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The people at the Avila Retirement Community in Albany held their own “listening” sessions and submitted their report in early March. It was a rewarding experience and the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable. We strongly encourage each parish to try “listening.”

We first learned about the Synod of Bishops when the Albany Diocese announced the introductory webinars in January. These introductory sessions were very good, but places like Avila were not part of the plans for the next stage. Determined that our voices should be heard, we decided to do it ourselves, letting the Spirit guide us.

Avila has about 350 residents, most of whom are Roman Catholic, but a significant number of residents are members of other faith traditions. We had two “listening” sessions on site, open to any resident. Each session had about 25-to-30 attendees and consisted of six small discussion groups, each of which had a note taker and a facilitator. After 40 minutes of discussion, each group summarized its highlights. The notes were transcribed into a Session Report and the two Session Reports were merged into the Listening Report, where the individual comments were assigned to one of five categories: laity, clergy, parish, hierarchy and global Church. The report was reviewed at a third meeting and the final version was forwarded to Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger in early March.

Some of the more significant topics addressed were the following:

Inclusion: The Church needs to become more welcoming and to reach out to the young, the divorced, the LBGTQ community and to other marginalized groups.

Leadership: The number of clergy at the parish level could be increased by the use of married priests and the ordination of women as deacons.

Openness: The Church must become transparent in treating neuralgic issues such as clergy pedophilia and in the processing of synodal listening responses.

The small discussion groups were lively and very effective, covering a wide variety of topics. A comment by one person often prompted another to speak. The facilitators initiated discussions and kept it amicable. Many of these discussions continued after the meeting ended. These sessions also enhanced our sense of community. In a recent issue of The Evangelist (March 3), the Diocese strongly recommends that parishes and other localized groups conduct their own “listening” sessions.

Go for it!
Wagner is a resident of the Avila Retirement Community in Albany.

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