Following the Second Session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod which took place in October 2024, a concluding document: ‘Synod on Synodality – Final Document’ was published (available on the Bishops of England & Wales website at www.cbcew.org.uk). The document is quite long, but do try to find time to read it.
More recently, the Diocese of Westminster has produced a document entitled ‘How to be a Synodal Church in Mission? Take-outs from the Final Document: An Informal Reaping of the Fruits’ which is a useful summary. Click the button below to read.
Work has also been continuing through a number of Study Groups, set up to explore a variety of issues which emerged from the Synodal Journey so far. We await their conclusions.
We have now entered the implementation and evaluation phase, called an ‘Accompaniment Process’. This began with an announcement made on March 15th 2025. The document is attached for you (no longer confidential) which sets out a new three-year pathway with the aim to consolidate what has already happened through a process of discernment, decision-making and implementation.
This will begin in May 2025 with the publication of a support document to enable this to happen, a process which will last until the end of 2026. 2027 will be a year of evaluation assemblies at Diocesan, National and International levels. Then, in 2028, following Continental evaluation Assemblies, there will be a Celebration Assembly in October 20