Some held up commemorative copies of Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s post-synodal pastoral letter, and many showed an introductory video at Masses as pastors and priests across the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis encouraged parishioners to read “You Will be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent from the Upper Room.”

“It’s going to have a great effect on our local archdiocese, and not only our archdiocese, but each one of us,” said Father Peter Ly, pastor of Presentation in Maplewood, as he encouraged parishioners at Mass Nov. 20 to use a QR code in the bulletin to easily access the letter.

“The archbishop has a plan for each of us to strengthen our community — the archdiocese and here at Presentation,” Father Ly said.

Released on the feast of Christ the King, Nov. 19-20, the letter follows three years of Archbishop Hebda listening to the needs and desires of the local Church, even as he shared Church teaching and prayed to the Holy Spirit for discernment in preparing a pastoral plan.

That effort culminated In June, when nearly 500 people from across the archdiocese gathered for three days in St. Paul for the Archdiocesan Synod Assembly. They voted on 40 propositions, which were categorized into three Synod focus areas: 1) Forming parishes that are in the service of evangelization, 2) Forming missionary disciples who know Jesus’ love and respond to his call and 3) Forming youth and young adults in and for a Church that is always young.

In response to that vote and all that went before it, the pastoral letter sets out priorities for the next three years, with special emphasis on parish Synod Evangelization Teams that in successive years will help establish parish-based small groups, find ways to teach about the Mass while enhancing liturgies and focusing on the Eucharist, and assist parents in forming their children in the faith. It also promises support in concrete ways from the archdiocese, including an Office of Synod Evangelization, Vicars of Evangelization and a Vicar of Charisms.

Shaped by the mysteries of the Upper Room, where Jesus washed the feet of the Apostles, instituted the Eucharist and where the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles at Pentecost, the archbishop’s letter encourages people to live in faith, service, love and powerful witness to the Spirit. It encourages walking with one another in synodality, or respectful and faithful accompaniment, an effort sought by Pope Francis for the Church around the world.

“It’s my hope people will read this pastoral letter,” Brandy Wentzler, 47, a member of St. John the Baptist in Vermillion, said of the archbishop’s nearly 60-page letter, which she read over two days. “Where Archbishop Hebda goes into his imagery of the Upper Room, that’s where I really felt stirrings in my heart.”

The archbishop’s apology high in the letter for Church wrongdoing in the clergy sexual abuse crisis and its commitment to safe environments going forward was “moving in a meaningful way,” Wentzler said.

“It’s a beautiful demonstration of humility,” she said. “It’s what all of us need to do” in our daily lives, she said.

The archbishop clearly follows the lead of concerns and conversations at the Synod Assembly, said Wentzler, who was among the delegates. “For him to see all we were talking about in the Synod and wrap it into the Upper Room, it was truly, divinely inspired,” she said.

Ian Handrigan, 18, a member of Gitchitwaa Kateri and a senior at DeLaSalle High School, both in Minneapolis, said he was touched by the letter’s emphasis on service to others.

“The washing of the feet really did strike me the most,” he said Nov. 20. “Especially how much it talked about serving others and laying down ourselves when possible.”

Handrigan said he was on a mission trip in St. Louis in June when the leaders washed the feet of the young volunteers. “I never felt the Spirit like that before,” he said. “My sense of self dissolved. It was just love. There were no words that needed to be said. It was pure love, from everyone.”

A member of the Synod Assembly, Handrigan said he continues to be concerned about his generation’s denial of God, and the Church’s ability to reach those who need to hear the good news.

“The letter moves us in the right direction,” he said. “I think the archbishop outlined a wonderful path to follow (with) foot-washing, the Eucharist and spreading the word.”

Kathryn Lien, 69, played the organ and piano at the Mass at Presentation, where the video was played. A member of St. Mary of the Lake in White Bear Lake, Lien said she resonated with the call for the laity to take up evangelization.

“I was very heartened by his invitation as coworkers in the field, and collaborators,” Lien said, adding that she looks forward to studying the letter. “Anything we can do to flatten the hierarchical structures will help the Church in its work of bringing Jesus to the world. Everybody has a unique role to play.”

FRUITS AND HOPE

Therese Coons: As director of the Archdiocesan Synod, please share your thoughts on the three-year process and Archbishop Hebda’s pastoral letter. Have the fruits met the hope?

A) “It was impressive to see so many faithful in our local Church give so generously of their time to journey together in prayer and listening, and to share their wisdom and hopes for the future of our local Church.  And a shout out to the gifted, and talented, and very generous Synod Executive Committee members who worked tirelessly and inconspicuously in the background creating the excellent process and materials, and for taking great care to read, code, and report every piece of feedback to Archbishop Hebda. What an honor to work alongside these joyful and faith-filled women and men, and to now count them as friends.

“Throughout this three-year Synod process, Father Bambenek and I saw time and time again the hand of the Holy Spirit guiding the work — it was beautiful, it was powerful, it was humbling, it was fun.  Archbishop Hebda has spoken about how he felt the Holy Spirit calling him to engage in this Synodal process, and the pastoral letter beautifully reflects how the Holy Spirit is guiding and will continue to guide this work into the future — a future of hope. I’m excited to see what the good Lord has in store for our local Church.”

Father Joseph Bambenek: As assistant director of the Synod, and now assistant director of the Office of Synod Evangelization: What do you hope will happen in coming years in our archdiocese?

A) “I am hoping and praying that through an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we will experience a time of great renewal in our archdiocese: renewal of lives and renewal of our parishes, schools and other Catholic communities. A renewal that will bring healing, encouragement and hope to those hurting in and beyond the Church; one that will in some way touch the lives of all who live in the archdiocese and transform our communities. A renewal through which more people than we could imagine will enter into a deep relationship with our loving, triune God and will be inspired to live as disciples of Jesus in our times. A renewal that will, in turn, spread well beyond the borders of our archdiocese as its fruit becomes known and lives are transformed.”

Deacon Joe Michalak: You have been appointed director of the Office of Synod Evangelization. What most strikes you about the pastoral letter? How can people, right now, best absorb what the letter offers, and respond in action?

A) “Archbishop Hebda focuses on what the Holy Spirit is doing more than on what we are doing. It’s as though the archbishop is saying, “I’ve been experiencing afresh the joy, direction, and power of the Holy Spirit, he’s leading me to the resurrected Jesus, won’t you come with me too?” That’s called evangelization! To be sure, he talks about programmatic elements in the Synod and its implementation, but these serve a higher end: a renewed and sustained encounter with the living Jesus, and then genuine relationship with fellow disciples and with those who may not be disciples. I am compelled by the archbishop’s beautiful discernment of the Synod priorities through his meditation on three mysteries of the Upper Room — foot-washing, Eucharist, Pentecost. This is a shift in understanding what it means to be Church; it’s a move from maintenance to mission, to missionary discipleship for ALL. It’s both daunting and thrilling. Right now, I can only echo the archbishop’s invitation to “Be not afraid” and to read the letter as a way of praying to the Holy Spirit: “Show me what to do!”