(From Mary Clare): This section looks forward to the Jubilee Year, connecting the diocesan Listening Journey with the wider Church celebration. [Insert Bishop Gary’s 2025 or 2026 Pastoral reflection excerpt]
Bishop Gary Gordon's Fall Plenary 2025 Letter
Other things needed:
- What is the Jubilee Year 2026 [Note from Marie: I'm not aware of anything happening for a Jubilee Year 2026, so please send me the info you have on this)
- How listening prepares the Church (wider concept): This can be pulled from the explainer document, if that works
- How justice, reconciliation, and hope are connected (Teresa would be a valuable resource for this, but maybe something like the below?)
In our On the Way Together journey, justice, reconciliation, and hope are the very heart of our journey. We are all invited to listen deeply to people’s real experiences, especially where there has been hurt, exclusion, or injustice. This process of deep listening is in itself an act of justice, because it honours the dignity of each person and takes the truth of their story seriously. As we continue to gather, the voices of those who have been wounded—including Indigenous Peoples, marginalized communities, and others who have experienced harm within or through the Church—are not treated as marginal, but as essential to our communal discernment.
From this listening emerges the work of reconciliation. On the Way Together is not simply about structures or meetings; it is about relationships being healed, renewed, and nourished. When we acknowledge past and present harms, ask forgiveness, and commit to concrete change, reconciliation moves from words to lived reality. The permanent and ongoing nature of our listening work reflects this: reconciliation is not a one-time event but a sustained way of walking side by side, learning, unlearning, and allowing the Holy Spirit to reshape how we relate to one another.
This journey naturally gives rise to hope. Hope is born when people discover that their voices matter, that truth can be spoken, and that the Church is willing to listen and grow. Through On the Way Together, the Diocese witnesses that God is still at work in and through His people, even in painful places. As communities gather, listen, and discern together, the Church becomes a sign of hope—not because everything is solved, but because we are choosing to walk forward in justice and reconciliation, trusting that God is leading us toward healing and new life.
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