Reconvening about 200 members of the recent diocesan synod in Yuba City Jan. 9, Bishop William K. Weigand promulgated eight pastoral initiatives which chart the direction for the diocese through the rest of this decade.

The eight pastoral initiatives focus on faith formation and evangelization, vocations, collaborative ministry, Eucharist and sacraments, lay ministry and apostolate, youth and young adults, social service/social justice ministry and cultural diversity.

Each of the initiatives includes a general description of the goals for the diocese followed by objectives for implementation by diocesan staff, regional deaneries, clusters of parishes or parishes.

The initiatives are the result of the work of more than 400 clergy, religious and laity from all parishes in the diocese who came together for the first diocesan synod in 75 years last October.

The synod, only the third in the diocese’s 118-year history, culminated an extensive pastoral planning process carried out in the diocese since 2000. To prepare for the synod, some 10,000 people participated in listening sessions held in parishes, schools and within church organizations.

Bishop Weigand, who has curtailed his normal work schedule since mid-November because of ongoing health problems from a liver disease, told synod members that the synod process and initiatives are “a highlight of my 24 years as a bishop.”

“Your participation and leadership have given me great confidence for the future,” he told those gathered at St. Isidore Parish. “I have no fear about what lies ahead because you have shown courage and openness in expressing your views and respecting the views of others, and reinforcing every stage of the synod process with prayer and accountability.”

The bishop said because the diocese faces severe budget constraints in the next few years, implementing the pastoral initiatives “will take a reshuffling of our resources and priorities and learning how to operate with limited resources.”

Synod members gathered in St. Isidore Church for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Weigand and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia. During the Mass, Bishop Weigand signed the decree of promulgation for the synod documents in English and Spanish.

In the decree, the bishop “invites all clergy, religious and laity to promote enthusiastically and act upon the renewed vision for our local church” outlined in the synod documents.

A formal synod document is expected to be published within the next month, including the text of the synod initiatives and commentary by Father James Murphy, rector of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, and Father Sylvester McDermott, chancellor, on the significance of the diocesan synod.

The final eight initiatives upheld the original recommendations made by the synod body to Bishop Weigand on Oct. 13, but also expanded upon each recommendation to encompass the breadth of discussion of topics throughout the synod.

Two of the original recommendations were combined into one initiative and two initiatives were added (social service and social justice ministry and cultural diversity) by an ad-hoc writing committee, Mercy Sister Eileen Enright, director of synod preparation, told those gathered in Yuba City. The committee worked following the synod in October to expand and refine the recommended pastoral initiatives and objectives to send to Bishop Weigand for his approval.

With the completion of the synod pastoral initiatives and the formal synod document, Sister Enright completes her term as director of synod preparation.

Among the objectives for implementation in the pastoral initiative on faith formation and evangelization, parishes and deaneries are encouraged to establish a faith formation advisory committee that would include representatives from all levels of religious formation. Another objective is hiring a full-time faith formation coordinator to assist catechetical leaders within a cluster of parishes or deanery to coordinate religious education and formation programs.

The pastoral initiative on collaborative ministry urges, among other things, providing the laity with opportunities for participation in various parish ministries, pastoral planning, shared responsibility and decision-making, and ensuring that every parish has a pastoral council and a finance council.

Under lay ministry and lay apostolate, the diocese commits to design and establish a lay training program that will provide opportunities for adults through the diocese to become more knowledgeable about the Catholic faith, to grow spiritually, and to receive training for specific ecclesial ministries within the community of faith.

In addition, lay formation and training courses are to be financially affordable and offered in various regions of the diocese, including the use of online catechetical formation and teleconferencing.

In the initiative on youth and young adults, the diocese will establish a culturally diverse training program for adults serving as youth or young adult ministry leaders. It will also develop and maintain a Web site for youth and young adult ministries, including the option for parishes to utilize a Web page for their youth and young adult ministry efforts.

Mercy Sister Susan McCarthy, who was named by Bishop Weigand in December as director of synod implementation, said she will work closely in the months ahead with the priests who head the diocese’s deaneries, parish pastoral council leaders, the Council of Priests and the Diocesan Pastoral Council to implement the eight pastoral initiatives.

She will be assisted in her work by a 12-member Synod Implementation Commission (see story, this page).

Bishop Weigand said synod members would reconvene on Oct. 10 of this year “to evaluate how we as a local church have progressed with implementing” the synod initiatives.

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