1. Saint Patrick Catholic Church King County Seattle, Washington U.S.A.
2. What were common or important themes that emerged from the listening sessions?
Here is our response to the first query from Pope Francis, “How are the faithful journeying together at Saint Patrick parish?”
We have found humanity meeting divinity at St. Patrick’s, where diversity, equity and inclusion are the very life and breath of the community. The troubles of this world dissolve with anyone’s passing in through the doors of this beloved St. Patrick Church where the presence of the Holy Spirit pervades with continuity in its sacred space. How is it so, with war in Europe following a worldwide pandemic, with crippling isolation suffered by so many? The Holy Spirit pervades in abiding presence at St. Patrick Church as youth, adults and elders alike gather together to listen, learn and know their deepest value through the loving arms of humanity and our Creator God.
3. Which particular stories or real-life experiences were shared related to the way our church currently journeys together? (Give examples with identifying information, but without names – e.g., a young Hispanic woman shared a story of her faith in God increasing as a result of her First Communion or a middle-aged African American man saw his faith grow through participation in a faith-sharing group.)
From two young St. Patrick’s members: “I like the dancing and the music. We get to do something. I like that people accept you and forgive you if you do something wrong. The plants and flowers are beautiful. The activities we do are awesome. We have a kind priest and deacon. The whole community is like a family. I love how the people care about you.”
From a parent: “So many people participate as Eucharistic Ministers, in the music, as lectors, or in the many other ministries of the church. It is very warm and welcoming. I am happy that St. Patrick’s welcomes the contributions of young people and there are many ways for them to participate in the liturgy and beyond in parish life.”
From another youth: "Not all understand the gospel, but the movement (dance and ASL signing) helps interpret the gospel - we all learn more!”
A widow in St. Patrick's Bible study “finds contemplative and centering prayer to be life-giving. We need to teach youth different ways of interpreting the bible and praying, extending liturgy. We need to rethink how the Church should be! That is what worship and prayer is all about.”
A talented musical director “found while at another church, when the charism changed, she felt stifled, not helped to grow. At St. Patrick's she had a sense of welcoming and inclusion. Saint Patrick's looks for ways to include people, to increase a sense of education / outreach.”
An ASL lector and deaf member found it “Life-giving to be married by a signing priest.” She asked, “Could the Eucharistic minister please sign: the Body of Christ, the Blood of Christ.”
From a L’Arche member: “Life-giving St. Patrick Church!!! I love St. Patrick Church!”
An interpreter “has received life-giving spiritual direction and joy through music ministry, with women’s retreats and discussion groups. It’s been so life-giving to see deaf members reading! Filled with joy that St. Patrick’s parish embraces signing!”
From a former parishioner: “The community strives to live the Gospel values and Social Justice by reaching out to our sister parish in El Salvador, the homeless and marginalized. Community desires to be inclusive and there is an environment of connection where everyone is welcome.”
A homebound parishioner “loves it when Deacon Dennis and Fr. Bryan wave to those people connecting from home, she feels a part of things and feels present.”
Another cited Jeremiah 17: 5-8, “Jeremiah warned his readers to trust no living person, but to put their trust in God. Jesus proclaimed his contraposition, explaining that we can encounter the reign of God, God’s active presence among us, in a community of flesh and blood people. Not only that, but we are invited to be those people in our moment of history.”
4. What dreams, desires, and aspirations for our Church were expressed by participants?
Our response to the second query from Pope Francis, “How do parishioners at Saint Patrick’s envision growing in their faith journey?”
Hearts in our parish burn with the Holy Spirit’s vision for breathing into new life, daring to hope our children thrive and theirs for generations to come with acceptance in a resurrected church. We thank dear Pope Francis for this “gift of Synodal listening, inviting us all to take part.” We pray for “courage and freedom of heart” in loving our Creator God and in “loving the best of what church offers,” deeply mourning its grave failures, grieving its losses of relevancy. We envision opening “priestly ordination to women and married people. To rebuild the status of the family in society, we need priests who are also mothers and fathers. We welcome LGBTQ people as full and active church participants, honoring humanity’s truth and God’s truth that each person is a unique, unrepeatable likeness of God.” We “call out racism with a unified voice” and fully “embrace nonviolence as followers of Jesus.” Healing harmful injustices against the People of God and mother Earth, “we embrace Laudato Si with Pope Francis.” We commit to “advocating in accord with the Gospel, to being the hands and feet of Christ in the world,” revitalizing “our mission of evangelization.” We aspire to life-long learning by partnering with schools and universities, by “honoring cultures with varied music, art and prayer traditions.” Let us now “re-engage the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, as in Christ’s victory over sin and death.”
5. What challenges or opportunities do these reflections pose as we journey together?
Yet another shares: “I have enjoyed and been immensely enriched by all four of the women’s retreats that I have attended over the years. In all the places I’ve lived and where I belonged to so many parishes, none of them come close to the outreach at St. Patrick’s, especially women helping other women. Another wonderful example of the Holy Spirit within St. Patrick’s family has been our neighborhood groups, especially meetings in one another’s homes where we discussed Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si in a series of meetings and other church topics.”
From a young adult woman: “Celebrating mass together is nourishing; communion is really about people together at table. St. Patrick's is an example of the People of God who live that experience, who share a meal, engaging in nourishing liturgies. All participate and everybody is welcoming, like a family: the body of Christ with many parts. Openness to new ideas gives hope for continuation.”
A parishioner from another faith background: “We are all different parts of one body of Christ; we are many parts toward a common goal. The love of God shows for those with disabilities and for those whose disabilities are not so visible. Love is poured out to heal brokenness, such as the hand of an elder parishioner touching to heal the loss of a grandparent. Our Saint’s communion in heaven is with us, a conduit between earth and heaven.”
A father of daughters shares that he “appreciates the range of voices providing homilies, especially women parishioners, relevant for situations in our lives.”
A mother “Loves the Synod call to the faithful and the world to discern how the Spirit calls us.”
A woman loves “Catholic Social Teachings and Works of Mercy; People supporting others in their joys and sorrows.”
Another appreciates “our St. Patrick Community celebrations, including funerals.” She appreciates Pope Francis and prays “he may live long enough to help transform the Church.”
An elder couple notes: “the Pandemic has added problems, and we have been so grateful to have mass on-line, and have appreciated the times we’ve been brought Eucharist to our home, as well as having the life-giving connections on Zoom with Choir practice, Women’s Encountering God, enlightening Wednesday night movies, and our ‘Grief Group’ sessions once a month when we lift up others, as well as ourselves, who lost significant others. We know that our St. Patrick’s community ‘has our backs’!”
6. What did participants share related to the question of “what steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our journeying together”?
Participants shared that they do not want St. Patrick's parish to close. The parish has an enduring commitment to life-long faith formation and continuing faith development. As a magnet parish, St. Patrick's could mentor young lay leaders in the diocese, who are preparing to serve in their own parishes. Life-long faith development weaves together continuously at St. Patrick's. It:
· Begins with pre-school age children in Catechesis of the Good Shepard;
· Continues with active faith formation for primary, middle and high school youth;
· Offers youth and adults of all ages opportunities for engagement in experiencing the Gospel message through music ministry, liturgical dance, and signing with the deaf & deaf-blind;
· Shares hospitality with all who enter St. Patrick's Church doors;
· Connects with Seattle Prep and their outreach ministry for synergy with St. Patrick's;
· Reaches out for social justice, involving youth and adults of all ages;
· Partners with our sister parish in El Salvador, as our parishes walk together in solidarity;
· Educates with inspiring films for youth and adults of all ages;
· Develops adult faith through Thursday morning women's group and bible studies;
· Further develops adult faith through theologian's presentations from Seattle U, Villanova;
· Leads against nuclear armament, exploitation and abuse of mother Earth home;
· Leads for restorative justice, including all of God's creation.
Our devoted commitment over decades to continuing faith development is hard-earned through everyday actions, the very lives that are led. Each and every one is honored and treasured at St. Patrick's as envisioned by our Creator. This parish may serve for inspiration and learning by other parishes in the diocese and in the world, by its very example of a Catholic Church.
As expressed similarly by nearly every participant, here is an individual's shared personal heartbreak:
• The exclusion of women’s voices in leadership: Women are unable to be priests and churches must “bend the rules” to allow them a voice. Example: having to call preaching on the gospel by women, even those with Catholic theology degrees, “reflections” rather than “homilies.”
• There is much division in the church because of the patriarchy / hierarchical structure which does not have to be there if the church were not exclusive of women, LGBTQ.
• Exclusivity of the Eucharist: You can’t come to the table if you don’t profess the doctrine.
• Our parish is being closed without much listening from the clerics. This makes me very sad. I don’t know what I will do.
7. How many listening sessions did you have?
Seven parish-wide listening sessions.
8. Did you have different listening sessions for different groups?
Yes, there were seven parish-wide sessions via Zoom with small break-out groups, a session for the children, the choir, the coffee hour group via Zoom after mass, smaller neighborhood group sessions, and numerous one-to-one listening sessions.
9. Did you seek to invite unrecognized voices? If so, how?
We reached out to all current parishioners, former parishioners, and we talked with extended family members, friends and others who are no longer attending mass. We additionally held one-to-one listening sessions with a theologian, a retired priest, a church employee, associates and Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace.
10. What other methods, structures, or approaches did you use in your plan?
Invitations for Synodal Listening were extended in parish-wide emails on Fridays and through neighborhood group emails. Invitations were extended via email from our two Synodal coordinators, as well as a group of listeners and scribes. A number of parishioners accepted the invitation to write individual reflections. These were very rich along with the small group break-out sessions we had via Zoom. Parishioners who didn't list an email address were contacted by phone and contributed via hand-written notes from a dedicated listener and / or scribe. There were over twenty parishioners who volunteered to serve as listeners and scribes for St. Patrick's parish. Listeners and scribes participated in the break-out groups of the Zoom sessions, and they also reached out to individual parishioners, then listened and recorded responses.
Thanks so much Kathy, we'll try to make those improvements! Please see the expanded draft post on the St. Pat's Connection Board.
I appreciate the clear summary of a massive amount of information from all those responses. I have feedback on several items:
- I don't see how the answers under #5 answer the question. They seem a continuation of responses under #3.
- And am I really the one one who gave any input on women's reproductive issues like birth control? In my mind the church's naysaying about birth control is a huge one. Same for putting all the responsibility for sexual issues on women and generally blaming them if they are victimized.
- For #6, can we also define the "we" in the question as the larger "we" of the church and add those answers? to give specific ways that we discern the larger Church is being asked to grow? The next question addresses our sadness about the church but does not give an opportunity to say the position version, e.g. what we would like to see. I do realize that they really didn't give us an option to talk about the larger church, only ourselves.