As the Diocese of Lansing's Synod process continues, a member of the diocese recently provided an update on the on-going conversation.

"Over the past month, over 200 people across the diocese have had conversations with others using our Synod Conversation Guides," Brian Flynn, the diocese's director of middle school/high school ministry, said in a Facebook video posted this week. "Twenty-four different groups have also held group Synod Conversations." 

Lansing's focus has been on having individual conversations between the faithful who have been baptized and those who currently have no connection to the Church.

"We hope to use the feedback from these conversations to help us better serve those who we aren't reaching, to help us draw them closer to Jesus Christ," Flynn said. "After all, we have to become more comfortable and accustomed to living out our baptismal call to go and announce the Gospel of the Lord and to make these conversations a normal part of life."

Last October, Pope Francis revealed plans for "Synod 2021-2023: For a Synodal Church," a release on TheConversation.com said. The two-year process is designed to involve expanding the existing "Synod of Bishops." Bishops the world over have been asked to consult with monks, nuns, parishioners and lay people to help bring more transparency and openness to the Church. The Bishops will convene in 2023 to talk about how to move forward as a church that "journeys together." 

The outreach effort is extended to parishioners as well.

The Diocese of Lansing provides a Conversation Guide for those who would like to talk with someone who is struggling with their faith. The guide contains inquiries about both positive and negative experiences that person may have had with the Church; along with questions such as, "How could the Catholic Church better help you grow closer to Jesus Christ and His Church?" 

"If the Holy Spirit puts someone on your heart who's in the pews but you sense they're struggling with their faith, or even someone from outside of our diocese, go ahead and have that conversation," Flynn said in the video. "You never know how the Lord could use that moment. Once you upload your conversation feedback to our website, we'll review it, pass it along to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who will then pass it onto Rome."

"Synod" comes from a Greek word that means "coming together" or "traveling together," The Conversation said. The Church's Synodal tradition started with ancient leaders who got together to discuss and pray about issues that affected the Church as a whole. By the 16th century, such gatherings happened less and less frequently. As a result, one of the goals of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was to reemphasize bishops' roles as leaders in their communities and encourage greater communication and cooperation among bishops.