Bishop of Nottingham Invites Diocese to Share Their Hopes and Dreams for a Synodal Church

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The hopes and dreams of the Diocese of Nottingham will be brought together at Nottingham’s Catholic Cathedral later this month, following a period of reflection on the future of a Synodal Church.

As part of the Synodal process, which was initiated by Pope Francis in October last year, deaneries across the diocese have consulted schools and parishes, about their vision for the future Church.

Bishop Patrick McKinney is inviting everybody across the diocese to attend Vespers at St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham on the evening of February 22nd, where these visions will be shared, as part of the synodal journey.

Director for Adult Formation for Mission, Joe Hopkins said: “We sincerely hope that everyone across the diocese will feel encouraged to attend this inspiring occasion. We are excited to hear and present the dreams and missionary ideas for the Church from people across the diocese. This work will be ongoing, and we want to continually hear how we can better minister to their needs and support them in their journey to missionary discipleship.”

In his message for World Communications Day, which was released last month, Pope Francis reflected on the world-wide Synod and expressed his desire for a “symphonic Church.”

He said: “A synodal process has just been launched. Let us pray that it will be a great opportunity to listen to one another. Communion, in fact, is not the result of strategies and programmes, but is built in mutual listening between brothers and sisters.

“As in a choir, unity does not require uniformity, monotony, but the plurality and variety of voices, polyphony. At the same time, each voice in the choir sings while listening to the other voices and in relation to the harmony of the whole. This harmony is conceived by the composer, but its realisation depends on the symphony of each and every voice.

“With the awareness that we participate in a communion that precedes and includes us, we can rediscover a symphonic Church, in which each person is able to sing with his or her own voice, welcoming the voices of others as a gift to manifest the harmony of the whole that the Holy Spirit composes.”

See the recorded livestream below