Recently our bishop, Paul Bootkowski, announced that he was convening a Synod as part of the preparations to celebrate the Metuchen Diocese's twenty-fifth anniversary.

Speak Up sessions have been organized at the parish level to listen to the faithful; hear what is on our minds and in our hearts. The Synod organizers have mentioned that they are particularly trying to reach out to people disconnected from their local parish.

Of course, I've already registered to participate! Two hours have been allotted to each input session with an expectation that there will be collaborative listening and, we are told, someone to accurately transcribe and share our comments. We are being asked to provide input on:

• When we felt most proud about and committed to being Catholic. Who or what made it so? and,ﾠ
• What issues about Catholic life and faith do we wish the Church of Metuchen would explore during the synod?

Even though these meetings are a month away, I've already begun gathering thoughts about what I want to share. I'm just not sure I can limit what I want to communicate to the time allotted.

My commitment to Christianity is strongest when I am focused on Jesus: exemplifying God's love beyond bounds of religious belief, modeling the equality of women, valuing the poor and dispossessed, proclaiming the good news, living in the here and now. It is strongest when I realize that Jesus would have recognized Siddhartha, Mohammed, and Lao Tzu or Confucius as brothers, not rivals.

My moments of pride at being a Catholic Christian are strongest when I can celebrate being a brother in faith to people like Dorothy Day, Joan Chittister, and Helen Prejean, or Angelo Roncalli, Richard Sipe, and Leonardo Boff. I'm excited that our church has enlivened people like Diarmud O'Merchu, Michael Morwood, or Kathy Coffey, and Tom Gumbleton to shed refreshing light on Catholic Christian theology today. I'm heartened that the Asian bishops' approach to ecumenism is based on common humanity, not the Roman practice of religious apartheid.

I'm humbled in my faith life when I call to mind the incredible opportunities I've been given to be intimately connected to moments of indescribable joy and sorrow. Sacramentally connecting with people at their marriages, or the birth of their children, or the loss of a loved one, or their journey of life and faith. I couldn't imagine life and faith without the presence of my wife and children.

I'm most saddened by my continued connectivity to the Catholic Church when those in positions of public authority squander opportunities for true leadership. Providing no chance for true collaboration among all members of the church. Disregarding the experiences of married or gay couples in teachings about love and commitment. Spending more time on revising the General Instructions on the Roman Missal, than learning about the faith actually lived by people in the pews or no longer in them. Preferring to draw lines that separate rather than circles that include.

My hopes for my church connect to the diocese, but really focus beyond it to the wider community. I imagine what it might be like for:

• Our pope, as head of one of the world's Abrahamic religions, to travel to Palestine and Israel, or Baghdad rather than Germany or Poland, and meet as a searcher for truth with leaders of Hamas, or the Sunnis or Shiites.ﾠ
• Rome to champion the role of women as ordained and non-ordained leaders in Catholicism, modeling a breakthrough of the glass ceiling, and true respect for gender equality worldwide.
• Our bishops to be as seriously focused on public ethics and quality of life issues as genital morality.
• Catholics to take real ownership for ensuring that the 'kingdom of God' is HERE, among us.
• Our church to be centered on quality of life issues, such as the right ALL people have for clean drinking water, clean air, food, and education.
• Our bishops to be really responsible for ensuring parishes are staffed not closed or merged.
• The insights and contributions all the members of our church to be valued.
• Us to celebrate the Eucharistic banquet as a gift for all the children of God, not just those deemed worthy by the bishops.

It struck me that it could be valuable to our CORPUS community, if we take the time to participate in a mini Virtual Synod ourselves. While we cannot gather all of us in Speak Up sessions geographically, we can collaborate online. It might really encourage our faith as we share what's important to us.

We can provide space within the CORPUS Forum for you to share your reflections. We can also provide you with the opportunity to connect directly with others if you include contact information in your reply. If we begin to gather enough responses we can even take it a step or two further. And so, we ask you:

• When have you felt most proud about and committed to being Catholic? Who or what made it so? and,ﾠ
• What issues about Catholic life and faith do you wish CORPUS, or the universal church would explore during this virtual synod?

Let me know& contact me at <crditzel@corpus.org>.

Namaste
Russ Ditzel