Events, Etc.
National Parish Voice has identified four
U.S. regions for purposes of affiliate coordination,
communication efforts and future regional definitions
and representation:
WEST
Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana,
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Hawaii,
Alaska
CENTRAL
North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota,
Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana,
Ohio
SOUTH
Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Florida
EAST
Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, District of
Columbia
****Print Media Coverage - Be sure to check
the website at www.votf.org for reprints and links to
recent interviews with Jim Post and articles on VOTF
in Newsweek, Commonweal, National Catholic Reporter
and St. Anthony Messenger, AND the Herald Sun in Melbourne,
to name but a few.
****Parish Voice News - Suzy Nauman and Mary
Ann Keyes hit the road! In July, these two National
Parish Voices visited the leadership in Albany and Syracuse,
NY and then met with a core group in Rochester, NY,
where an affiliate is finally getting off the ground
under the leadership of Mary Ann Ribble-Brock and a
supportive steering committee. September 11th they head
for Chicago, IL where they hope to meet with leadership
from the many affiliates formed and connect with some
in WI and IN. Watch this space for updates on their
progress.
VOTF East
****Tri-State VOTF Conference - Being
Catholic in the 21st Century - Crisis, Challenge, Opportunity
- We are delighted to share information about the
exciting October 25th VOTF conference sponsored by the
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut affiliates. In
fact, we hope everyone is planning (buses--planes, trains,
automobiles and subways!) to join us for this event.
Our Web site,
with complete information about the conference is live!
This is a must-be-there for all!
Maria Coffey, NY Chair, VOTF Conference
****Tuesday, September 30 at 6:30, Affinia Southgate
Hotel (31st Street and 7th Avenue)."Repair My Church"
was the theme newly installed Boston Archbishop,
Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., adopted as he took over the
helm of the Boston Archdiocese. Following this call
for change in the Church originally given to St. Francis,
the Capuchin Mission Development Office is sponsoring
a lecture featuring another Capuchin Franciscan, Michael
Crosby, OFM Cap. Author of thirteen books including
his latest, "Rethinking Celibacy, Reclaiming the Church,"
Michael will discuss challenges and opportunities ahead
for both clergy and the laity. For information/reservations
call John Mattras at 212-564-9070 x 256. Suggested contribution
is $20. However, all are encouraged to attend. Seating
is limited. (Submitted by Mary Ann Keyes)
****GENERAL WORKING GROUP MEETINGS & PLENARY MEETINGS
- THIS FALL, Wellesley, MA
A tentative plan is to have two general meetings each
month, starting this October. The 2nd Tuesday of each
month will be a general WORKING GROUP meeting. Leaders
of each Working Group and members will meet, work on
and share their plans and progress. Hopefully, each
individual Working Group will have additional meetings
at a time and place of their convenience. Only the general
WORKING GROUP meeting on the 2nd Tuesday each month
will be in Wellesley. First meeting is OCTOBER 14th,
7:30-9:30 pm, St. John Parish, Wellesley, Philbin Hall/Parish
Center.
For the 4th week Tuesday meeting, we are recommending
a general PLENARY MEETING in the model of the early
formative plenary meetings at St. John's in the first
6 months of 2002.
We would hope this would be a meeting for all current
members as well as an introductory opportunity for new
affiliates and members and feature GUEST SPEAKERS. We
want this meeting to include the FIVE REGIONS. In addition,
would it be more effective if this general PLENARY MEETING
were rotated through the FIVE REGIONS of our Boston
Archdiocese?
To be successful, we need a steering committee to make
decisions, to plan the Plenary Meetings and to promote
and advertise and market each meeting. An additional
thought; wouldn't it be important, in supporting our
spiritual and evangelizing dimensions, to have a quarterly
Plenary Meeting AND Liturgy? Reminder: First general
WORKING GROUP MEETING - Oct. 14, 2003, 7:30-9:30pm -
Philbin Hall - St. John's, Wellesley. OPEN ISSUES: 1.
How is meeting information going to get to the leaders
of each Working Group and members? 2. Location of monthly
Plenary Meetings - in Wellesley or Five-Region Rotation?
