Synodality 101: Our Workshops

How do we step back from our own agendas to be attentive to where the Spirit is moving? How can we make better decisions about organising ourselves as Christian communities? How do we enrich our parish communal life with enriching conversations?

The Synod process has emphasised the importance of listening and good conversations in our community life. However, these are not always so easy in practice!

After the success of our Practising Synodality Webinars, we wanted to offer a series of workshops to help people to bring the richness of conversations in the spirit into their communities. The School for Synodality now holds bi-annual online workshops called ‘Synodality 101: Conversations in the Spirit’.

The aim is to help people engage with this method at the local level, and train in how to successfully facilitate conversations in the spirit in their own contexts and communities. These workshop series introduce the principles of holding prayerful, truthful and safe conversations which value gracious listening and courageous speaking. To be the first to hear about our upcoming workshops and events, please sign up to our newsletter here.

Below is a snapshot of what you may experience in our Synodality 101 workshops - registration requires you attend all three sessions:

• Synodality 101: Workshop 1

  • Explore the values of a synodal church

  • Be introduced to the importance of listening in Jesus' ministry

  • Reflect on what makes a good conversation

  • Work through some values of listening and speaking

• Synodality 101: Workshop 2

  • Explore the role of the facilitator

  • Look at options for leading prayer at the beginning of a session

  • Think about small-group skills

  • Consider some tricky situations which might arise

• Synodality 101: Workshop 3

  • Reflect back on your own trial conversation

  • Think about using these materials to train others in your community

  • Make plans for how you can use your skills

The workshops also include interactive 'trial' conversation over the course of the sessions, and reflections on this experience with the group. We will also hold a conversation in the Spirit together each week.

The series is suitable for all levels of experience, including people not involved in the Synod process so far. After attending these workshops, we hope you will have all the resources you need to hold a conversation in the Spirit in your community.

““The small group spiritual conversations were really enriching - both from the perspective of practicing skills, but also from the experience of having a spiritual conversation with people we wouldn’t otherwise ordinarily connect with.””

— Participant in our Spring workshop series