‘The Fire is in your Hands’

by Father Philip Inch and Father Matthew Nunes, Synod Moderators

‘The Fire is in your hands.’ These are the words with which the Synod film ended on the morning of Saturday 19 June 2021. The film had been commissioned to remind the Synod members of the Synod journey and help them prepare, after discerning, for the moment of voting. (You can view the film on the Synod Website.)

With confidence in the presence of the Holy Spirit we were all conscious that this was a historic moment. The people and clergy of the Archdiocese were charged with discerning a new sense of direction for the years to come.

There were 420 people on the zoom meeting. The Synod Members were joined by observers, by ecumenical partners and by some invited guests. The Archbishop opened the day from the Cathedral (the place where the Synod had been promulgated on 4 February 2019.) He handed over to the Nuncio, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, who reminded us of the link with Pope Francis and his call for the work of synodality to be the way of the church in the 3rd millennium.

Dr Jessie Rodgers, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical University Maynooth, guided us into the place of discernment as we prepared to vote.

‘I invite you to hear in these words that the prophet Jeremiah wrote in a letter to a group of exiles, the Word of God for us today: “Yes, I know what plans I have in mind for you, the LORD declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. When you call to me and come and pray to me, I shall listen to you. When you search for me, you will find me; when you search wholeheartedly for me, I shall let you find me.” (Jeremiah 29:11-14)

Those words were written to a people whose experience in many ways reflects our own. They had been torn away from Jerusalem, from the world as they knew it, and forced to march across the desert and into exile in Babylonia. They had lost everything that was familiar, and it had seemed like God was powerless or unwilling to come to their rescue. Some people in their midst, claiming to speak for God, were reassuring them that things would soon get back to normal. They just needed to hunker down and sit it out. But Jeremiah tells them something different. He says that they need to make their home in this strange new world and to find God there. God who was with them in the past, is in their present here and now, and is leading them into their future.

God only plays hide and seek to make us look - God wants to be found. And that is what the listening and the discernment process has been about, seeking God in the reality of what is in the Archdiocese of Liverpool, in the nittygritty of people’s lives, and then paying attention to the signs of the times, the seeds of the kingdom that are already sprouting. Jessie encouraged us with these words: as you come to vote we are reminded of these bedrock truths: 1.God loves your communities even more than you ever could. 2.God notices what is happening, especially on the margins, and

God cares deeply. 3.As the Church, the People of God, our calling is to bring God’s light and love to the darkest corners.

And since God cares so passionately about the people in the archdiocese, God will provide/not withhold from you whatever you need to be able to work alongside God. 4.God is God. God will not be coopted into our plans - we are invited to join with God’s.

Before voting we were left with time to reflect on these words. ‘I know what plans I have in mind for you, the LORD declares, plans for peace, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’

The voting took place on the 19 Recommendations (29 votes).

Each member had to make a choice of one of the 4 options below on the 19 Recommendations:

A: This is a high priority which the

Archdiocese should enact soon B: This is an excellent idea but not at the top of my list C: This doesn’t strike me as vitally important

D: This is not the right way forward for us in the Archdiocese.

After we had voted Cardinal Grech spoke to the Synod Members. We have been very blessed by the interest and encouragement that he and Sister Nathalie from the Synod of Bishops Office in the Vatican have shown to us.

After lunch we were able to have a first look at the data as it came in. It is important to say this:

All 19 Recommendations received overwhelming support.

It would have been possible that all or some of the Recommendations were seen as not the right way forward. But this didn’t happen. In one way this was a real affirmation of the whole Synod process. We had listened and so what was voted on was the result of over 3 years of listening and discerning. The way the votes landed affirmed that the Synod process had been a true experience of synodality. Among the recommendations which were considered a priority by the synod members are young people, evangelisation, how we hand on our faith, inclusivity, synodality - especially the role of women, lay ministry and love of neighbour. The detailed voting can be found on the Synod Web site. After hearing the votes there was a chance for discussion in groups (breakout-rooms!) This led to a time of discussion and sharing. The question the Synod Members were asked to consider was this: where are we sensing God’s invitation or calling to the Archdiocese at this time.

The break-out rooms ended (although the number of participants caused zoom to break!) There was a chance to hear some initial reflections from Synod Members.

The final part of the day was an invitation to some of our ecumenical guests and observers to share their thoughts and impressions on our Synod journey. A few of the comments that came: ‘We have Synod envy’ – an observer from another diocese.

‘Just to say, as an observer, how impressive it is to see you listening to the Spirit and weighing together what the community is saying. It’s a model from which my own Church, and many other Christian denominations can learn. Thank you.’ Bishop Paul Bayes, Anglican Bishop of Liverpool.

Archbishop Malcolm ended the day with a word of thanks to all the Synod Members and a reminder that the final act of the Synod weekend was to gather in the Cathedral on Sunday 20 June for a Mass of Thanksgiving.

‘The Fire is in our hands.’

The Synod may have happened, but the journey continues.

Finally, a personal word from Father Philip and Father Matthew:

Thank you to all the many people who have made this journey possible. It has been four years in the making and we could never have done it without the wonderful and indeed inspiring commitment of people from across the Archdiocese and from the wider Church. It has been humbling and exciting to play some part in the journey that has been Synod 2020.

Kate Wilkinson, a parishioner of St Mary’s, Leyland and Lay Chaplain at All Hallows Catholic High School, Penwortham, carries the Book of Synod Recommendations alongside Father Matthew Nunes.