First Listening Session
St. Paul’s Church
June 9, 2024
Responding to our Holy Father’s invitation for the whole Roman Catholic Church to gather – clergy, religious and laity together- in order to listen to each other, over 80 St. Paul’s parishioners met in Deacon John Hall, for our first “Listening Session” on Sunday, June 9th, 2024. In preparation for this meeting, our Parish Council developed a format with simple ground rules for listening and they publicized some questions to guide our sharing at the “Listening Session”. Our goal was simple: to listen to all Catholics so that we may discern the best ways of addressing the challenges we face as a world and walk together on a path of healing and unity through our Catholic faith. The following is our attempt to summarize what took place at the “Listening Session” and we also suggest ways in which we might move forward.
Our “Listening Session” lasted about one and a half hours. During that time each participant was given time to respond to the questions they were given or to speak about any other topic they wished to speak on. No one was required to speak, but time was allotted to all.
Generally speaking, participants seemed eager to speak and they shared deeply about their own very personal experiences of God and Church and how they were still looking for more and deeper growth in their spiritual lives. This seemed to be a common experience of all, despite the diversity of the individuals in the groups and the fact that many were virtually strangers to one another – people known more by sight than by name. It was remarkable and inspiring that the participants spoke so transparently of their experiences of God and their hunger for more. They felt that this was a safe, non-judgmental environment, and that they were listened to and accepted. They had much in common despite differences in age, ethnicity, backgrounds and education.
There were very positive things said about their experiences of St. Paul’s Church and fewer positive things about the Archdiocese of New York or the Universal Church (the Vatican). St. Paul’s was recognized as a parish gifted by God with a good sense of community and inclusiveness and a strong desire to worship together and grow in faith. Nevertheless, they also identified a need for a more profound sense of community rooted in Christ and in the call of the Holy Spirit. It was noted that more outreach was needed to the homebound, parishioners in nursing homes, our youth and young adults. A need for more and better communication, or means of communication was pinpointed.
In reading through all these group reports, our organizational committee was overwhelmed by how positive and uplifting the experience of listening, simply listening to one another, was for all groups. We believe that listening proved to be an intensely spiritual exercise in and of itself. The respect, humility, and high regard for the good of others shown by listening to the words of one another proved that we actually create and call forth the presence of God when we listen; we turn a church hall into a holy place for God’s Spirit allowing the Spirit to flow powerfully in us and among us. In listening, we put our own cares and concerns aside for a moment and, in a very real sense, we die to ourselves, and we arise as better people. What has our listening achieved? We come one step closer to being the Body of Christ; one step closer to being the Kingdom of God in this world, a holy people, God’s chosen people.