“Synodality is one of these things where if we actually want to hear one another we have to go to one another’s places and sit down and listen” challenges Synod24 Chair Bishop Tim Norton SVD.

As part of the SYNOD24 Consultations, Synod Engagement Team members Liliana Ortiz and Mary To organised for Cultural Chaplains from across the Brisbane Archdiocese came together on March 2nd to listen, share and discern, exploring how we can all be a more co-responsible church on mission. Focusing on Plenary Council Decree 6: Formation and Leadership, the group of 20 chaplains from a wide variety of cultural communities and Eastern Rite churches shared the joys, successes and challenges they all experience in meeting the needs of their communities while also fully participating in local parishes and the life of the Archdiocese more broadly.

Steph Unger (Synod Executive Officer), led the community leaders through spiritual conversations and into See. Judge. Act. encouraging the group to think deeply and critically about how the Archdiocese as a whole can learn from their experiences. Many ideas were generated from the consultation process including possibilities for a gathering of young people to celebrate and share their faith and culture and intentionally forming community leaders so that lay members are empowered to be decision makers. Bishop Tim also challenged the cultural chaplains to extend invitations between cultural communities and to the broader community to experience Mass and festivities even if they are in different languages. “We may be uncomfortable” says Bishop Tim, “but that’s ok, to be uncomfortable, if we feel relatively welcomed but we don’t quite understand the language its ok. That’s all part of the universality of our church”.

The SYNOD24 Consultation Guide will now be translated into a variety of languages so lay members of the multicultural communities can also listen, share and discern ways we can be a more co-responsible church on mission.