Synod

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A Diocesan Synod is an important event in the life of a Diocese in which Bishop, priests and lay-people come together in a spirit of prayer to discern together what God is asking of His Church in our Diocese and will help us to live out our calling to be Missionary Disciples.

The Vision of our Diocesan Synod is:

To enable true collaboration between the clergy and laity at diocesan and parish level by truly listening to each other.

To discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in Salford at this next stage of our journey.

It is important to remember that our Diocesan Synod is entirely distinct from the Universal Synod, called by Pope Francis. For more information on this, please click here.

Please scroll down to see our latest updates and further resources.

Latest Updates:

The Exploration Stage is now closed. During this period we asked parishes to plan and facilitate four “Theme Gatherings”, each one exploring a different theme from our Big Listen Report.

Parishes were then asked to submit a proposal linked to the each theme. We received over 450 different proposals during this stage.

A clergy and lay representative from each deanery was asked to volunteer to help rationalise and group these proposals. This exercise took place on the last weekend in January and those present spent many hours ensuring that all the proposals were considered.

To end the Synod we will be holding a Synod Gathering and Voting Day on 1st March and a Closing Service on 2nd March.

On this day all Synod Members (clergy and laity) will be voting on the Recommendations that have emerged following our Big Listen and Theme Gathering events. This is your opportunity to discern what the Holy Spirit is guiding us to include in our Diocesan Pastoral Plan.

Keep following and praying for our synod journey.

Resources

Between September and December 2024 we were in the The Exploration Stage. We asked parishes to plan and facilitate four “Theme Gatherings”, each one exploring a different theme from our Big Listen Report.

The themes and summary reports were:

Nurturing Faith for Tomorrow’s World

Building Connections

Enabling Access

Fostering Christ-like Care

Please click on the above themes to read a copy of the summary reports.

The aim of the Theme Gathering was:

To engage people in exploring the 4 overarching themes of The Big Listen.
To progress our synodal journey by enabling people to suggest proposed actions.
To embed further the practice of synodal listening in our parishes, schools and groups.

At the end of this stage over 450 different proposals were submitted to the Synod process.

On Saturday 18th May, hundreds of Synod members from across the diocese gathered to hear the feedback from our recent Big Listen, which drew to a close in January.

During the day, we explored four principal themes that had emerged from around 30,000 responses submitted during the Big Listen. The themes are:

Nurturing Faith for Tomorrow’s World
Building Connections
Enabling Access
Fostering Christ-Like Care

These themes were further explored through four presentations delivered by Rev Prof Peter McGrail and Dr Emma Swai of Liverpool Hope University, who have produced the Final Report.

Download the Full Report here

Formal Decree of the Synod by Bishop John Arnold

Information sessions for prospective Synod members

Commissioning of Synod members

The Big Listen

✓ An opportunity for the entire People of God in our part of Greater Manchester & Lancashire to
share what they feel God is asking of His Church in our Diocese, which will help us to live out our
calling to be Missionary Disciples and Ambassadors for Christ, accompanying each other on the
journey of life.
✓ A journey by which we, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, can together set the future
direction and priorities of the life and mission of our Diocese.
✓ An opportunity to grow in the skills of listening to the Holy Spirit and to each
other.
✓ An opportunity to foster true collaboration between the clergy and laity at diocesan
and parish level.
✓ An opportunity for the entire People of God to have active involvement and responsibly for the
development of the Church in our locality.

× An opportunity to change Church Teachings – this falls outside the remit of a Diocesan Synod
(although everything which is said will be passed onto Rome by Bishop John).

× A democracy where the majority vote ‘wins’.

× A parliament.

Synod members will include the bishop, priests and deacons, members of religious orders and lay members from each parish and deanery.

Diocese of Salford Synod 2023-2025 Roadmap

Click the Link to see the Roadmap which will guide us on our Journey

Bishop John’s Pastoral Letters

Bishop John has written two Pastoral Letters where he sets out his vision for the Synod and encourages all across the Diocese to get involved.

Pastoral Letter Advent 2022

Pastoral Letter October 2023

Synod Prayer Card