SEATTLE — As the Archdiocese of Seattle nears the end of the public consultation phase of Partners in the Gospel, it is encouraging Catholics to join in the discussion.

Over the past two and a half weeks, parishes around the archdiocese have hosted listening sessions as part of the public consultation phase — a time for the public to offer input on proposed parish families and the changes that could come as the archdiocese’s strategic planning initiative moves forward.

“We sincerely want to know from you, how does this sound? What are the hopes, the anxieties, the concerns that you see?” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne said in a video shared with parishes Sept. 23-24. “How is the Lord inviting us as a people of faith in him to rise to this moment and challenge that it presents?”

Those are exactly the kinds of discussions people are having in their listening sessions, participants say.

“It was helpful to hear the thoughts, insights, optimism and reservations our fellow parishioners and school community have with these coming changes to our parish structure,” said Matt Diefenbach of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Seattle. “My mind was opened to some different and broader considerations that filled me with more hope than heartache as I continue to process this plan.”

At St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Tacoma, “the people at my session had many questions about the family pairing and how the pairing would affect each parish,” said parishioner Joe Diaz. Some people “still seem to be in the dark about what Partners in the Gospel is all about.”

“I thought the listening session was great,” said Suzie Reinhart Ness of Assumption Parish in Seattle. “Our table had a good cross-section of parishioners who expressed a variety of thoughtful opinions from trepidation to anticipation. I’m excited to see what the future brings.”

Laurie Halte, an administrative assistant at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish in Tacoma, echoed those sentiments. She has attended a few of the sessions and said “hope and fear” were common phrases. She added that others see potential. Halte quoted one parishioner: “Our community is excited to share our resources. We have a lot to offer.”

Vic Ducusin, a parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Federal Way, said parishioners at his session came to learn more, have their say about the proposed changes and “offer their vote for their priests who might be rotated out of their parishes.”

“This process was done right in my opinion because the rules for discussion allowed the different personalities to say what’s in their heart as much as possible,” Ducusin added.

Participants said being open and respectful and recognizing the gifts, talents and histories of each parish also was a hallmark of their discussions.  

“In our listening session, we struck a beautiful balance between preserving our parish’s cherished traditions and embracing change,” said Melissa Herron, another St. John the Evangelist parishioner.

“As a larger parish,” said Diaz of St. Charles Borromeo, “our parishioners recognize that we need to be fully open to the concerns of the older, but smaller, parish being paired with us.”

He also encouraged those who haven’t provided input to do so.

“It is important for all people to participate so that we can gain more insight about their concerns for the future and how this can assist us all as disciples of Christ,” Diaz said.

Input can be provided at parish sessions (check your parish for scheduled sessions) or submitted online at archseattle.org/partners.

So what’s being done with all the comments from the listening sessions? What if participants have concerns about the makeup of their parish family?

Each listening session has notetakers from within the parish who are documenting the feedback. Those notes are being sent to the archdiocese, where they will be reviewed by two people along with all the online comments. The readers assigned to a parish family will then create a synthesis of all the feedback that will be shared with the archdiocese’s Oversight Committee and its Presbyteral Council for discernment before a final recommendation is given to Archbishop Etienne.

As of Oct. 11, 350 forms from nearly 100 parishes have been turned in, and more than 560 comments have been submitted online through the Partners in the Gospel website, the archdiocese said.

Frank Feeman presents at a Partners in the Gospel listening session at Egan Hall at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Seattle on Oct. 8. (Photo courtesy of Helen McClenahan)