RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MISSION

On Feb. 8, the Albany Diocese held the third and final installation of its webinar series on the Synod of Bishops on synodality. 

The presentation, “What is the Synod and Why Should I Care? Part 3: All the Baptized — Co-responsible for the Mission,” piggy-backed off the previous two webinars, focusing again on the importance of Catholics’ participation in the synod and how Pope Francis is calling us to live out our baptismal responsibility. 

“This is really a significant, historic moment for us,” said David Amico, director of Lay Ministry and Parish Faith Formation. 

Amico said that the synod was calling on Catholics to find ways to get involved in their Church to help make these new changes and shifts in the Universal Church come to fruition.

“There is no plan B,” Amico said. “We are the plan, and we don’t always feel capable of it, or we think this idea of living as a synodal Church will be too hard, but Jesus said … do not be afraid.”

Amico led the final webinar presentation offered in the morning at 10 a.m. and later in the evening at 7 p.m. Amico is one of 14 members of the Diocesan Synod Committee that is spearheading the synod mission in the Diocese.

“We hope the previous two (webinars) and this one will make us better prepared to enter the synodal sessions that will be held in the coming months,” Amico added.

The synodal sessions are in-person gatherings to discuss the synod in each of the diocesan vicariates. The sessions will kick off on Wednesday, March 9, in the Beverwyck Vicariate. A location is not finalized yet.

Father Robert Longobucco, pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Schenectady, spoke again at the final webinar saying that participation in the synod going forward is vital. 

“The important thing is that everyone is heard,” Father Longobucco said. “So what do we need from you? We need participation. We need you to tell your neighbors. We need facilitators, recommended or volunteers, for when you have smaller groups.”

Ellen Hotz, parishioner at St. Michael the Archangel in Troy, said that getting people to participate will be difficult for some parishes that lack a strong parish council or strong parish leadership. 

“I love the mission and I love what the pope wants to do, but the current structure of the Church is so embedded in how its leadership is structured that they need to listen. We need to really open their minds as well as their hearts,” she said.

For larger parishes, like Christ the King in Guilderland, staff and volunteers are already in place to help communicate the message of the synod going forward. Fran Schmidt, a parishioner at Christ the King, said that “our pastor (Father Rick Lesser) has talked about (the synod) in his homily, it’s been in the bulletin and I see people from my parish here (in the webinar). So a lot does depend on your pastor and parish.”

Rosemary Gavin, pastoral associate for Teen Faith Formation and Youth Ministry at Our Lady of the Assumption in Latham, echoed that “communication is key” for parishioners to not only engage in the synodal process but to continue that necessary involvement in their parish community going forward: “A lot of the communications channels have changed in the last few years and we’ve had to get used to getting our information in different ways,” Gavin said. 

Without strong communication channels, a pastoral council or committees meeting on a regular basis, Gavin suggests that “even a synodal approach, as big and as beautiful as Pope Francis is suggesting” will be difficult to bring to fruition.