Events, Etc.

NATIONAL

****2005 Convention Update from Ann Carroll (anncarrollvotf@yahoo.com)

A 2005 Convention Exploratory Committee has been formed to determine a site and date for a 2005 VOTF Convention. Committee members are:

Maria Cleary, Northern NJ
Betty Clermont, Atlanta, GA
Pat Gomez, Concord, MA
Vince Grenough, Louisville, KY
Larry Mulligan, Grand Rapids, MI
Anne Pullen, Concord, NH
John Ryan, Peoria, IL
Marilyn Wells, NW Chicago suburbs, IL
Gaile Pohlhaus, Philadelphia, PA (Rep. Council Steering Committee)
Ann Carroll, Boston, MA (VOTF Treasurer)

Thanks to all for volunteering to serve.

Regular updates will be provided to VOTF Representative Council members beginning in late August. The October issue of In the Vineyard will contain much more news - stay tuned!

"Site" Seeing

• Be aware of the National Parish Life Center web site. The site has just posted details about the Annual Parish Leadership Convention November 18-20 at the Sheraton City Center in Cleveland, OH. AND a Voice of Renewal correspondent suggested a look at this web site for one parish's family-based religious ed. program ideas.
• Sites you should check when you can: National Catholic Reporter , Commonweal magazine; America magazine ;and ZENIT is an International News Agency that covers Catholic Church issues, events and documents.
• Boston College Church in the 21st Century free publication offers many of the lectures in this initiative. Go to their web site to request a copy of C21 Resources.
• The August 2, 2004 issue of America magazine includes coverage of the Portland, Oregon diocesan bankruptcy case. Go to www.americamagazine.org for access information. Note: web-only subscription rates are half the cost of hard copy.
• Did you come across another VOTF-relevant site? Please share the discovery at leaderpub@voiceofthefaithful.org.

EAST

****August 15 Mass on Boston Common sponsored by Boston VOTF marks another first not only for VOTF but for all Boston Catholics. As far as we know, it is the first time that a public Mass in Boston has been organized by lay Catholics and the first time that a public Mass in Boston will not be celebrated by a bishop. Read more from Donna Doucette in VOTF on Boston Common.

****October 3, 2004 - Rejoice With Voice!!! Come, one and all, and Rejoice with Voice! In response to many requests, members of Voice of the Faithful are planning a social event for late afternoon, Sunday, October 3, from 5 - 8 p.m. The location will be announced shortly and will be convenient to Interstate 95 (Route 128 in MA), from all directions.

There will be music, food and drink, and an opportunity to socialize and enjoy the company of other Voice members and friends. Join us to celebrate our accomplishments and to get to know one another in a social setting.

Tickets will be priced as moderately as possible to cover our costs. Committee members who answered the invitation to help with the planning are finalizing the details at this time. You'll be hearing much more very soon. In the meantime, SAVE THE DATE! OCTOBER 3!

****SAVE THE DATE- NOVEMBER 13, 2004 - NEW ENGLAND VOTF CONFERENCE WORCESTER, MA

"It's Not History - It's Time For Renewal" will be the theme of a full-day conference sponsored by the New England affiliates of Voice of the Faithful at the Worcester Centrum on Saturday, November 13, 2004. The conference derives its name from the words of Bishop Wilton Gregory, President of the USCCB, who summed up the bishops' response to the John Jay Report on the clerical abuse scandal in the Catholic Church in the United States with the words, "It's history."

"By selecting this theme, we want to affirm, first, that the abuse scandal cannot be swept under the rug, and second, that we must renew and reform the Church to ensure that the scandal is never repeated," said Bob Morris of the Winchester, MA VOTF, Chair of the event.

Confirmed speakers for the conference to date include Fr. Thomas Doyle; Pamela Hayes of the National Review Board; authors Jason Berry, David Gibson and David France; former Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tom O'Neill; Professors Paul Lakeland of Fairfield, David O'Brien and Bill Clark of Holy Cross, Kathleen Kautzer of Regis College, and Ruth Wallace of George Washington University; Sue Archibald, President of Link-Up, and David Clohessey, President of SNAP; and Fr. Robert Silva, President of the National Federation of Priests' Councils. A Priest of Integrity award will be conferred on a New England priest who has courageously stood up to the power of the institutional Church on behalf of survivors of clergy sexual abuse.

For further information, or if you'd like to help out in any way, contact Bob Morris at rmorrisvotf@aol.com.

****Boston College is hosting "Handing on the Faith" September 17 and 18, 2004. The conference will bring together approximately 22 prominent Catholic scholars and leaders to discuss three interrelated dimensions of the issue of handing on the Catholic Faith: the Context of contemporary American culture that fosters or renders difficult the task of handing on the faith; the Content of the faith that we seek to pass on to future generations; and the modes of Communication apt to convey the beauty and truth of the Catholic tradition. The content of this conference will be available in book form in 2005.

