Synodality, Christian Community, and MQOA

I’ve fielded a few questions from friends at MQOA who have asked about how the parish is attending to the current synod of the Church, which is actually a synod ON synodality. In fact, today I just attended a great webinar which featured Sr. Nathalie Becquart who is a key member of the Synod.
 
If you’re not familiar with the term, synodality “denotes the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church, expressing her nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel.”(https://www.synod.va/en/what-is-the-synod-21-24/about.html)
 
In short, it focuses on being in communion with one another to fulfill the mission of evangelization: bringing Jesus to the world.
 
Our mission and vision, presented in the fall, solidly and intentionally reflect this call. Through collaboration with Divine Renovation, we are part of the vanguard dedicating ourselves to creating steadfast disciples of Jesus Christ in order to preserve and grow the Catholic Church. Through the healing ministry and Alpha, we have the on-ramps into a relationship with Jesus for all who will listen. We have now turned our focus to the next steps of the Discipleship Pathway: small groups – how we journey intimately together.
 
Jesus had the original small group (of 12) who lived and learned together, and this was the model of the early church. Along the way, the distance between individual Christians and Christian communities grew, and few people feel equipped to talk about Jesus. Today, it may be quite possible that you have few family or friends who would call themselves Christian or who inspire you to live more like Christ. It’s also quite possible that evangelization feels quite daunting.
 
The good news is that this is not how Jesus intended us to live or evangelize, and that we have a plan. While the first round of small groups (Betas) have been active for more than a few years, we now start a phase of building. Now we hope all parishioners and those whom we have welcomed will find a spiritual home not only within MQOA, but within a smaller community within our community.
 
Connect Groups and Discipleship Groups will be forming as we crest the new year. Connect Groups will focus on addressing many of the issues of today through a context of faith, such as mental health and social justice. Discipleship Groups will delve deep into the faith for those who are living as disciples, diving into topics like the Bible, Mass, or Marian Devotion. Our Beta groups are continuing on, with more information about these discipleship groups coming next.
 
We hope you will take a moment to pray about the state of your current sense of Christian community, how prepared you feel to take the next steps in our mission, and which of these resources might prepare you for what God has in store for your missionary task. We know God has given us everything and everyone we need to do the work we have been tasked with, and we cannot wait to hear what your part is. Make sure you visit the website to find out more and sign up to receive more information on the currently forming groups: https://mqoa.org/smallgroups.