3.Who will be part of this Steering & Implementation
Committee - from the FIVE REGIONS? Please forward your
comments to Frank and Julie McConville at jfmcconville@comcast.net.
****PASTORAL SUMMIT 2003 at the Marriot Copley Hotel
on October 6-8, Boston, MA. PASTORAL SUMMIT CONFERENCE
TO BRING DIVERSE GROUP OF PASTORS AND LAY LEADERS TO
BOSTON
A groundbreaking, Lilly Endowment-funded national conference
coming to Boston, October 6-8, brings together Catholics
and Protestants from across the country to concentrate
solely on local churches - how to help them fulfill
their great potential and to help them confront inevitable
issues of our time. Through its workshops and keynote
speakers, Pastoral Summit Boston will provide answers
and solutions for universal issues like how to increase
lay involvement, reach into and transform entire communities,
attract new members, reinvigorate worship, reach young
people and Gen Xers -and much more.
Pastoral Summit Boston will also tackle many current
and crucial issues facing churches today: how to deal
with brokenness after a sexual, financial or emotional
crisis; how to respond to congregants in the face of
war and a depleting economy; how ancient contemplative
and mystical spirituality is inspiring modern lives;
how new grassroots lay initiatives are transforming
both individual churches and church structures.
Jim Post, President of Voice of the Faithful, will
lead a workshop on "The Flowering of Lay Initiatives."
Other workshop speakers include: Tom Beaudoin from Boston
College, who will lead a workshop on "Church in Postmodern
Culture"; Fr. Walter Cuenin, Pastor of Our Lady Help
of Christians in Newton, MA, who will lead workshops
on reviving church and parish life; Br. Curtis Almquist,
a monk from the Society of St. John the Evangelist in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, who will lead a workshop on
integrating contemplative and mystical life into daily
life; and Mike Ashcraft, whose Wilmington, NC, church
meets in a middle-school gymnasium and attracts hundreds
of Gen X'ers every Sunday. Ashcraft will lead a workshop
about helping lay people discover their spiritual gifts
and then applying them to a church ministry.
Keynote speakers are Huston Smith, the internationally
renowned expert on world religions, who sees the local
church as still the place where most people find and
practice their faith, and Alice McDermott, the National
Book Award-winning author, who will tell of the profound
impact of the Catholic faith in her life and work.
Evening and morning liturgies offer a glimpse into
both Catholic and Protestant styles of worship. Morning
liturgies include Taize, a style of worship originating
in France that combines singing, scripture reading and
quiet mediation. Evening liturgies include an ecumenical
gathering at Old South Church and a closing worship
service conducted by the Boston Liturgical Dance Ensemble,
a multimedia experience of music, dance and performance.
Pastoral Summit Boston will be the finale of three
2003 national gatherings that built upon the initial
2001 conference in New Orleans. In addition to Boston,
two other conferences were held this year in San Antonio
and Indianapolis.
"The Pastoral Summit's aim is simple and straightforward
- to make churches the best they can possibly be," said
Paul Wilkes, a writer and active Catholic layman who
is founder and project director of the Pastoral Summit.
"What our participants take home is not just theoretical,
but actually reproducible. For both clergy and lay leaders,
the Pastoral Summit might be looked upon as 'one-stop
shopping' for models of local church excellence."
"We chose Boston as a Pastoral Summit site for many
reasons," said Wilkes. "It has a rich religious tradition
and, because the tragedy of clergy abuse still hangs
heavy over its Catholic parishes, we felt it was a city
in search of religious and spiritual healing. By providing
fresh ideas and new ideas for parish and church reinvigoration,
we hope to help in some small way in that healing. We
hope to show that the local church has so much unrealized
power, power just waiting to be unleashed."
Working in conjunction with the Institute for Church
Life at the University of Notre Dame and New England
area parishes, churches and denominational groups, the
Pastoral Summit has been funded by various grants from
the Lilly Endowment. The conferences grew out of another
Lilly Endowment-funded project - a study of church excellence
that led to the publication of two books written by
Wilkes: Excellent Protestant Congregations: The Guide
to Best Places and Practices and Excellent Catholic
Parishes: The Guide to Best Places and Practices.