• The conference will also include a Public Lecture by Archbishop Sean O'Malley. Only the lecture by Bishop O'Malley on Friday night (Sept. 17) will be free and open to the public. It will take place at St. John the Evangelist Parish, 9 Glen Rd., Wellesley Hills, MA. For information on the rest of the conference, and for registration information, use this link: http://www.bc.edu/church21/programs/hotf/ You can also receive a free periodical that covers many of the talks given throughout the Church in the 21st Century Initiative.
• Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18, 2004
  Weekend Course Part I: "The Church: From Crisis to Renewal- from Polarization to Dialogue in Today's Church," with Peter Steinfels, religion columnist, The New York Times, Location TBA Sponsor: the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry Information: 617-552-8440. A $300 fee will be charged for this three-part course. The remaining two sessions will be on October 22-23 and November 19-20.
• Saturday, September 25, 2004
  Workshop: "Sexuality in Catholic Tradition," with Francine Cardman, associate professor of historical theology, Weston Jesuit School of Theology, 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Location TBA. Sponsor: the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry Information: 617-552-8440. $35 fee will be charged
• Wednesday, September 15, 2004
  Lecture: "Naming the Wound: The Common Dynamic of Ecclesiastical Style and the Sexual Abuse of Persons," with Eugene Kennedy, Professor Emeritus of psychology, Loyola University of Chicago. 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., Gasson 100. Sponsor: the Church in the 21st Century and the Institute for Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry Information: 617-552-8440. Registration required.

****HEADS UP FOR OCTOBER - Monday, October 18, 2004 Lecture: "How Rome Views the American Church," with John L. Allen, Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. Time and Location TBA. Sponsor: Boston College Church in the 21st Century Initiative. Information: 617-552-0470. Also, John Allen's new book All the Pope's Men is in book stores and available at www.amazon.com

****HEADS UP FOR THE NEXT EIGHT MONTHS!! Adult Education and Faith Formation Series: 2004-2005 - Lynn, North Shore and Seacoast Affiliates sponsor a second annual adult education series. Mo Donovan reports:

The second annual Adult Education and Faith Formation Program will be offered from September 26, 2004 through April 10, 2005 in Newburyport, Amesbury, Topsfield and Lynn. The series, The Living Christ, and We His Disciples, is offered in collaboration with Boston College's Department of Theology, and is sponsored by the Voice of the Faithful Affiliates of the Lynn, North Shore and Seacoast areas.

The Program's purpose is to give adults an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Christ and their life in Christ from presentations by faculty of the area's Catholic colleges, and from discussions, with the faculty and among themselves, of the topics presented.

The speakers are from Boston College, Weston Jesuit School of Theology (Cambridge) and Merrimack College. They will discuss how we become disciples of Christ, and the role that freedom, character and conscience play in that; the various forms of prayer Christians over the centuries have used to seek Christ; how Christians can grow in their faith through reading, discussion and prayer with one another; the common traditions Christians share with Jews and Muslims as believers in one God, and the growth of ecumenical dialogue among leaders and members of the various Christian Churches.

The lectures are on Sunday evenings at 6:30. The dates, locations and topics areas follows:

1. September 26: 2004 (Newburyport; Immaculate Conception Church): Making Disciples of Christ I: The Role of Freedom and Character. Fr. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., Ph.D. (Boston College, Department of Theology).
2. October 3: 2004 (Amesbury; Holy Family Parish Hall): Making Disciples of Christ II: The Import of Conscience. Fr. Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., Ph.D. (Boston College, Department of Theology).
3. November 7: 2004 (Topsfield): Seeking Christ in Prayer: How Christians have done this through the centuries. Francine Cardman, Ph.D. (Weston Jesuit School of Theology).
4. November 14: 2004 (Topsfield): Vatican II's vision of the layperson's spirituality. Francine Cardman, Ph.D. (Weston Jesuit School of Theology).
5. February 13: 2005 (Topsfield): Faith Formation: Deepening our Faith Through Reading, Discussion and Prayer with Others. Jane Regan, Ph.D. (Boston College, Department of Theology).
6. February 20: 2005 (Topsfield): Community-wide Catechesis: Developing a community of faith. Jane Regan, Ph.D. (Boston College, Department of Theology).
7. April 3: 2005 (Lynn): We Believe in One God: Jews, Christians, Muslims as Brothers and Sister in Faith: Our Common Heritages and Differences. Dr. Padraic O'Hare (Merrimack College).
8. April 10: 2005 (Lynn): Christian Ecumenical Dialogue: Progress Since Vatican II In Creating Closer Ties Between the Christian Denominations. Dr. Padraic O'Hare (Merrimack College).

For further information, please call or send an email message to Jim Callahan (978 887-7690; jcall2@comcast.net); Vince Guerra (978 887-3412; vfgmd@aol.com), Mo Donovan (978 465-0620; maujane@gis.net), or Jack Whelan (781 477-4951; whelanj@lynnschools.org).

CENTRAL

****November 18-20 the Annual Parish Leadership Convention in Cleveland, OH sponsored by the National Pastoral Life Center. Go to www.nplc.org. Part of the Center's work is the fulfillment of Cardinal Bernardin's legacy - the Common Ground Initiative.

**** Friday, October 8th, Fr. Tom Doyle will speak at a VOTF-sponsored event in Indianapolis. On Saturday, October 9th, we will have a day of workshops in which Fr. Tom will participate. Stay tuned for updates on other speakers who will also participate in the Saturday events. For additional information, please contact votfindy@aol.com.

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