Buzzing with energy, about 500 people from parishes across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis took their next steps on a journey of evangelization Jan. 17 at Guardian Angels in Oakdale.
Inspired by the three-year Archdiocesan Synod process that culminated with the Synod Assembly last June in St. Paul and led to Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s pastoral letter in November, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room,” parishioners chosen by pastors to form Synod Evangelization Teams gathered for the first of three kickoff events.
“I could think of few times where I am so excited as I am this evening,” Archbishop Hebda said in his opening remarks. “With it being the first of the kickoff events, you’re my first taste of what this is going to be like. And I look out and I’m excited.
“We’re so blessed. Look to your left, look to your right. Recognize that you’re not alone, that God’s calling us together to do some amazing things, and it’s your generosity that’s making that possible,” the archbishop said. “The Holy Spirit has a plan for our archdiocese and especially for each one of our parishes, and I’m grateful to you for your willingness to be part of this beautiful work.”
As outlined in the archbishop’s pastoral letter, each parish or cluster of parishes in the archdiocese has been directed to establish a Synod Evangelization Team, designed “to be the catalyst within the parish for renewed discipleship, fruitful evangelization and assisting the pastor in implementing the Synod Priorities.”
The three priorities are 1) Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2) Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call, and 3) Forming youth and young adults for a Church that is always young.
Made up of about 12 members, each Synod Evangelization Team is to help launch “missionary disciples” at the parish level, working with the parish pastoral council as well as parish staff and leadership
In the days leading up to the Jan. 17 event, Denny Farrell — administrator at Guardian Angels — said organizers were not certain how many people to expect, but the parish was chosen because of its larger size. In fact, the event reached capacity; according to organizers, 476 people pre-registered and at least 499 attended.
The event began with an opening song and prayer, leading into remarks from Archbishop Hebda; Kelly Wahlquist, director of The St. Paul Seminary’s Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute in St. Paul and founder of WINE, Women in the New Evangelization; Patty McQuillan, administrative assistant with the archdiocese and a participant in the Catechetical Institute’s School of Discipleship; and Bishop Joseph Williams. Adoration of the Eucharist and a Gospel reflection followed, before participants moved to the lower level of Guardian Angels for small group discussions.
Preparing for their roles on Synod Evangelization Teams, members are participating in the School of Discipleship and a subsequent 40-Day Challenge. They are discussing forming small groups in their parishes for faith formation, evangelization and service. And each day they are encouraged to pray the Archdiocesan Evangelization Prayer.
Wahlquist described the School of Discipleship experience as being like practice before a sporting event.
“It takes the discipline of being a disciple and we work on that discipline for a week,” she said. “And you do it, and you do it, and you do it. And then the next week there’s another discipline … and we go through those seven weeks and at the end of the seven weeks, you get in the game, you get in the game every day. For 40 days, you put all seven disciplines together and you live all of them.”
By the end, Wahlquist said, participants are better able to talk about and share their faith. “They’re so on fire with the love of the Lord and with the Holy Spirit inspiring them,” she said.
That fire also inspires Yen Fasano, associate director for the archdiocesan Office for the Mission of Catholic Education’s Drexel Mission Schools initiative. Fasano has held several roles during the Synod process, including as a member of the Synod Executive Committee. Fasano said she hopes the Synod Evangelization Teams help build even stronger unity.
“I think our Church is blessed with so many gifts, so many languages, so many hopes and dreams, and I think it’s time that that fabric gets woven together to make a beautiful mosaic,” Fasano said. “There’s going to be so much healing, love, accompaniment and community. And families transformed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, and young adults that are on fire for their faith who are going to help continue to fan that flame out to the rest of the world.”
A desire to learn more and teach others about his faith led Andrew Freiermuth, 28, a member of St. Jude of the Lake in Mahtomedi, to reach out to his pastor to learn how to become more involved in the Church. That led him to the Synod Evangelization Team Kickoff event at Guardian Angels. He said he believes in what Archbishop Hebda wrote in the pastoral letter, about “having the Holy Spirit intertwined with everything we do and to allow the secular world to see it and want to learn more.”
Two other Synod Evangelization Team Kickoff events will be held, one 7-9 p.m. Jan. 26 at All Saints in Lakeville and another 9:30-11:30 a.m. Jan. 28 at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park.
Complete coverage of the first Kickoff event will be included in The Catholic Spirit’s Jan. 26 edition.
