Parish holds listening sessions to better journey together

Our parish, St. Thomas More, has been working to grow parish leadership and respond to the needs of the community.  During the Synod process, we received help from COPS/Metro, a community organization that receives funding from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, to train community members to hold listening conversations over eight months with more than 250 parishioners, teachers, youth, and others around questions like “how do we ‘journey together’ and how can we better ‘journey together’ in the future?” and “how did the pandemic affect you and your family?” This led to a parish assembly in which over 400 people participated. Themes that emerged were discussed at the assembly and included neighborhood crime, isolation, and living without a place to call “home,” and leaders called on those present to transform the church and act on their responsibility for all people within their parish boundaries. As a result, now the parish is working in our community to address those needs identified. 

Learn More:
Being Neighbors, Locally and Globally 
Responding with Social Justice 
Leadership Development