St. Michael's in Calgary: Ready to take the next step of Renewal journey

We believe in a God who “travels the paths of history and shares in the life of humanity.” A term that captures this belief is the word “synodality.” The term comes from the Greek words “syn” meaning “together” and “hodos” meaning “way” or “journey.” So, synodality is a “journey taken together”; it describes how God accompanies us and how we are called to accompany one another in Christ.

In October 2021, Pope Francis convened a gathering of religious, cleric, and lay persons from around the world, to discuss and discern how the Church could better embody synodality. In his opening homily, Pope Francis described synodality as having three components - an openness to encounter others and God, heartfelt listening to the other, and spiritual discernment. He said, synodality called us to be open, courageous, and willing to let ourselves be challenged by the presence and the stories of others.

The Holy Father asked: “Are we prepared for the adventure of this journey? Or are we fearful of the unknown, preferring to take refuge in the usual excuses: ‘It’s useless’ or ‘We’ve always done it this way’?" So, synodality refers to the involvement and participation of the whole People of God in the life and mission of the Church.

The blueprint for how we are called to embody synodality is what the Calgary-wide Pastoral Renewal is all about. It is a process that creates opportunities for us to encounter God and one another, to empower us in the art of listening to God and one another, and how we, together, can discern how God is calling us to live by the words and deeds of Jesus. 

Phase One of our synodal journey (October 2021-April 2022) has been completed. At that time, Pope Francis mandated that a process of encounter and listening be established in every diocese throughout the world, so that the People of God could voice their thoughts and feelings on two questions: #1: How is this “journeying together” happening today in your local Church? and #2: What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”?

As a follow up to this initiative, the Diocese of Calgary launched a parish-wide survey. In June of this year, St. Michael's Parish in Calgary was invited to participate in the Diocesan-wide survey. Of the 1826 weekly attendees at Sunday Mass, 1288 filled in the questionnaire. Our participation rate was 70.54% - much higher than what the experts had predicted!

Our parish is now ready to take the next step of Renewal journey. Our focus is shifting to three pillars that will help support and focus our efforts. These three pillars are: #1: Being missionary disciples in Christ, #2: Being a Church of encounter and witness, and #3: Strengthening family life.  In the next three weeks, the three pillars of pastoral renewal will be explored.

We are part of a faith community that is deeply synodal in nature. We have embarked upon an extraordinary, historic journey toward discovering how to be Church in the third millennium through a process of encounter, listening, and discernment where we celebrate that everyone is called, that everyone matters, and that everyone belongs.  

St. Michael's parish at Feed the Hungry, June 2024

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Written by St. Michael Catholic Community Parish Renewal Team. Photos: St. Michael's, Calgary.