TOWN HALL MEETING

We acknowledge the growing threat of the Delta virus in the present health circumstances, therefore, in the same spirit of caution to protect our parishioners, we are DELAYING our Town Hall meeting until it is safer to do so. 

Sunday,  August 15th, 2021 - 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Dreaming Together    Listening Together    Building Together

                HAVE QUESTIONS?               NEXT STEPS?                 LET'S TALK ABOUT IT!

Sunday Bulletin Insert - July 18, 2021

"Town Hall Meeting - After the Heart of Pope Francis"

Mario Borgoglio (Pope Francis to us) would be so proud of the leadership and people of St. Emydius Parish. Why? Because they will be holding a Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, August 15, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

As Bishop of Rome, the Pope has been calling synods to bring together a divided Church. The root meaning of "synod" means "being with others" or "walking with others." A realist that Francis is, he knows that walking with each other means for some, slowing down, for others, walking faster. In a synod, the Holy Spirit accomplishes that gift by enabling people to listen to each other, reach compromises, and arrive at consensus. This process, named by the Holy Father, is described as synodality.

A wonderful example of this synodality is our upcoming Town Hall Meeting. As we all are forced to admit, we cannot go back to being Church the way we were before. COVID-19 and its permutations, the demonstration against systemic injustices both civil and church, the cry of our plundered planet, the polarization in our country and Church - all make it impossible to go back to before.

Enter the Town Hall Meeting with its promising subtitle: "Dreaming Together; Listening Together; Building Together." We hope by this "synodal" process to discover where we need to go as a parish, how we are to get there, and who will accept leadership roles. All of these goals will be accomplished by our listening to each other, coming to some consensus which includes compromises, and creating a map for achieving our goals. With the Holy Spirit, presiding and working through all the results, can be surprising, specific, and satisfying.

I think Pope Francis will be proud of us.