Book Club - Reading the Final Synod Document
Our Resource: The School for Synodality’s Book Club explores key aspects of the Final Document with key guest speakers, taking us through chapter by chapter.
‘Reading the Final Synod Document Together’-
the School for Synodality’s Online Book Club
After four weeks of listening, discerning and writing in October 2024, the final day of the Rome Synod Assembly brought a dramatic surprise from Pope Francis - that the recommendations of the Assembly would become Church teaching. The three year listening process was over, and it was now time to get on with implementing it.
The Final Synod Document (officially ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission’) is our guide to the implementation, and while beautiful and inspiring, can be rather technical in places (episcopal conferences and Vatican dicasteries, anyone??).
To enable us to reflect on the document in more depth, the School for Synodality organised an online bookclub with a stellar cast of experts in May and June 2025. Each week, the School for Synodality’s Director Avril Baigent unpacked a different section of the Final Synod Document, reflecting on its theological and practical implications, with time for questions afterwards.
Below are individual session recordings, with reflection questions and suggested reading. You could bring together some in your parish and study this together in small groups? There have been many approaches to these rich insights that we hear about - please do contact us and share how you are discovering and using our book club resources!
Part 1: The Heart of Synodality
Understanding the theological roots of what we are about
- With Dr Jos Moons SJ
Part 2: The Conversion of Relationships
Mission and ministry in a changing world
- With Professor Anna Rowlands
Part 3: The Conversion of Processes:
Discernment, decision-making and accountability
- with Dr Estela Padilla
Part 4: The Conversion of Bonds: The geeky week
- with guest Prof Cathy Clifford
Part 5: Forming a People for Missionary Discipleship
We need everyone in the boat
- with guests David McCallum SJ and Sandra Chaoul
Part 6 Conclusion: A Feast for All Peoples:
What next for our Church?
-with Archbishop Jason Gordon
Recommended: ‘How to be a Synodal Church in Mission’ - Westminster Diocese
Recommended Resource:The Diocese of Westminster has put together a collection of key quotes from the Final Document: “An Informal Reaping of the Fruits”
Recommended: The Future of Synodality - Kristin Colberg & Jos Moon SJ
This book offers a primer on the theological and historical origins of synodality, while offering concrete suggestions for the attitudes, structures and practices of personal and communal conversion required
We are thrilled that Kristin Colberg & Jos Moon SJ's new book 'The Future of Synodality' is now available, endorsed by our Co-Director Avril Baigent.
Embracing the style of synodality as the church’s usual practice, the authors outline the three types of transformation required: a renewal of attitudes and behaviour, a reform of ecclesial structures and procedures, and the adoption of synodal practices. The Synod on Synodality has changed the church. This book helps us understand this historic moment and learn how to walk on the synodal path toward a new beginning.
This book offers a primer on the theological and historical origins of synodality, while offering concrete suggestions for the attitudes, structures and practices of personal and communal conversion required.
“Synodality is a developing and all too often abstract term. In these early days, more work is needed to help us fully grasp its potential to transform our communities. This book expertly fills that gap. It offers a primer on the theological and historical origins of synodality while offering concrete suggestions for the attitudes, structures, and practices of personal and communal conversion required to unlock the radical possibilities of synodality to meet the needs of our hurting and rapidly changing world
”
Reimagining Pastoral Councils - Starter Kit
Our Resource: This toolkit for pastoral councils from the School for Synodality is designed to foster faith-filled communities, more engaged participation, and a renewed openness to mission.
Video Resources - Reimagining Pastoral Councils
Our Resource: These videos are from our 'Pastoral Council Starter Toolkit', a free resource you can download from our website, along with many other resources, events and programmes about synodality.
Synodality 101: Our Workshops
Our Resource: Learn about our online series of workshops with practical application on hosting Conversations in the Spirit in your own contexts.
How do we listen to each other well? How do we step back from our own agendas to be attentive to where the Spirit is moving? How can we make better decisions about organising ourselves as Christian communities? How do we enrich our parish communal life with enriching conversations?
Our Synodality 101 course has enabled hundreds of people to explore synodality and develop the skills, dispositions and practices that help synodality become a lived reality in the Church.
The enthusiasm of participants, together with their reflections and feedback, has encouraged us to expand our offer into a wider pathway of formation and training. We now offer courses that are designed to accompany people at different stages of their synodal journey. This programme will continue to grow and adapt in response to emerging needs and opportunities.
A distinctive feature of our online programme is the opportunity to journey together with people from across the world. Participants consistently mention the richness of sharing experiences, learning from different contexts, and discovering how the call to become a more synodal Church is being lived in communities across cultures and continents.
Together, we seek to deepen our understanding and practice of synodality - growing in the skills, spirituality and confidence needed to listen, discern and journey together as the people of God.
“The small group spiritual conversations were really enriching - both from the perspective of practicing skills, but also from the experience of having a spiritual conversation with people we wouldn’t otherwise ordinarily connect with.”
What We Offer:
Conversations In the Spirit - a How To Guide
Our Resource: All of our ‘Conversations in the Spirit’ practical resources, including prayers, meeting prompts and methods.
‘Conversation in the Spirit’, or Spiritual Conversation, is an ancient practice of the Church and a key tool of Synodality. A prayerful method, it allows for space for the spirit as well as voices usually not heard and can be used for faith sharing, difficult conversations, or when lots of creativity or ideas are needed.