"It was quickly apparent, as our team was doing research,
that Catholic and Protestant churches can learn from
each other's excellence, even when their approaches
are so different," Wilkes said. "Good ideas work across
traditions. Churches want to sense a mission and feel
an excitement in what they do, and as they are always
looking for new ways to serve their people and to reach
into the world, the Pastoral Summit was created to provide
a meeting ground for ideas that should be shared."
Wilkes has written and spoken extensively about the
role of religion in personal lives and public life for
more than three decades. He is the author of eighteen
books, the director and host of television documentaries,
and has written for the New Yorker, the New
York Times Magazine and many other publications.
Registration and brochures for the Pastoral Summit
are available online at www.pastoralsummit.org.
For more information contact: Svea Fraser at sveaandscott@comcast.net
; Miles Christian Daniels at staff@pastoralsummit.org
or call 910-962-7225; FAX 910-962-7491; Pastoral Summit,
1413 Hawthorne Road, Wilmington NC 28403
****SURVIVORS NETWORK OF THOSE ABUSED BY PRIESTS.
SNAP Mid- Atlantic Meeting and Conference. THEME: BREAKING
THE SILENCE. For all survivors and their supporters
to share, listen, learn, support and plan. SATURDAY,
SEPTEMBER 20, 2003 at the Fashion Institute of Technology
(FIT) New York City, New York, 8th Avenue & 27th Street,
"A" Building, David Dubinsky Student Center, Faculty
Dining Room, 8th Floor. 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Contact
snapoutreach@aol.com
or call 718-492-2177. Indicate if attending all day,
a.m. or p.m. $15.00 suggested donation (no one turned
away). Breakfast included for morning arrivals.
Lunch on your own. Be sure to visit our website at www.snapnetwork.org
Featuring these Speakers, a Panel Discussion and
more: "
- Professor
Marci Hamilton: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
"
- Marion
White: Exec. Director Child Abuse Prevention Program
"
- David
Clohessy: National Director of SNAP "
- Sister
Sally Butler, O.P.: Supporter of clergy abuse victims
"
- Panel
Discussion on "Breaking the Silence"
****Nashua, New Hampshire hosts Paul Lakeland -
For those unable to participate in the tri-state
conference (see below), here's an opportunity to hear
Paul Lakeland, the Fairfield University professor who
inspired the June 7 Boston gathering in his keynote
address. Come to Rivier College in Nashua on Saturday,
October 25 for another opportunity to hear Professor
Lakeland discuss "Vatican II: Back to the Future" at
a 9-3 conference. The $30 cost includes lunch. There
will be breakout sessions, one of which is expected
to be on canon law as it relates to Church structures,
laity, etc. Contact ariggs@rivier.edu
for more information.
****A Musical Tribute - On September 28, 2003
at 5:00 pm, a chamber music concert will be performed
at the Edward M. Pickman Concert Hall, 27 Garden Street,
Cambridge, MA. Admission to the concert will be free.
Concert attendees are asked to make a good will offering
to support SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by
Priests). The program will be presented by John Ferrillo,
Elizabeth Ostling and Elita Kang of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, Carol Rodland of the New England Conservatory,
and Hugh Hinton of the Longy School of Music. Attendees
will hear works by Bach, Schumann, DeBussy, Barber,
Loefflre and Messiaen. PLEASE HELP TO MAKE THIS EVENT
A SUCCESS! For further information please visit
the survivor pages of the VOTF Web site or contact Steve
Sheehan at: sheehan1777@aol.com
VOTF Central
**** VOTF Cleveland, Ohio Affiliate of Voice of the
Faithful sponsored a Mass of Healing on Sunday,
August 24, 2003, at Padua Franciscan High School, Parma,
Ohio. Reverend Walter Dolan, OFM, was the principal
celebrant. A panel discussion featuring child sexual
abuse experts and victim advocates followed the Mass.
Kay Starr, mother of a victim, was the liturgist. (Details
under Voices, Voices Everywhere!)VOTF Central)
Voice
of the Faithful, VOTF, "Keep the Faith, Change the Church,"
Voice of Compassion, VOTF logo(s), Parish Voice, and
Prayerful Voice are trademarks of Voice of the Faithful,
Inc.
Voice
of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.
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