Planning for the future takes prayer, reflection, discussion and lots of hard work.

That’s what more than 400 Catholics from across the Diocese of Sacramento found out Oct. 11-13 when they came together in Yuba City for the first diocesan synod in 75 years.

The historic three-day meeting, with the theme, “Journeying Together in Christ: The Universal Call to Holiness,” brought together clergy, religious and laity from the 99 parishes in the 20 counties of the diocese.

The synod, only the third in the diocese’s 118-year history, culminated a three-year planning process, at the end of which a set of goals and objectives will be developed to chart a course for the diocese through 2010.

In a colorful opening Mass in St. Isidore Church with synod members, Bishop William K. Weigand and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia, joined by the deans of the diocese, blessed the participants with holy water and led them in a renewal of their baptismal vows. The liturgy included singing and prayers in several different languages and many participants in ethnic dress.

“Our own history as a diocese will be forever marked by this synod,” said Bishop Weigand in his homily. “When we began our pastoral planning process in the Jubilee Year of 2000, it was, indeed, like ‘putting out into the deep’ on unchartered watersÖThis took faith, boldness, perseverance and a lot of work on the part of all of us.”

The bishop said that from the major areas of discussion which surfaced for the synod, parishioners “are indeed striving to ‘contemplate the face of Christ.’”

He urged synod members to take up Pope John Paul II’s challenge to “rekindle Eucharistic amazement” and to strive for “a more complete union of mind and heart” with the divine action taking place in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is “the very source from which our whole ministry and all our works of faith flow,” the bishop noted. “For, when all is said and done, the parish is nothing less than a eucharistic community called together in faith around the altar, called to holiness and sent forth on our common mission as followers of Christ.”

During the three days synod members worked at 56 tables each seating eight for dialogue about the three synod topics: “The Parish Community,” which included discussion on the Eucharist and the sacraments, as well as collaborative ministry and shared decision making; “The Domestic Church” (“households of faith”), which focused on the role of parents in teaching the faith to their children; and “Handing on the Faith,” which dealt with evangelization and catechesis.

Working in English and Spanish, members reviewed, discussed and finalized three recommendations from each table as suggested pastoral initiatives on each of the three topics. Recommendations were later reviewed for duplication and clarity by a committee made up of five priests from the Council of Priests, five people from the Synod Preparatory Commission and five people from the Diocesan Pastoral Council.

As The Herald went to press Oct. 13, synod members were still voting on priority recommendations to be given to Bishop Weigand for his consideration and a final synod document to be issued in the coming months.

Brother Loughlan Sofield and Sister Carroll Juliano, facilitators for the synod, on the opening day spoke to participants about their task of discerning what is best for the future of the diocese with an attitude of conversion and openness.

“There is diversity among you of cultures and languages. There’s also a diversity of theologies,” said Brother Sofield, a Missionary of the Most Holy Trinity and an author and consultant who specializes in collaborative ministry.

“If the journey is going to be made together, there has to be a willingness to listen to one another,” he told synod members. “This isn’t just some sort of organizational group gathering to make decisions. Everyone here comes with the same concern of how to make this diocese grow more fully into the future.”

Sister Juliano, a member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus and the co-author of many articles and books with Brother Sofield, encouraged synod members to “have an attitude of passion and hope for this diocese.”

“You come with a piece of the truth, realizing that no one person has the whole truth,” she noted. “Your mission is to collaborate, to put your gifts at the service of the diocese and the Gospel.”

Father Sylvester McDermott, one of the board of moderators for the synod with Mercy Sister Katherine Doyle and Father Rodolfo Delgado, said participants “showed an infectious spirit of joy and optimism in the midst of their concerns about the local church and the church worldwide.”

“I think this is the Holy Spirit at work among them,” he added. “I am quite amazed at how open people are to be tolerant and receptive of other’s opinions.”

Mercy Sister Anne Chester, a member of the Sisters of Mercy regional leadership team, experienced a “surprising openness” during table discussions.

“What has come out in the discussions is a reaffirmation of my experience that the laity is not only willing, but capable of working in collaboration with clergy in a way that will transform our parishes,” she said.

Zoe Jones, a senior at Loretto High School in Sacramento, believes the synod “will open up greater communication” between clergy and laity.

She said the issues being discussed, in particular, handing on the faith to young people, promoting a vision of welcome and hospitality in parishes, and greater understanding of church doctrine, “will lead us all to a deeper appreciation of our faith.”

Participants had a chance to express their opinions and views about any local or universal church concern during an open-ended 90-minute evening session on Oct. 11, which was not a formal part of the synod agenda.

Synod members voiced their ideas on a range of issues, including the ordination of women and married men to the priesthood, optional celibacy for priests, the growing shortage of priests and its negative impact on weekend Masses, and the church’s outreach to gay and lesbian Catholics.

Jessie Shields, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Red Bluff and of the Synod Preparatory Commission, described the session as “respectful, realistic and hope-filled.”

“Everyone had a chance to address issues outside the themes of the synod and outside our own jurisdiction to do anything about at the present time,” she said. “It was not a time for debate or the selling of our own ideas, but to let our bishops know what clergy and laity are talking about in their living rooms.”

The synod has helped Catholics in the diocese “look at the realities we’re facing from the perspective of the whole church, not just a parochial, parish-by-parish view,” Bishop Weigand told The Herald on the final day of the synod.

“What we’ve seen here is a cohesiveness, a bonding, a unifying of our people, a deepening of the bonds of communion,” he said. “Building that same communion among the parishes is one of the purposes of the synod process.”

In his concluding remarks, the bishop called the synod three days of prayer, dedication and dialogue.

“These have been days of shared wisdom and wit, insights and observations, questions and concerns, inspiration and frustration — the community of faith working together in a spirit of collaboration,” he said.

He said the challenge of implementing the synod begins after the promulgation of pastoral initiatives on Jan. 9, 2005, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

He added he will soon announce the members of the Implementation Commission, whose responsibility will be to advise him, monitor the implementation process, and prepare for a second session of the synod in October 2005.

The bishop said he would name a staff person to work with him and the Implementation Commission to give overall direction to the synod implementation process.

Nancy Westlund of The Herald staff contributed to this report. More coverage of the diocesan synod and final recommendations will be included in future issues of The Herald.

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