Southern Nebraska Register
Almost 300 diocesan faithful accepted the invitation to participate in the Diocese of Lincoln “Jubilee Listening Sessions” this spring.
A listening session is a type of facilitated discussion with a group of people, aimed at collecting information about their experience. The goal is to understand the opportunities and challenges surrounding a topic as community members perceive them. The purpose of the first-ever diocesan listening session experience was to collect feedback from the laity, pastors and priests, women religious and diocesan staff to help discern and establish the pastoral priorities for the diocese. This feedback will inform the creation of a vision, mission and five-year diocesan-wide plan with concrete, measurable goals that will be completed in the fall of 2025.
Planned and facilitated by Jennifer Gutierrez of JAG Consulting in partnership with an expert diocesan team, 13 listening sessions were conducted across the diocese from February through the end of April on varied days and times, including weekend and evening options. These included seven virtual sessions for laity, two virtual sessions for pastors, one virtual session with women religious, one in-person session with the Diocesan Pastoral Council, one in-person session with Bishop James Conley’s Mission Leadership Team, and one in-person session with staff of the Chancery and Pope St. John XXIII Diocesan Center. In addition, a brief online comment form was provided for those who were unable to participate in the sessions. JAG also collaborated with the Office of Hispanic Ministry to provide participation opportunities for Spanish-speaking or limited-English proficient laity.
Participants were from Lincoln as well as 28 different cities, towns, and villages across the diocese.
“I am grateful to our diocesan faithful for participating in the sessions and for prayerfully sharing their perspectives, experiences, questions, and recommendations for consideration,” Bishop Conley said.
“We received an abundance of thoughtful feedback about strengths and challenges at the local, parish and diocesan levels, as well as suggestions for priorities moving forward.”
The initial invitation for participation in the Jubilee Listening Sessions was released diocesan-wide via the Southern Nebraska Register and social media in January. Ongoing promotion and opportunities to register for the listening sessions were employed on an ongoing basis through the end of April and included weekly registration print advertisements in the Southern Nebraska Register from Jan. 24 to April 25 with listening session dates, a registration QR code and link; promotional articles and photo stories in the Register Jan. 24, Feb. 28, April 4, and in a Parish Neighbors publication in Lincoln; weekly social media promotion; weekly digital bulletin advertisements distributed to all parishes across the diocese; presentations and targeted in-person promotion; and Spanish-speaking outreach and collaboration with the diocese’s Hispanic Ministry and pastors serving Spanish-speaking laity. Pastors, women religious and diocesan staff also received personal invitations to participate from Bishop Conley.
“The strength of the listening sessions came from the participants themselves—their thoughtful reflections, honest voices, and willingness to engage with openness and care shaped a space where every perspective mattered,” Gutierrez of JAG Consulting said. “There were several common themes and key findings that rose to the surface, which will be instrumental in guiding our path forward.”
Later this summer, a planning team assembled from across the diocese will meet to create the diocesan plan. Guided by the Holy Spirit, and informed by the listening session findings, diocesan quantitative data, and the ongoing advice and feedback from the diocesan faithful, the plan will be completed in the fall with a pastoral letter to follow. A first-year action plan will be created with a focus upon topline priorities to be implemented the first year. The diocesan plan will launch in early 2026 guided by the leadership of the planning team in partnership with the clergy, religious and laity across the diocese.
“Lay leadership will play a crucial role in the local-level decision-making, implementation, and action phases of the diocesan plan, which will ensure that from McCook to Falls City to Colon to Lincoln, the plan is tailored to meet the actual needs of the parishes across the diocese,” Gutierrez said.
Bishop Conley said, “The creation and implementation of our diocesan plan marks the beginning of something truly extraordinary for all of us. We have an opportunity to continue to walk together this Jubilee Year—and beyond—into the future God desires to reveal to us.”
