offer our witness in service to the church in public. I feel like it is inviting us to walk in a synodal path.” Her words took my breath away. I have often understood my experience with religion perhaps unconventionally, joking that I am “religious but not spiritual.” As a producer, social scientist, and (more often than I would like to admit) pragmatist, often the internal, personal, spiritual part of faith—such as prayer—is difficult for me. But the external, shared, communal experience of documenting other people’s faith in religious communities has consistently made me feel closest to God. With Lisa’s words, this was the first
time I had ever understood that perhaps sharing one’s story in a documentary could also feel like a spiritual experience. I will never pretend that there is not an unequal power dynamic between myself as a documentarian and those whom who I am documenting. The care and need to think critically about my position as a documentary filmmaker with participants—especially when I am an outsider—is ever present and complicated. But Lisa’s words reminded me of the beauty and holiness of the exchange; that witnessing and being witnessed to could be a spiritual experience for those of us on both sides of the camera, in community with one another. I didn’t have to feel like an outsider in this church, because God had a role for me here, too. What is more synodal than that? For more information about the QUERIDA documentary, visit wmm.com/sponsored-project/querida-working-title. Christine Delp is a documentary filmmaker and a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Minnesota, where she holds a National Science Foundation fellowship. Her work has been supported by Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Field of Vision, and others and has been broadcast internationally on platforms such
Above: A behind-the-scenes photo of Christine Delp filming a documentary in Rome during the Synod on Synodality. Page 6: Casey Stanton of Discerning Deacons appears in a still from Christine Delp's upcoming documentary.
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as HBO, PBS, and Al Jazeera. For more information, please visit falconparkpictures.com.
Toward a Better Future BY TIM MCMANUS AND SURYA KALRA
Article photos courtesy of Surya Kalra
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n 2018, the West/Southwest region of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) launched an ambitious project to partner with local dioceses in the development of lay leaders, particularly immigrants and those on the margins. To date, this strategy, called “Recognizing the Stranger,” has involved 21 dioceses and trained 5,000 lay leaders in the habits and practices that lead to listening, conversation, and building bridges that bring Catholic teaching more fully into public life. Many bishops, including Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, and Bishop Daniel Garcia of Monterey, California, recognized the connection between this initiative and Pope
Francis’ global synod process and invited us to partner with them. In each instance, IAF worked closely with the bishop and synod coordinators to prepare parish leaders to conduct robust, face-to-face synod listening sessions. Historically, community organizing has been rooted in the belief in the capacity of people to come together in action that moves their communities closer to a common good. This involves thousands of conversations about what is happening in a community and what is to be done, and it requires a space for this process to unfold. Through parish organizing, IAF leaders and organizers have learned to patiently and with commitment engage in careful listening to create the type of A M AT T E R O F S P I R I T
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