Scottish Laity Network
Our Vision
The Scottish Laity Network (SLN) seeks to enable Scottish laity to come together as disciples of Jesus and through prayer, dialogue and discernment to find ‘new ways’ of being Church in Scotland in the 21st Century.
We are rooted above all in a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Gospel.
We are inspired by the principles of Vatican II seeking to make the gospel values a lived reality in the world today, and by the encyclical letter Laudato Si’, the vision of Pope Francis to listen and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
We trust the Holy Spirit to guide us as we make this journey.
SLN Response to the Synthesis report of the October 2023 Synod
Sharing Insights on Timothy Radcliffe's Synodal Meditations
This year in June 2024, in response to our members expressing an urgent need for formation in Synodality/Conversation in the Spirit we will be hosting 4 sessions in June to share insights and discuss the meditations that Fr Timothy Radcliffe delivered during the retreat given to Synod delegates before the October 23 Synod in Rome.
A programme outlining the format of the sessions is attached.
In participating in these sessions we would ask that you read or listen to the relevant meditation detailed in the programme resources.
We have also attached suggestions to help you to get the most out of reading/listening to the meditations and conversations in the Spirit sessions. However it is not compulsory. Read and take note in whatever way feels comfortable and natural to you.
More information can be downloaded here.
To register for the events, please complete the registration form here.
Laudato Si Week 2024
This Laudato Si’ Week and Pentecost, we are invited to gather in community to contemplate and nurture seeds of hope for our “suffering planet” (LD 2). In our broken and divided world where ecocide flourishes seeds of hope are desperately needed. Such seeds are found within Sarah Augustine and Sheri Hostetler’s new book, So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis.
On Thursday 23rd May, Sarah Augustine will share her thoughts on Imagining a Christian Response to the Climate Crisis. After sharing her insights there will be a Q&A session. The session is online 7.00-8.30pm and is organised by Laudato Si´ Animators Scotland and co-badged with Eco-Congregation Scotland, Justice and Peace Scotland, Open House, Pax Christi Scotland, SCIAF and the Scottish Laity Network.
Registration: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUscOugpz0sGNw0EGFoebny2Sv_vvLyWdwb
Link to article: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/49583
Discerning the way forward
In November 2023 we had an exercise in Personal and Communal Discernment as we reflected on
Where Now for the SLN?
We have summarised the exercise in the document (pdf download):
SLN Discerning the Way Forward_November Gatherings Analysis
and invite you to read and reflect on it.
Scottish Laity Network
Response to the Working Document for the continental stage.
This response (January 2023) from the SLN is available to download
as a pdf document
here.
Scottish Laity Network
Response to the Synod 2021-2023
The full response from the SLN to the Synod is available to download as a pdf document here.
Mission
We aim to provide a forum of support and respect for lay people to:
- discern the ‘signs of the times’ in responding to, and engaging with, the challenges we all face in the world today to bring about the kingdom of God on earth
- give a voice to and dialogue with, in a spirit of love and respect, those who have been marginalised, whether in the Church or in civil society
- work to become, in the words of Pope Francis, ‘a church that is poor and is for the poor’
- try to live simply and sustainably as envisioned in Laudato Si’
- share pastoral, theological and liturgical practice and resources
- encourage dialogue, transparency and accountability in all aspects of local Church governance and to raise issues, if necessary, with the relevant ecclesial bodies
Lay people are on the front line of the life of the Church and we affirm and respect our right to fulfil our specific mission that we received in Baptism.
Pope Francis
Lay people are on the front line of the life of the Church. We need their testimony regarding the truth of the Gospel and their example of expressing their faith by practising solidarity.
Let us give thanks for the lay people who take risks, who are not afraid and who offer reasons for hope to the poorest, to the excluded, to the marginalized.
Let us pray that the lay faithful may fulfil their specific mission, the mission that they received in Baptism, putting their creativity at the service of the challenges of today's world.
The Mission of the Laity – May 2018
The Scottish Laity Network has a YouTube Channel for recent videos/events: