Salford: Final recommendations of Diocesan Synod

Bishop John Arnold. Image ICN/JS

Source: Diocese of Salford

A two-year process of prayerful discernment and dialogue has come to a close with the end of the Diocese of Salford's Synod.

The Rt Rev. John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, announced a diocesan synod in 2023 to assess the needs and challenges of the local Church in a post-pandemic world.

Over the past two years, thousands of people across the diocese have responded and engaged with the synod process, exploring a wide range of topics from empowering lay people and engaging the young, to promoting vocations, and reaching out to people beyond the pews.

This weekend, a total of 40 recommendations, divided into four groups, were presented to synod members. The groups were: Collaboration and Leadership, Spirituality and Formation, Young People and Schools, and Community and Outreach.

Members were then invited to vote for three priorities from each group of 10 recommendations, which presented Synod Members with a new order of priorities.

The recommendations to receive the most votes for each group were: Supporting clergy, Promoting Collaboration, Harnessing Gifts and Talents; Promoting Personal Formation, Commissioning Catechists, Promoting Social Action; Having a Family Focus, Creating Community for Young People, Strengthening School links; and Developing Outward-Looking Parishes, Encouraging Participations, Developing Welcome Teams.

All recommendations will be fed into a Pastoral Plan, with specific focus on the top priorities, to guide the policies and decision making of the diocese in the years to come.

The Synod came to its formal conclusion with a prayerful service of thanksgiving on Sunday afternoon, during which all 40 recommendations were presented to Bishop John.

Speaking in his homily, Bishop John reminded the congregation of the importance of continuing the practice of listening, discerning, and praying together to ensure we remain open and alert to the call of the Holy Spirit.

He said: "Circumstances change all the time, and you have to be open to the different opportunities to live out our Chrisian mission of love and service.

"St Paul tells us that the will of God is something alive and active; no two days are the same. And so, we've got to recognise what God is asking us to do each day, as well as the opportunities he's giving us to love our neighbour.

"And in our changing world, we've got to accommodate the world in which we live so that we may have the Gospel values in the reality of our lives. That's why the Synod is so important."

For a full list of all 40 recommendations, with the number of votes, see:
https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Recommendations-with-votes.pdf