Media Alert

WHO: Voice of the Faithful-Boston members

WHAT: Members of the 45 VOTF affiliates in the Archdiocese of Boston will be conducting an historic, first-of-its-kind Boston-area VOTF Plenary/Conference/Workshop called, Awakening to the Spirit, Envisioning the Future. 200-300 lay Catholics from parishes throughout the Archdiocese will come together to develop, discuss and discern their vision for the Boston Archdiocese in the year 2005.

WHEN: Saturday, June 7, 2003 at 9AM-3PM ET

WHERE: Trinity High School, Our Lady Help of Christians Parish 573 Washington St., Newton, MA 02458 (Parking is on-street only, not in church parking lot; get driving directions at www.ourladys.com/HTML/contact.html)

WHY: To develop VOTF’s vision for the parishes and Archdiocese of Boston in 2005, and derive steps that the lay Faithful can take to make that vision a reality

HOW: 1)Kickoff address by Jim Post on “What We and the Next Archbishop Will Face” 2) Keynote address by Paul Lakeland, Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University, an expert on lay involvement in the Catholic Church, and author of the recent book, The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church 3) 10 action-planning workshops on key topics developed by VOTF affiliates 4) At conference’s conclusion, a “VOTF Vision Statement for the Archdiocese of Boston”