Join this live conversation with Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Fr. James Mallon, and Dr. Hannah Vaughan-Spruce.
Friday, Nov. 18, 2022 • 10 AM Pacific | Noon Central | 2 PM Atlantic | 6 PM London | 7 PM Berlin
Live translation available in German, Dutch, Polish, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian
Missed the event? Watch the video here:
Catholics around the world want to respond to Pope Francis' vision of becoming a "Church of closeness."
But without a clear understanding of what it means, many are unsure how this might look like in a parish.
What does Pope Francis mean when calling the Church to become a Church of closeness? What is synodality? What are the challenges and opportunities it presents for a parish living out its evangelizing mission?
Divine Renovation and Alpha invite you to join us at our upcoming event, Becoming a Church of Closeness: The Challenges and Opportunities of Synodality.
Your speakers
Nathalie Becquart is a Xaviere sister, a French Ignatian-inspired order. For 25 years, she was involved in youth ministry and served as Director of the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and Vocations of the French Bishops’ Conference from 2012 to 2018. She took part in the Synod on Youth as observer in 2018, and became consultor to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops in May 2019. On February 6, 2021, she was appointed by Pope Francis as Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops as well as a member of the Dicastery for Communication in December 2021. A lecturer and trainer, she is the author of numerous publications on synodality and synods, young people and youth ministry, vocations and religious life, the Church and mission.
Fr. James Mallon is pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
Ordained in 1997, he is the founder of Divine Renovation Ministry and is the best-selling author of Divine Renovation: From a Maintenance to a Missional Parish, an engaging guide for parishes seeking to cultivate vibrant and dynamic parish communities centred on missionary discipleship.
Dr. Hannah Vaughan-Spruce is Executive Director of Divine Renovation UK. Having graduated from Cambridge with a Theology degree, she was recently awarded her PhD from St. Mary’s University, Twickenham in the area of sociology of religion and theology – a sociological study on culture in Catholic parishes. She has 15 years of parish and diocesan ministry experience, and has published a number of books, including, Why Catholics Leave, What They Miss and How They Might Return (Paulist Press, 2019). She is a consecrated virgin based in th Archdiocese of Southwark, UK.
Don't miss this important conversation.
Register today, invite other parish leaders, and tune in to this important discussion on becoming a Church of closeness, the synodal pathway, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for a parish living out the Church’s evangelizing mission.
Host a discussion group!
Want to continue the conversation after the event? Select “I want to host a discussion group” during sign up and click here to download our discussion group resources.
Friday, Nov. 18 2022
10 AM Pacific • Noon Central • 2 PM Atlantic • 6 PM London • 7 PM Berlin
This event is brought to you by:
