A Book Review: The Listening Parish: A Guidebook to Synodality Practices in a Faith Community by Michael L. Papesh
Think See-Judge-Act.
A Book Review.
The Listening Parish: A Guidebook to Synodality Practices in a Faith Community by Michael L. Papesh
"On the Day of judgment, Christ's sentence will not bear on your assistance at Mass, reception of Holy Communion, your fasts, and abstinence, nor will good intentions be of any avail; these are a means to an end, but it will call for your concrete acts of love." ~ Lous J Putz CSC
Your concrete act of love is at the heart of all Catholic Social Teachings (CST), and it is what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is one of the stories that provides insights into what to do and why we should do it.
The Cardijn method of See-Judge-Act is the process tool to use with the book The Listening Parish: A Guidebook to Synodality Practices in a Faith Community by Michael L. Papesh.
Ask yourself if your parish is listening.
"Synodality is a style; it is a walk together, and it is what the Lord expects from the Church of the third millennium." ~ Pope Francis 11/29/2019
This book is practical, insightful, and an excellent guide for leading your parish to implement what will come from the final sessions of the Synod this October.
But why wait?
The guidebook will lead you through implementing Catholic Social Teachings at your local level. How can people get involved and dedicated to bringing about the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth?
The book will provide much-needed synodality background and worksheet-based chapters to help you incorporate the approach into pastoring, leadership councils, meetings, planning, decision-making, staff roles, schools, just employment practices, building the parish assembly, and moving to the peripheries. An added plus is that The digital "eResource" edition available directly from The Pastoral Center is licensed for use within a parish or diocesan office, allowing you to quickly email or print one or more of these handouts for your leadership teams. You will have the tools at your fingertips over and over with new committees and groups to expand your parish and work for the Kingdom by implementing Catholic Social Teachings.
The "See-Judge-Act" method involves observing, judging(discerning), and acting on social situations.
The three stages are:
Observe: What is happening?
Judge/discern: Why is it happening?
Act: How do we respond?
Using the See-Judge-Act analysis method with The Listening Parish guidebook will help you discern in light of CST principles and act to promote justice and improve the situations of those served in your parish and the local community. Think of the Cardijn methods and the book as the perfect bookends for achieving synodality in your community.
When you plan your work and implement your plan, you incorporate KEY points of measurement, consider behavioral changes, create agreed-upon policies, and monitor them so that you can make the necessary adjustments.
The guidebook is arranged in the following order by chapters, as you can see, providing a richness of information to help parishes plan their work and work their plan.:
Introduction
Using This Guidebook
On Being Family
Assumptions Exposed
Considering Synodality
What is the Call About?
Reflection Questions
What is Synodality?
A Case Study
A Dynamic Model of Church
Co-Responsibility & Respect
Beliefs Grounding Synodality
What Synodality is Not
Thought-Provoking Images
The Synodal Path for the Parish
Probing Practices Questions
Parish Practices for the Journey
Church Structure
The Diocese
Parish Civil Law Status
Parish and Leadership Variation
The Pastor
The Parish and the Pastor
What Pastoring Requires
One Among Man
Reflections for a Pastor
Council Basics
Parish Councils in Law
The Council’sCouncils' Mission
Planning and the Pastoral Council
Planning and the Finance Council
Council Election & Eligibility
Council Meetings
Effective Council Meetings
The Place of Confidentiality
Meeting Agendas
Meeting Mechanics
Meeting Facilitation
Who Chairs the Meeting?
Discernment Decision-Making
Discerning Together
A Sample Discernment Process
Further Reflections
The Ministry Staff
Staff Titles
Decision-Making
Communion in Co-Pastoring
Commissions & Decision-Making
Administrative Staff
Parishes with Schools
School As Parish Ministry
The School Principal
School Ministry Governance
Just Employment Practices
Synodality and Just Employment
Covenant Ministry
Ministry Planning & Review
Covenant Hiring
Just Compensation
Just Termination
Building a Parish Assembly
Engaging the Parish Assembly
Two Annual Reports
A Sample Data Gathering
Moving Toward the Peripheries
Opening to the Peripheries
Responding to the Peripheries
A Large Group Listening Process
A Sample Pastoral Planning Process
Process Outline
Step 1: Parish Sense of Self
Sample Beliefs Statements
Step 2: Parish Image
Sample Organization Charts
Step 3: Parish Direction
Sample Goals & Objectives
Steps 4-8. Parish Accomplishment
Parish Synodality in Practice
Living the Spirit of Synodality
Some Limits
Participating in God's Family Life
A little bit about the author:
MICHAEL L. PAPESH was ordained in 1983 and is now retired from active ministry. He has served as a campus minister, parochial vicar, weekend assistant, principal, CRE, and pastor; in seminary spiritual formation at the undergraduate and graduate school levels; on numerous diocesan committees and boards related to priestly life and ministry; and in diocesan chancery ministry.
He has a B.A. in English from St. Meinrad College, master's degrees from Indiana University and St. Meinrad School of Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. He is also the author of Clerical Culture: Contradiction and Transformation from Liturgical Press and Good News Parish Leadership from Twenty-Third Publications, as well as articles on clerical culture and liturgical presiding. He has won two Catholic Press Association Awards. Papesh has also won four literary awards after publishing two memoirs.