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Last week, the world watched as white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel, announcing the election of a new pope. Pope Leo XIV now steps into leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, and I couldn’t help but smile at his chosen name. It immediately brought to mind Pope Leo XIII, who was known for his commitment to social justice and workers’ rights.  The name “Leo” means “lion,” and I pray he’ll live into that name—a lion for peace brought through justice.

I was listening to "The Daily" podcast the next morning as they broke down his first address. They kept throwing around this word: synodality. Now, I’m not Catholic—I’m a United Methodist pastor, and I sometimes struggle just to keep up with our own polity. But I couldn’t help but be curious. Synodality is one of those churchy words that sounds like it should be written in calligraphy somewhere. So I did what any curious pastor would do—I googled it.

Turns out, synodality comes from two Greek words: syn (together) and hodos (way). So basically, it means “walking together.” Not exactly earth-shattering.  As Christians, we’ve been talking about walking together since Jesus told his disciples to drop their nets and follow him.  But Pope Francis—and now Pope Leo XIV—seem to be championing this idea of walking together with bold conviction.

It’s not just about strolling down the road arm-in-arm singing “Kumbaya.” It’s about listening—really listening—to one another and making decisions together. For the Catholic Church, which has traditionally operated with a top-down approach to decision-making, this is a bold concept. It’s like handing everyone in the family the TV remote and saying, “Okay, we’re all going to pick the movie together.” If you’ve ever tried that, you know it can be an adventure.

There’s something really beautiful about it. In the United Methodist Church, we call this connectionalism. We believe that we’re all connected, that our decisions affect one another, and that God’s Spirit is moving in all of us—not just those in charge. Now, does that always go smoothly? Absolutely not. I’ve seen more passionate arguments over the color of the carpet in the parlor than I’d care to admit.

What I love about this idea of synodality is that it’s messy, and it’s real. It’s not about pretending we all agree or brushing disagreements under the rug. It’s about listening, discerning, and trusting that the Spirit is working, even when we don’t always see eye to eye. It’s about making space for voices that haven’t always been heard and leaning into the idea that sometimes God’s vision comes from the back pew just as much as it does from the pulpit.

Pope Leo XIV seems committed to this path. He’s already talking about healing divisions, building bridges, and creating more space for dialogue. I admire that. I think we could learn a thing or two from it, too. Imagine if we leaned a little more into this idea of walking together. If we really listened to each other—not just with our ears but with our hearts. What kind of witness would that be to the world?

Maybe synodality isn’t such a mysterious word after all. Maybe it’s just a reminder that the journey is always better when we take it together—even if we don’t always agree.  See you Sunday!

Peace, Pastor Tracy