AT A general audience in St Peter’s Square, Rome, last month, Pope Leo XIV met a group from Citizens UK. He offered a strong endorsement of Roman Catholic engagement in its community organising, and heard from young people involved in the work.
Community organising is best known for campaigns on issues such as the living wage. It is a powerful way in which parishes and schools can live out the social mission of the Church, which is a priority for the new Pope. He has explained that he chose his papal name “mainly because Pope Leo XIII . . . addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution”.
Community organising also speaks to another of his priorities, however. In his early addresses, Pope Leo has also emphasised the importance of “synodality”. While the term may be rather technical, the vision is deeply practical. Like social mission, it is of relevance to Anglicans every bit as much as to Roman Catholics.
The word “synodal” simply means “journeying together” (syn hodos). As Pope Francis explained, the process seeks to build a Church more open to “the protagonism of the people” and “the protagonism of the Holy Spirit”. These two “protagonisms” are deeply connected; for the Holy Spirit often acts most powerfully through the people whom the world marginalises and overlooks.
THIS vision of synodality, of the agency of the Spirit “from the peripheries”, cannot be imposed from the centre. There has been a growing interest in community organising precisely because it offers a process of transformation “from below”.
In 2022, Pope Francis praised the Industrial Areas Foundation (Citizens UK’s partner in the United States) for “the valuable contribution that you have made to the synodal process”. In particular, he referred to their “formation of parish leaders, patient listening to concerns that affect families, and the conscious discernment of the sense of the People of God present in the world”.
At our meeting with Pope Leo, we were able to inform him about a report on similar work on this side of the Atlantic: Not Only With Words tells the story of churches in east London which are using community organising to widen participation in all aspects of the Church’s mission — from new acts of worship to successful campaigns for better street lighting. New leaders are being developed, through a patient and intentional process in which power and responsibility are shared.
The RC Church has been keen to emphasise the ecumenical nature of this “synodal journey”. The stories in our report are drawn from Anglican and Pentecostal, as well as Roman Catholic congregations. They are stories of increased participation in parish life, as churches intentionally listen for where the Holy Spirit is at work in new leaders within and beyond the parish walls.
The Church of England parish of St Barnabas’s, Walthamstow, in east London, took part in the “Organising for Growth” project, which is run by the Centre for Theology and Community with Citizens UK. In the words of their churchwarden Averil Pooten Watan, “We agreed that we would undertake an organising project where we would see where the Holy Spirit leads. From the outset there would be no expectations as to the outcome, except that putting people first would be the priority.”
St Barnabas’s has doubled its Sunday attendance (with particular growth among young people) and widened participation in a range of aspects of church life. At the same time, it has deepened relationships with neighbours of other faiths, and taken part in successful campaigns, which range from action to promote youth safety in its neighbourhood to a national campaign for fairer Pathways to Citizenship. This slow and patient process is being adopted by parishes in a growing number of contexts.
IN 2013, Pope Francis wrote: “Sometimes I wonder if there are people in today’s world who are really concerned about generating processes of people-building, as opposed to obtaining immediate results.”
What is needed, instead, are processes for developing participation and leadership which are pursued “without anxiety, but with clear convictions and tenacity” (Evangelii Gaudium, 223-4). The story of St Barnabas’s shows the wider Church how both social justice and evangelisation can be pursued “tenaciously” and yet “without anxiety.”
Ariana, a pupil of St Antony’s Catholic Primary School, in Forest Gate, was able to tell Pope Leo her story in person. Children and families at the school know from experience the difference that it makes if parents and carers are paid the living wage. They identified London City Airport as a key local employer who had not yet become accredited. After approaching the management, 30 pupils were involved in meetings that made the case for change. By the time Ariana flew to meet Pope Leo, the airport was a living-wage employer.
This action has helped her to see how faith connects to daily life. Reflecting on the encounter with Pope Leo, she said: “It was awe-inspiring, and it encourages me to have a stronger relationship with God and with others.”
The Revd Angus Ritchie is Director of the Centre for Theology and Community. Not Only With Words: Synodality, community organising and Catholic social action is available on the Centre website, ctcuk.org, which also has information about the “Organising for Growth” programme.
