In the previous article, we discussed the “nones” – those people who believe but have left organized religion. We asked: “Have the “nones” consciously rejected religion, or have religious institutions failed to involve them and respond to their needs? Do they lack belief in God, or do they no longer see the church as representing the God they believe in? Has a mixture of all of these factors gotten us to where we are today, with both society and the church sharing some responsibility?”
If our life as a church is the People of God “journeying together,” we need to reach out to the “nones,” but first there are some basic questions we can ask of ourselves and of the parish as a community of faith so that we can even more fully “journey together.”
- How is this “journeying together” happening today in your parish?
- How is the Holy Spirit inviting your parish community to grow in “journeying together”?
- What experiences, in your local parish, does this question bring to mind? What are the joys of your parish life? What are the difficulties?
- Where in these experiences do you hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?
- How is God speaking to us through the voices that are in our midst?
- How is God speaking to us through voices we sometimes ignore, including those on the “outside?”
- What space is there to listen to the voices of the “nones?”
- What opportunity is there to listen to the voices of people on the margins: women, cultural groups, the poor, and others?
- What enables or hinders you from speaking up courageously, candidly, and responsibly in your parish and society?
- What space is there in your parish for the voice of people including active and inactive members of our faith?
- How are the baptized members of your parish able to participate in the mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel?
- What hinders people from being active in your parish?
- How is authority or governance exercised in your local parish?
- How are teamwork and co-responsibility put into practice in your local parish?
- How does prayer and liturgical celebrations, especially Sunday Mass, inspire and guide your parish?
- How does your prayer life and celebration of the Mass inspire and inform your personal decisions and decisions in the parish community?
- How does the parish invite all baptized Catholics, including our ethnic communities, youth, families and persons with disabilities and their families, into the active life of the parish, especially Sunday Mass?
If we prayerfully and honestly consider these questions (and others!) we will be one step closer to truly “journeying together.”
Sign up for one of the Parish Synod listening session here.