The Synod on the New Evangelization is to be comprised of different groups. A HUGE portion of the members will be delegates from every parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit. From what I gather, there’s over 200 parishes…so this is already a pretty big gathering. On top of that, the synod will be supplemented by priests, religious brothers and sisters, and key leaders in important groups like young adults.

I can’t really speak to how the not-parish-representatives were selected, but I CAN tell you about how I applied and was selected.

Every parish was asked to nominate 3 parishioners to the synod. The application required answering a number of questions related to evangelization, participation in Church organization, etc.

The archdiocese then selected one candidate from those three.

While filling out my application, I prayed a lot. Both because I haven’t hand written four pages of anything since middle school and for the Holy Spirit to guide my words. I really wanted to be part of the Synod, but I also only wanted to be selected if the Holy Spirit would truly work through me to provide insight into the New Evangelization.

Thus, I filled out my application piece by piece over the course of two days. Below are the questions we were asked to respond to. They provoked some real thought on my part, as I prayed about potentially becoming a member and what I truly could offer.

Please list all parish involvements and ministries.

Please list any community activities or involvements that you think are important to note, vis-a-vis being a Synod member.

Describe your relationship with Jesus. How have you encountered Jesus or how has Jesus encountered you in your life?

Why do you want to be a member of the Archdiocesan Synod?

What gifts and talents would you bring to the Archdiocesan Synod?

What evangelization issues or challenges do you see for the Church today in the Archdiocese of Detroit?

Having moved around so much since high school (I’ve lived in 9 cities around the world!), I was nervous that my lack of long-term residency in the AOD would preclude me from the synod. But St. Hyacinth has been my family parish for over 100 years and it’s my home parish still. I was baptized there, altar served for many years, and now I’m counting down the days until I get married there just like my great grandparents, grandparents, and parents. I have strong roots here, my adult life just took me around to a few different places before I settled down. I also provide support in managing the parish’s Facebook page and recently started a blog about the history of the parish.

Even more so, I truly believed that I had an interesting perspective. I’ve been the “new” Catholic in young adult groups nine times in eight years! That’s a lot of different young adult groups and first hand experience of how people reach out. And I help moderate a community of 20,000 members on /r/Catholicism. Its impact on the New Evangelization is something I’ll cover in the future.

The Synod isn’t just a weekend thing. By agreeing to participate, synod members are committed to prayerfully preparing for the weekend in a number of ways

Read Joy of the Gospel and a supplied reading guide

Attend a weekly holy hour

Attend a regional preparation session

Attend a Come, Encounter Christ! Parish mission

Participate in a parish dialogue session

You can see, the AOD is taking the synod seriously. It will be a weekend of prayer and discussion. Hopefully the Holy Spirit works wonders.

Think this whole thing is sounding awesome and bummed you aren’t able to be part of the 3-day Synod in November? Fear not! On top of tirelessly praying for us, the AOD is developing ways for you to help out.

Yes! Most of our parishes will be hosting Parish Dialogue Sessions. At these sessions, the faithful will have facilitator-led conversations. A scribe will capture the content of the discussion, which will be brought to the synod for further discussion. The dialogue sessions will be taking place between March and June. The faithful may attend a session at their parish or at another parish. -Taken from the AOD website