A Synod for Dallas

I’ll be away from the parish for a few days this week to participate in the Dallas Diocesan Synod Assembly. Some of y’all may have heard of the Roman Synod on Synodality, or the German Synodal Way — this isn’t either of those! Our Synod isn’t going to change doctrine, nor is it exactly an examination of the way the Church consults members of the faithful when making decisions. Rather, our Synod is a concrete exercise of that type of consultation specifically for our Diocese. 

You might remember that Bishop Burns announced this Synod in 2020, and since that time a lot of work has gone into gathering ideas and feedback from all the faithful in our area, and then compiling those thoughts into nearly 400 resolutions. The delegates will gather at this Assembly to vote on these resolutions: whether or not to recommend them to Bishop Burns, and then prioritizing the ones that do get approved. The implementation of these changes will then take place over the course of the next six years. 

Just under 300 delegates will gather for the Synod Assembly, from different parishes and backgrounds and states in life. They don’t exactly represent any particular constituency, but rather have been chosen to think deeply about certain matters in the local church and share their wisdom with the Bishop. We have a total of five delegate from St. Elizabeth: myself, Deacon Paul, Estella Castillo, Susie Aleman, and Lilia Masters. I am so grateful for their willingness to serve the Church in this way! 

Most of the pastors in the Diocese are serving as delegates, as are several other priests. Our Mass schedule at St. Elizabeth will be unaffected, but some parishes nearby may have a modified schedule. Every parish will have a plan in place to respond to sacramental emergency calls as usual. Thanks to Fr. Francis for covering everything here, and helping out at some of the other parishes as well! 

As you can tell, it’s a lot of work to do a Synod well, but it’s good to examine how we do things from time to time, and to think through how we might do them better, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for wisdom and understanding for all the delegates as we gather, and for a fruitful Synod.