In an historic moment for the church in Sydney, the third and final of the regional Synod consultations saw hundreds of Sydney faithful gather to offer their ideas for the future of the church at All Saints Parish in Liverpool on 16 October.
Marked by a resounding atmosphere of positivity, collaboration and hopeful sharing, the three consultations have seen nearly 1000 Catholic parishioners answer the invitation from Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP to offer their practical ideas to reinvigorate the church at any of three regional consultations.
The first consultation was held on 30 August at Holy Family Church in Menai and the second on 14 October at St Mary’s Cathedral.
At the commencement of each of the consultations, attendees were invited to expand their ideas in formal submissions, some of which will be collated and presented at the diocesan Synod for Sydney next year.
The archbishop has convoked a diocesan Synod for Sydney between 30 April and 3 May 2026 to address the Holy Spirit-inspired longings communicated by the Sydney faithful after many years of consultation.
The feedback from the many participants expressed hope, positivity and gratitude.
At all consultations, the archbishop joined Bishop Daniel Meagher and many of Sydney’s clergy to lend their support and wisdom.
Fr Aliki Langi, from Holy Name of Mary parish in Hunters Hill appreciated the diversity of voices at his table.
“I think it’s always good to see the uniqueness of everyone, to see them come together in brotherhood and sisterhood, for the sake of the church,” he reflected.
“The ideas ranged from how we evangelise to the kids, to our high school kids, to young couples and especially the elderly. So, I think we covered everything,” he added.
“It was great,” said recently converted Catholic, Pascal Segalin, who attended with his wife, Jocelyne.
“We have a great faith in Sydney, and I think it’s really a blessing to be with so many faithful people, especially with the archbishop here.”
His wife, Jocelyne, noticed a recurring theme arising from the ideas shared at her table.
“I think people are more leaning towards the traditional side now. Which is great to see. The faith in Sydney is in great hands with so many passionate people sharing their vision,” she said.
Older Catholics such as Mark Flanagan from St Francis Xavier parish in Lurnea, noted that many ideas shared at his table focussed on strengthening the church community from within.
“A lot of it was how do we expand our own community? How do we expand ourselves to have a deeper, stronger faith and make our community bigger?”
He added that while practical solutions like networking with other parishes was also offered, real change, always starts from within.
“If we build ourselves, if we build our own parish community, that overflows to other communities, and we have a bigger faith and a stronger community.”
Sydney Synod project officer, Varun Perera, from the Synod working party, who were responsible for organising the consultations, reflected on the hope and fruits borne from the three consultations.
“These consultations were what synodality is all about. They were occasions of real sharing and listening between catholic of various ages. We had a lot of children at Liverpool, it was nice to see them sharing their faith with the adults.
“Everyone was present at the tables and giving their thoughts as to how the church will move forward, and that was the most beautiful thing to see.”
Thank you for all those who attended our three regional consultations! We now encourage everyone to submit their ideas for the Synod through the online form on our webpage.
The submission deadline has now been extended to Monday 3 November 12pm midday.
Give us your ideas on how we can become a more prayerful, Christ-centred, and missionary church here in Sydney!
