"I don't think they understand..."
These words were spoken by multiple women who participated in Dr Alabi’s doctoral research on the use of Natural Family Planning (NFP) after childbirth. The women did not think that the Church understood their lived experience of using NFP with irregular menstrual cycles.
The New Eve Pastoral Formation Programme
A Synodal Framework for Understanding and Accompanying Women in Parish Life
As the Church continues to respond to the call of the Synod on Synodality to become a more listening, participatory, and discerning Church, many parishes are seeking practical ways to hear the voices and experiences of the women they serve.
Women navigate fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, motherhood, family life, work, caregiving, and vocational discernment in ways that profoundly shape their relationship with God, their families, and the Church. Yet many women experience these realities in silence, with limited opportunities to share their experiences or receive meaningful support within their faith communities.
At the same time, priests, parish leaders, and pastoral teams are increasingly called to accompany women through the joys, challenges, and complexities of their lives, often without the formation, resources, or insights needed to do so confidently.
The New Eve Pastoral Formation Programme has been developed to address this gap.
Grounded in Dr Bridget Alabi’s doctoral research into women’s lived experiences of fertility and motherhood and informed by The New Eve Method®, this programme equips parishes to better understand women’s experiences, strengthen pastoral accompaniment, and create opportunities for women to be heard within the life of the Church.
By bringing together lived experience research, pastoral formation, and structured listening, the programme provides a practical framework for cultivating the synodal principles of listening, participation, accompaniment, and communal discernment within parish life.
This resource will be available from December 2026
Programme Overview
Part One: Understanding Women's Lived Experiences
Effective accompaniment begins with understanding.
This section introduces participants to the importance of listening to women’s lived experiences as a source of pastoral insight. Drawing on findings from Dr Alabi’s doctoral research, participants are invited to encounter the realities women face in fertility, pregnancy, motherhood, family life, pregnancy loss, and faith.
Through women’s own stories and reflections, participants explore:
- The joys and challenges of motherhood and family life.
- Women’s experiences of fertility and reproductive health.
- Experiences of pregnancy loss, infertility, and grief.
- The impact of feeling unseen or unsupported.
- The pastoral implications of women’s lived experiences.
Participants gain a deeper understanding of the realities shaping women’s lives and why these experiences matter for the mission and pastoral life of the Church.
Part Two: Accompanying Women in Parish Life
Understanding must lead to accompaniment.
This section explores how priests, parish leaders, and pastoral teams can accompany women both individually and collectively within parish life.
Participants will learn practical ways to:
- Accompany women through pastoral conversations and spiritual support.
- Respond sensitively to experiences of fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, and motherhood.
- Foster a culture of welcome, understanding, and visibility.
- Recognise women’s experiences within preaching, catechesis, and parish ministry.
- Create parish environments where women feel seen, valued, and supported.
Special attention is given to moving beyond assumptions about women’s needs and towards accompaniment rooted in genuine understanding.
Part Three: Listening, Discernment, and Parish Reflection
A listening Church continues to learn. The final section equips parishes to facilitate structured listening and reflection sessions with women within their own communities.
Using a guided listening framework, participants learn how to:
- Create safe and welcoming spaces for women to share their experiences.
- Facilitate meaningful group reflection and discussion.
- Identify emerging pastoral needs and concerns.
- Recognise recurring themes in women’s experiences.
- Discern appropriate pastoral and formative responses.
This process enables parishes not only to hear women’s voices but also to develop a deeper understanding of the particular realities facing women within their local communities.
What Is Included?
- Video-based pastoral formation programme.
- Pastoral leader workbook.
- Women’s listening and reflection workbook.
- Facilitator guidance for parish listening sessions.
- Practical tools for accompaniment and pastoral ministry.
- Access to The New Eve Method® framework for understanding women’s lived experiences.
Who Is This Programme For?
- Priests
- Deacons
- Seminarians
- Parish leaders
- Family life coordinators
- Women’s ministry leaders
- Pastoral teams
- Diocesan staff
The Outcome
The New Eve Pastoral Formation Programme helps parishes move beyond assumptions about women’s needs by creating opportunities to listen, understand, and respond more effectively.
Through a deeper understanding of women’s lived experiences, parishes can strengthen their capacity to accompany women and foster communities where women feel recognised, valued, supported, and able to participate more fully in the life and mission of the Church.
In doing so, the programme offers a practical response to the Church’s call to synodality by helping parishes cultivate habits of listening, participation, accompaniment, and discernment that enable women’s voices and experiences to contribute more fully to the life and mission of the Church.