Dear Parish Priests, PPC Chairs and Synod Champions
By now you will all have received the booklet detailing the structure and process of the diocesan phase of the Synod on Synodality. The document is also available on the archdiocesan website.
The next step is to train our Synod Champions and those identified by the parish priest as potential listening group facilitators. They in turn will be able to run a training session in their parishes for those responsible for facilitating listening groups. Listening is a rare skill, as all too often we simply wait for a break in the conversation to insert our own opinions, challenge others and win arguments. It is hard for us to simply stay silent when we passionately agree or disagree with something that has been said, or when we do not respect the different but sincerely held beliefs of others. It is hard, but a skill that can be learned.
To this end you are invited to participate in a training workshop for listening group facilitators. We have arranged for the workshop to be run on two different Saturdays, you only need to attend ONE of the workshops. The workshops are on Saturday 4 December 2021, from 13h00 to 15h00; and Saturday 15 January 2022, from 13h00 to 15h00.
To help us plan for the workshops we ask you to book online by clicking on the link below. We will be using a website / app called Eventbrite (www.eventbrite.com) or from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store). A number of parishes having been using this successfully over the course of the lockdown to manage bookings for masses, and the department of Evangelisation will continue to use it to manage bookings for various events that we will organise in the future.
Booking links:
4 Dec 2021: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/synod-listening-group-training-tickets-214537827417
15 Jan 2022: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/synod-listening-group-training-2-tickets-216143349577
Summary of the Archdiocesan Phase Booklet: Download at : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IaQpKi2K3N_unodnMqDTOhFNIwSVwqas/view?usp=sharing
Archdiocesan Phase Booklet: Download at https://drive.google.com/file/d/11I6t_PDgTcaIzw6G3NhRAr0c0o68i9pb/view?usp=sharing
Kind regards
Fr Bruce
