USCMA conducted a six-week study session on A Synodal Church in Mission – Synthesis Report, which was issued by the 2023 Synod on Synodality Assembly that gathered in the Vatican in October 2023. Our study sessions began January 25, 2024, and concluded on February 29, 2024. One of the fruits of these sessions was a response to the synthesis report entitled Through the Mission of the Son.
The USCMA Board of Directors approved the response at its March 8, 2024, meeting.
For the interim period, between the 2023 and the 2024 Synod on Synodality Assemblies, the USCCB Office on the Synod was not accepting reports from national organizations. The board stressed four messages to the office:
All missionary-disciples, mission leaders, and missionary communities are encouraged to study the synthesis report with Through the Mission of the Son.
The board of directors will use the USCMA response to open up conversations with mission related organizations in the hope that a Conversation in the Spirit among these groups will inspire communion and collaboration for God’s mission.
There will be a Conversation in the Spirit as part of the USCMA 2024 Conference – The Mission of the Eucharist – Gather. Unite. Send.
1. To grasp the results of the October 2023 Synod on Synodality by studying the synthesis report and consulting other sources.
2. To identify those questions that are most pertinent for the global mission of the Church and the missionaries who serve it.
3. Within those questions, listen deeply to what is being said about mission in the convergences, matters of concern, and recommendations.
4. To identify the agreements, disagreements, concerns, and recommendations we have about how mission is used within the context of the question and the synthesis report.
5. Discern a recommendation to the USCMA Board of Directors on what response USCMA should give to the Synod on Synodality.