Synodal Listening in the Interim Phase
The Synod got underway in the fall of 2021, with the consultation of the faithful around the world, including in our Diocese of Knoxville. That listening helped shape the themes and questions considered at the Synod Assembly in October, 2023. The Synod concludes this October with a second Synod Assembly. During this interim phase between the two Synod Assemblies, the Vatican has invited local Churches to undertake a second consultation, this time on the theme of the co-responsibility of the baptized. “As members of the faithful People of God, all the baptized are co-responsible for mission, each according to his or her vocation, competence and experience. Therefore, all contribute to imagining and discerning steps to reform Christian communities and the Church as a whole” (A Synodal Church on Mission, 3c).

The listening sessions will focus on these questions:

How can we encourage & enhance stronger relationships between the Church’s structures, organizations, leadership & life of each baptized person that moves towards greater unity as one Body of Christ in proclaiming the Risen Lord and His Gospel?

Where have you seen or experienced successes and difficulties within the Church’s structure, organization, leadership, and life that encourages or hinders the mission and how do I think we can build upon these successes?

Here at St. Stephen’s we will be hosting three listening sessions where you can join fellow parishioners in providing your thoughts on these questions:
 

 

Synod 2023 Summary St. Stephen’s Page 1 of Introduction
In the fall of 2021, Pope Francis launched a unique consultation process within the
worldwide Church, seeking input from the parish level to help guide discussion at the
2023 Synod of Bishops. This process, itself based on a synodal model, involves listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other in order to discern the path we are called to walk
together. This process was intended to address the basic question of the Synod: “What is the Holy Spirit saying to our Church today?” This question was explored using three key
focus areas: Communion, Participation, and Mission and facilitated in the small group
listening sessions using a set of 10 themes.
In the Diocese of Knoxville, a special springboard survey was developed to capture
input from both Catholics and non-Catholics in East Tennessee; the survey was available beginning in December 2021 and closed at the end of January 2022. The survey was
structured so that Catholic responses could be assigned to parishes, to supplement local listening sessions in developing a parish report to be submitted to the diocese in March
2022.
At St. Stephen’s, we had approximately 152 responses for the survey. A snapshot of the demographics of the respondents who identified as belonging to St. Stephen’s is shown
on page 2. As noted at the bottom of the tabulation of survey demographics, this
response represents a strong % response based on Mass attendance, and an adequate
response rate based on the number of registered families. However, the demographics
are skewed, so no statistical analysis was performed on the survey responses.
In addition to the survey input, we also conducted 8 parish listening sessions during
late January and early February 2022. A total of 86 parishioners participated in these
sessions, five of which were ministry-based small discussion group forums. The other
three sessions were parish-wide town hall style open discussion forums.
The feedback from these listening sessions was summarized into a 1-page report and
submitted to the diocese as required by March 1, 2022. The report, included here as on
page 3, grouped the feedback into 4 of the 10 themes from the Synod Handbook:
Companions of the Journey; Listening; Celebration: and Forming Ourselves in
Synodality. We also included recurring themes from the survey responses.
This information is already being used by parish leadership to help refresh and refocus
our efforts to make the ministries, liturgies and outreach efforts at St. Stephen’s more
responsive and effective for our community - both those who already feel they are part
of us, and those who we are inviting to be our companions on the journey.Parish Report to Diocese of Knoxville (3/1/2022)
Synod 2023 Summary St. Stephen’s Page 2 of

Summary of Survey Respondent Demographics:

Select the response that best describes you::
111 [73.0%]: I am a lifetime Catholic
30 [19.7%]: I am a convert to
Catholicism
11 [ 7.2%]: I am a revert Catholic
(baptized Catholic who left the faith and have
returned)
152 Answered 0 Skipped

Age:
72 [48.3%]: 61 - 75
37 [24.8%]: 46 - 60
22 [14.8%]: 76 - 90
13 [ 8.7%]: 30 - 45
5 [ 3.4%]: 12 - 17
149 Answered 3 Skipped

Gender:
88 [58.7%]: Female
62 [41.3%]: Male
150 Answered 2 Skipped

Marital Status:
112 [74.2%]: Married
29 [19.2%]: Single
9 [ 6.0%]: Divorced
1 [ 0.7%]: Living with a partner
151 Answered 1 Skipped

Which of the following best describes you?:
133 [90.5%]: White or Caucasian
9 [ 6.1%]: Hispanic or Latino
2 [ 1.4%]: Asian or Pacific Islander
2 [ 1.4%]: Black or African American
1 [ 0.7%]: Multiracial or Biracial
147 Answered 5 Skipped

With regard to liturgical celebrations, I attend
Mass: {You can select multiple answers}:
134 [76.1%]: Every Sunday (including
Saturday Vigil)
21 [11.9%]: Other (1-3 times a month)
18 [10.2%]: Daily
2 [ 1.1%]: Only on Christmas and Easter
1 [ 0.6%]: I never attend Mass
176 Answered 2 Skipped

St. Stephen has 780 registered families. Mass attendance over the past 6 weeks has averaged
720. Survey response rate is fairly strong as % of Mass attendees (~23%) and as fraction of registered families is nearly 10%. This is statistically significant but the demographics are skewed, limiting any meaningful statistical analysis.

Companions on the Journey:
Companions accidentally. But inclusion vital.
On the same road; Are we all going to the same destination?
Community building is part of journey together. Need to do better on that.
Young adults, young families on the margin at our parish.
How do we engage them? Also LGBTQ.
Must hold onto the central teachings of the faith while we journey together.
But can’t be too harsh (divorce/nullity).
Reaching those on the margin requires 1:1 effort.
Liturgy should unite, feed, empower vs. dividing now (Latin rite conflict). Need to
recapture sense of the sacred. Offer more ways to encounter Christ in the Eucharist
(adoration) to strengthen us for the “journey together”.
Listening (with an open heart & mind):
These discussion groups are a great start. Listening is hard. Listening vs. hearing.
Wounds of sin block our ability to really listen. Outreach with personal touch could
make for better listening. Young adults, others at the margin not really being
listened to. Can we act on what we hear? Especially from the groups on the margin.
How do we get marginal voices to speak up? Might be too polarized these days to
actually listen, both in society and in the Church itself.
Celebration (communal listening to the Word & celebration of the Eucharist):
Mass as the heartbeat, the running thread thru all we do as a community. Homily
must connect readings to real life, lived experience of Catholics today. That doesn’t
always happen; try harder. Deep desire for more reverent celebrations. Liturgy
should equip us for mission - doesn’t always. Room for variety of styles (Latin rite
issues raised again here). recapture opportunities for folks to participate as lectors,
ushers, greeters, EM.
Forming Ourselves in Synodality:
Adult formation promoted more. Expanded. Overall catechetical model needs work.
Challenging to apply church teaching to real life situations, people (LGBTQ,
unwanted pregnancy, gender identity). Need help! How to share the teaching with a
real person in a real situation. Push for active participation from the groups @ the
margin; maybe co-chair activities, classes? Combat the silence on controversial
topics.
Recurring themes from online survey (open comments):
support expressed for married clergy & female clergy
same-sex marriage, homosexuality should be more accepted by the Church
sex abuse scandal must be closed/resolved
contraception allowed, treatments supported (like IVF) and stance on pre-marital
sex and co-habitation could be more flexible.
divorced Catholics should be fully supported - stop punishing them.
Latin Mass should be allowed/encouraged if it works for people
go back to traditional teachings, avoid politics (immigration, environment)
strongly support pro-life stance, but abortion issue has nuances & Church should be
flexible about it.