Conversation in the Spirit is a strangely practical art. It relies on good communication – being able to hear and understand one another. It can be an excellent tool to ground any conversation in the Spirit, open us to new voices and possibilities, and move us to action when appropriate.
RESOURCES
Conversations in the Spirit - methods & best practice
How to host Conversations in the Spirit - easy to follow methods, practical considerations and helpful habits to embody.
Conversations in the Spirit - prompt cards for groups
“How shall we be together?”
We have created helpful cards that can be used to facilitate Conversations in the Spirit within your own communities.
Conversations in the Spirit - Leading prayer in meetings
“where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them”
We can have a terrible culture of a ‘quick prayer’ at the beginning of meetings - but this is not enough to help us grow as living communities of faith. This process can help us enrich decision making meetings to be both more effective, and become encounters that help us grow as living communities of faith.
Download our step by step directions for group meetings that draw on the rich tradition of Lectio Divina.
Video - Introducing Conversations in the Spirit
Dr Avril Baigent introduces ‘Conversations in the Spirit’ - an ancient practice of the church which has emerged through the Synod process as a method for deep listening to one another, and to the Holy Spirit.
Video - Practicalities of Conversations in the Spirit
What exactly does having a Conversation in the Spirit with your Parish Pastoral Council entail? Dr Avril Baigent takes us through step-by-step with helpful tips.
Voices from the Synod: Avril speaks to Austen Ivereigh & National Board of Catholic Women
Recommended Resource: Avril reflects on her Synod experiences for the Northampton Diocese in these two interviews - one with Austen Ivereigh, the other with a NBCW representative.
Avril Baigent has been in discussing her experience of Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2024 for Northampton Diocese in her role as Director of Pastoral Development. Avril is also co-founder and Director of the School for Synodality.
Voices from the Rome Synod
Writer and commentator Austen Ivereigh and Avril Baigent speak about their experience of the Rome Synod Assembly, in this webinar for Northampton Diocese held on the 14th November 2024.
National Board of Catholic Women
Helene Burgess, the National Board of Catholic Women (NBCW) Diocesan link for the Northampton Diocese, spoke with Avril Baigent about her experiences as a facilitator at the Second Session.
Four Steps to Practising Synodality
Our Resource: A framework for thinking these new synodal processes and habits. Drawing on the Council of Jerusalem. It can be applied to any group making decisions or discerning the future.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson Synodality Interview
Our Resource: Bishop Nicholas Hudson and Avril Baigent discuss life at the Synod in Rome, and how we can bring synodality into our parishes at home.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson, auxiliary bishop of Westminster and Synod delegate, was interviewed at our event 'From Rome to Home' by Avril Baigent, the Co-Director of the School for Synodality and a Synod facilitator. They discussed their shared experiences of the Synod in Rome, and what synodality might mean for our Catholic communities at home.
Watch the interview in full below:
Explainer video - What is Synodality?
Our Resource: What is Synodality, exactly? Watch and share the School for Synodality’s video exploring the core components of the synodal way.
The School for Synodality has created this short animation video exploring the synodal way, explaining it not as a one-off listening exercise but rather as an invitation towards an ongoing call to conversion, reshaping how we attend to all things, guided by the working of the Holy Spirit.
While the ancient practice of synodality can be found throughout Church history, where leaders of the Church gathered in a way to listen and discern together, what is different here is this invitation into the practice of synodality is for all the people of God.
We are all invited to integrate this ancient practice at all levels of the Church - including local, diocesan, national and global - changing how we gather, how we listen, how we include, how we plan, how we discern, and how we move forward together as a people of God.
When we build on this style of encounter, when we include different voices and open the space to all, to discern and dream together, we can we strengthen the bonds of love and enrich all aspects of Church life.
Conversation in the Spirit Resource Cards
Our Resource: We have created these helpful cards that can be used to facilitate Conversations in the Spirit within your own communities. We have a professional printer version and a standard home printing version.
Video resource: Reimagining Pastoral Councils Workshop
Our Resource: The video of our online workshop from November 2024 exploring our latest resource, the ‘Pastoral Council Starter Kit’.
Moving to a new form of Pastoral Council requires learning new skills and practices, particularly in listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another. This is not so easy in practice!
The School for Synodality held an online workshop on 23rd November 2024 for all those interested in our resource ‘Reimagining Pastoral Councils, a Starter Kit’ which you can download here. We explained the journey of a reimagined Pastoral Council, talked through the practicalities, and gave the chance for attendees to share with others their own hopes for re-imagined pastoral councils in a synodal style in their communities.
Watch our edited video fo the workshop below:
Practising Synodality Webinar Series
Our Resource: On-demand versions of our Practising Synodality webinar series, in which we heard from several important voices on the topic of synodality.
Recommended: Welcoming the Spirit: Christina Kheng
Recommended Resource: A book setting out an approach to Pastoral Planning based on communal discernment written with a broad-based audience in mind.
Leading Prayer in Meetings
Our Resource: Step by step directions for meetings that draw on the rich tradition of Lectio Divina. This process can help us enrich decision making meetings to be both more effective, and become encounters that help us grow as living communities of faith.