Adult Faith Enrichment – Page 21 – St. John – St. Paul Catholic Collaborative

POSTPONED! Advent Lecture with Fr. Bryan Hehir

Fr. Hehir’s Advent Lecture, “Two Wars: One Moral Framework,” originally scheduled for Monday, December 18, has been postponed and will be rescheduled in January 2024.

Please stay tuned for a new date.

Evening for Women: “Making Haste Into the Hill Country: An Encounter of Blessing” with Dr. Colleen Griffith

Tuesday, December 5 at 6:30pm at St. John

All women of the Collaborative are invited to join us at St. John the Evangelist Church (Lower Level) for our December “Evening for Women” program. Our featured speaker this month will be Dr. Colleen M. Griffith, Professor of the Practice of Theology at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.

After our program in the Lower Chapel (more info coming soon!) we will gather in Powers Hall for a potluck dinner – please bring a dish or beverage to share! Invite a friend or neighbor to come along! To help us plan for the evening, please RSVP…

“Faces at the Manger”: An Advent Reflection Group

This Advent and Christmas season, the Collaborative will be offering a 5-week small church community to reflect on the “Faces at the Manger.” Weaving together prayer, art, poetry, and music, this group will gather to reflect on those who joined Jesus in the manger that first Christmas – Mary, Joseph, the Inn Keeper & Animals, the Shepherds, and the Magi – while providing prayerful space to grow in our faith.

NEW! Two groups are now being offered – one on Tuesday mornings at 9:30am that begins November 28 and one on Wednesday evenings at 5:00pm that begins November 29.

To register please click here…

Grief Retreat: “Loving Deeply in Loss – Grieving During the Holidays”

Saturday, December 2, 2023
12:00pm – 5:30pm

St. Paul Parish Hall
502 Washington Street Wellesley, MA 02482

Registration is required.
To register, please click here…

Synthesis Report for the First Session of the Synod on Synodality Released

In the late afternoon of Saturday, October 28, 2023, the members of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops adopted the “Synthesis Report of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.” The report, which summarizes discussions at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops, said the church may need more welcoming pastoral approaches, especially to people who feel excluded, but also acknowledged fears of betraying traditional church teachings and practices. Among the topics addressed in the report were clerical sexual abuse, women’s roles in the church, outreach to poor and the concept of “synodality” itself.

After the voting on the synthesis concluded, the pope said he wanted to remind everyone that “the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit.” He briefly thanked the synod officers and joined members of the assembly in giving thanks to God…

Collaborative Book Club – Thursday, November 9: “The Diary of a Country Priest” –

The SJSP Book Club will meet this Thursday, November 9 at 7:00pm in the St. Paul Rectory to begin our discussion of The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos.

This novel recounts the life of a young French country priest who grows to understand his provincial parish while learning spiritual humility himself. This week we will discuss chapters 1-4.

Newcomers welcome! For questions or information about joining us, please email bookclub@sjspwellesley.org

“Evening for Women” with Kelly Meraw – Tuesday, November 7 at 6:30pm at St. John the Evangelist

All women are invited to join us for the opening session of our Collaborative “Evening for Women” program on Tuesday, November 7 at 6:30pm in the Lower Chapel at St. John the Evangelist Church.

Our featured speaker this month will be our Director of Pastoral Care, Kelly Meraw. She will be sharing about the most recent events in the Church’s Synod on Synodality and what they mean for the important topic of ‘Rethinking Women’s Participation.’

A Special Conversation on the Synod on Synodality at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross

“What just happened in Rome and what it means for us.”

On Sunday, November 5 from 12:30 – 2:00 pm, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (1400 Washington Street, Boston, MA) will host a special conversation on the historic Synod on Synodality with Sebastian Gomes, Executive Editor for Audio and Video at America Magazine.

This event is free and includes a light lunch. To register, please visit…

Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God

Dear sisters, dear brothers,

As the proceedings of the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops draw to a close, we want to thank God with all of you for the beautiful and enriching experience we have lived. We lived this blessed time in profound communion with all of you. We were supported by your prayers, bearing with you your expectations, your questions, as well as your fears. As Pope Francis requested two years ago, a long process of listening and discernment was initiated, open to all the People of God, no one being excluded, to “journey together” under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, missionary disciples engaged in the following of Jesus Christ…