The next parish meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 8th December, following a 7pm evening Mass at St Joseph’s Church in Ripley.

As we seek to discern the will of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our times, that the Church may be renewed in her mission and service to all, especially the poor and disadvantaged, the questions to be addressed are:

• HOW DO I HEAR AND RESPOND TO THE VOICE OF GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT, IN MY LIFE?  WHAT SIGNS OF THE SPIRIT AT WORK DO I SEE IN THE LIFE OF MY PARISH?
• WHAT STEPS MAY THE HOLY SPIRIT BE CALLING US TO TAKE, AS A PARISH, ON OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER INTO GOD’S FUTURE?

The meeting will be facilitated by Phil Smith.

Our deliberations will form part of the response to be prepared by the Diocese in advance of the Synod of Bishops in 2023. Concerning this Bishop Patrick has drawn attention to a passage in the guidance sent out by the Vatican:

The purpose of the Synod is not to produce more documents, but rather to ‘inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people’s hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission.’

Everyone is invited to participate in our Synodal Journey. You are all welcome!