A Roadmap to a Synodal Parish

Last week, members of our Senior Leadership Team and I were honoured to be invited to deliver a 70-minute keynote presentation at the annual Clergy Convocation at Holy Spirit Seminary. Before approximately 150 priests from across Southeast Queensland, we were asked to share something of the journey Our Lady of the Rosary Parish has been undertaking and how we are seeking to create what Pope Francis describes as a synodal parish. The title of our presentation was “A Roadmap to a Synodal Parish: From Personal Conversion to Differentiated Co-Responsibility.” While that title may sound complex, the reality is quite simple. At its heart, synodality is about learning to walk together as the People of God. It is about recognising that every baptised person has gifts, responsibilities, and a unique role to play in the mission of the Church.

Over the past four years, our parish has been intentionally moving away from two outdated ecclesial models where either Father is the leader and parishioners assist when needed, the priest celebrates Mass while the parishioners operate independently of the priest’s leadership., towards a culture where clergy and laity share responsibility for the mission Christ has entrusted to us. This mission is not simply maintaining buildings, preserving programs, or ensuring Sunday Mass runs smoothly. Our mission is clear:

To make new disciples by actively accompanying people into an encounter with Jesus Christ.

Everything else exists to support that mission. What surprised the priests gathered at the Convocation was that our journey did not begin with organisational charts, strategic plans, or new committees. It began with conversion – particularly a conversion in how leadership is understood. Many of us, clergy and laity alike, have inherited assumptions that leadership belongs primarily to the priest, while everyone else helps out. Yet the Second Vatican Council reminds us that through Baptism every Christian shares in Christ’s mission and is called to exercise their gifts for the building up of the Church.

Over time, we began asking different questions:
(1) What gifts has God already placed within our parish?
(2) How do we identify, form, and empower leaders?
(3) How do we move people from volunteering to genuine co-responsibility?
(4) How do we create a culture where people confidently take ownership of mission?

The answer has been a gradual but intentional process of forming leaders and entrusting real responsibility to them. Today, our Senior Leadership Team meets weekly to pray, discern and lead together. Around this leadership body sit multiple Ministry Leadership Teams that oversee key areas of parish life, as well as our Pastoral Leadership Teams. Rather than functioning as representatives of particular communities or ministries, these leaders are united by a common vision and a shared commitment to helping people encounter Jesus.

The result has been remarkable. New ministries have emerged. Existing ministries have grown stronger. Hospitality has expanded. Alpha and faith formation opportunities have flourished. Young families are increasingly finding a place to belong. Hundreds of volunteers are serving with greater support and clarity. Most importantly, more parishioners are discovering that they are not simply consumers of parish life but active participants in Christ’s mission.

In sharing our story with the clergy of the Archdiocese, we were careful to emphasise that we do not claim to have all the answers. Every parish is different. Every community has its own history, challenges, strengths, and opportunities. What we offered was not a blueprint, but a testimony. A testimony that when people are genuinely formed, trusted, empowered, and supported, they often exceed every expectation. A testimony that Holy Spirit is already at work among the People of God. A testimony that synodality is not primarily about structures, but about relationships, trust, shared vision, and a willingness to discern together where God is leading.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging signs of this renewal is that the vision of our parish is increasingly no longer “Father’s vision.” It is becoming our vision. It belongs to the countless volunteers, ministry leaders, staff members, and parishioners who pray, serve, welcome, invite, and accompany others every week.

The presentation concluded with a simple encouragement to the clergy gathered there: don’t try to do everything at once. Take one step. Then another. Trust that God will reveal the next step after you take the first. The same is true for us as a parish. Our journey is far from complete. There is much work still to do. Yet we remain deeply grateful for what God has already accomplished through the faith, generosity, and commitment of so many people in our community. Thank you for being part of the story. Together, let us continue to accompany people to encounter Jesus and, through that encounter, make new disciples for His Kingdom.

With peace and love – Fr Josh