were numerous speakers on the various focus areas, as well as daily Masses, Eucharistic procession and Adoration, Rosary and deep and meaningful table discussions. There were people of many nationalities, backgrounds, parishes, and points of view.

It reminded me of the scripture from Acts 2:8, “When the Apostles spoke, each person in attendance ‘heard their own language being spoken.’” Although we were all able to speak in English, we were clearly guided as one in our conversations by the Holy Spirit in the sharing of ideas, building on those ideas, and ultimately ending with hopeful opportunities to strengthen our church for generations to come.

In a time when the world is in chaos, Christianity itself is under attack, and our church has challenges of its own, this Synod certainly renewed my optimism for the future of our church.

Watch the video below for a thank-you message from Archbishop Hebda regarding the Synod.