Report from ACTA's 'Synodal Journey' event

Some 90 delegates met on line in an event 'The Synodal Journey: Travelling with Great Expectations?' on Wednesday 28th June. The Board of Trustees of ACTA- A Call to Action- had invited Sarah Adams, Fr Jan Nowotnik and Bishop Nicholas Hudson to speak on the journey of the synodal process. All three, with Jessica Wilkinson, had been at the Prague Assembly and were able to speak with the authority that comes with being present.

Sarah Adams is Director for the Department of Adult Education and Evangelisation in the Diocese of Clifton. She was a member of the National Synthesis team and described some of the processes of turning individual diocesan reports into a comprehensive report. Members were given a sense of the deep listening that accompanied their work. Her presentation took the audience up to the point of the Prague Assembly.

Bishop Nicholas Hudson represented the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales at the Prague Assembly. His presentation was focused on the processes and discussions that helped to shape the response that was published subsequently. The phrase, "the transformative power of listening" resonated throughout his presentation. It was the key to the spirituality of a synodal church- the
capacity to hear, share and accommodate the views of others. The assembly worked through plenary sessions and smaller workshops and this facilitated the sharing and exchanging of views.

Fr Jan Nowotnik is the National Ecumenical Officer with the CBCEW. He spoke of the transition from Prague to the Synod in Rome, in October. His doctoral thesis had been on the history of synods. The Instrumentum Laboris [ Working Document] had been published only the week before. It differed from previous examples in posing more questions than defining answers. This Synod would be different, too, in that members of the laity were involved. The principle issues for the Synod remained the need to balance truth and mercy, to develop further the dignity of all the baptised and to define authority in the context of a synodal church.

LINK

ACTA: www.acalltoaction.org.uk