The Progressive Catholic Voice An independent and grassroots forum for reflection, dialogue, and the exchange of ideas within the Catholic community of Minnesota and beyond November 2007 |
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 Dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, who heard and responded to God’s call to “repair my Church,” and, in so doing, emulated the justice-making and compassion of our brother Jesus.
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By Paula Ruddy Recently, several people have declined an invitation by The Progressive Catholic Voice for opinions about our project or for contributions to it because they did not want to be "branded" or "labeled" as progressives. For instance, we asked an educator who had written a thoughtful article about the relativity of truth claims for permission to reprint it. He told us he did not want to be branded as a progressive because his educational institution has a strong faction of both progressives and conservatives. The administration wants to side with neither in an attempt to advocate for "civil discourse." That statement set me to wondering about neutrality, polarized factions, and civil discourse. In his book Call To Liberty: Bridging the Divide Between Liberal and Conservative, Anthony Signorelli, a Stillwater thinker and businessman, describes the roles of the progressive, moderate, and conservative energies in the political arena. All three modalities are directed toward creating a well-functioning society in which people can create a good life for themselves. Signorelli describes progressive energy as hope-filled, directed to the future and the improvement of current systems. Moderate energy is directed toward the present and how problems can be solved through compromise and consensus. Conservative energy is directed to preserving values and systems that have worked in the past. In different situations an individual may take any one of those roles, but we generally have a dominant focus to our energy. We are looking to the future and change, looking to the past and stability, or grappling with the present to hold the community together. Signorelli argues that each modality has strengths and weaknesses and all modalities are needed in the project of sustaining a liberal democratic republic. Can we think of those energies also at work in religious institutions? In its history, the Catholic Church has evolved slowly through centuries under the leadership of progressive, moderate, and conservative people in dialogue with one another. Yet what about the present church? John Allen, in the August 31 issue of National Catholic Reporter, writes that liberal Catholicism predominated from the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) to the mid 80's. Since then there has been a conservative reversal. Allen says that following Vatican II, liberals wanted the relationship between church and culture to be "a two way street," with adjustment of church teachings and structures in the light of contemporary science and thought. This collaboration with the world can look to conservatives like losing a Catholic identity. Their response is to hold the line with a "bold proclamation of timeless truths." Can't we together acknowledge that healthy, living identities evolve emerging from the past, carrying what is true, good and beautiful into the future? We need all three modalities to do this. Where does this polarization, the fear of being "branded" either progressive or conservative come from? The problem may be that instead of thinking of those words as naming honorable modalities or energies, as Signorelli suggests, we may be using them to name closed positions on issues. In the political sphere, if I call myself progressive I may be branded as being for abortion, for stem cell research, for high taxes and for amnesty for undocumented immigrants. In the moral and religious sphere, if I call myself progressive I may be branded as being for the state's requiring churches to marry gays, for taking the solemnity and uniformity out of liturgy, and the total collapse of institutional religion as we know it. Conversely, if I have reservations about any of those "progressive" positions, I might be branded as conservative. If I am branded as closed minded either way, I lose credibility as a thinking person. No thinking person wants to be scripted. Thinking people hold their minds open to new information and new arguments. They hold conclusions provisionally, pending better information. They insist that the deliberative process work itself out with all voices heard before making decisions that affect the lives of others. They value all experiences in the process of moral reasoning. They accept that reasonable people may differ. Thinking people are to be found in all three modalities, progressive, moderate, and conservative, as are unthinking closed-minded people. The solution to the problem of polarization is, first, for each of us to try our best to be thinking people. Second, instead of using the words "progressive" and "conservative" to name positions on issues, we can use them to name ourselves according to the imaginative drive we bring to thinking about particular questions. Is our gift to create the future, to preserve the past, or to create resolution in the present? Third, after identifying our own contribution, we genuinely have to value and depend upon the contribution of the other. If the aforementioned cautious, neutral educator led the way by declaring himself a progressive, while all the while keeping an open mind and valuing the conservatives' contributions, he could model civil discourse for the progressive faction. He could move the institution forward without losing the values of the past. Instead of being a leader, he has settled for being a neutral referee out of fear of being branded. It is our hope that as part of The Progressive Catholic Voice, we can promote conversation among thinking Catholics of all modalities in the Archdiocese. We begin by identifying ourselves as people with progressive energy, a vision of a future church. We invite moderates to join the conversation, people who see how the present teachings and structures have to be negotiated into the future. We invite conservatives, people who love the time-honored, life-sustaining teachings and structures of the past to show us the value of what we might otherwise destroy. All of us have to defy conventional wisdom that cautions us to hide behind neutrality for fear of being branded. Paula Ruddy is a founding member of The Progressive Catholic Voice. _______________________________________________________________
By Michael Bayly In a recent story in the Star Tribune, Dennis McGrath, Communications Director of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis, declared that I had "blown out of proportion" the recent prohibiting of Robert and Carol Curoe from speaking at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church.
The parish of St. Frances Cabrini had previously agreed to collaborate with the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) in hosting the Bill Kummer Forum -- an annual educational event of CPCSM, a grassroots organization which since 1980 has been creating environments of safety and respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Catholic Church. Since 2003, I have served as CPCSM's executive coordinator. Carol and Bob Curoe, co-authors of the recently published book, Are There Closets in Heaven? A Catholic Father and Lesbian Daughter Share Their Story, had been invited to be the keynote speakers of the 2007 Bill Kummer Forum, scheduled to take place on the evening of October 22 at St. Frances Cabrini. Four days before the event, however, I was informed by the pastor of Cabrini that as a result of a call received from the Archdiocese, the parish would no longer be hosting the Curoes. Despite this disappointing news, the Bill Kummer Forum went ahead on October 22 - at The House of the Beloved Disciple, a recently established center for progressive Catholics "dedicated to preserving Catholicism in the Spirit of Jesus." Almost 100 people came to hear Carol and Robert Curoe share their story at The House of the Beloved Disciple. Dennis McGrath maintains that the pastors of both St. Francis Cabrini and St. Joan of Arc (I'm still not sure why this parish was dragged into the fray!) "agreed" with the Archdiocese's "advice" that it "wasn't a good idea" to host the Curoes, especially as Archbishop Flynn "would not approve" of a lesbian "in an actual full sexual relationship" speaking at a church. "Nobody banned anybody," McGrath insists, "or hit anybody over the head or threatened anybody . . ." Perhaps from McGrath's perspective there were no "threats," yet given the shift to the right in the Catholic Church over the last few years, and, as a result of the appointment earlier this year of John Nienstedt as Coadjutor Archbishop, the climate of uncertainty and fear among local gay Catholics and the various "progressive" parishes that are welcoming of them, I think McGrath underestimates the significance of a call from the Archdiocese informing a priest that the powers-that-be do not approve of a gay-focused event taking place in his parish. Besides, people I respect and trust within the communities of both Cabrini and St. Joan of Arc made it clear to me last week that the decision to not have the Curoes speak at either parish was one made by the Archdiocese. Furthermore, I was left with the distinct impression that this decision was a non-negotiable directive. Of course, I don't think we'll ever really know what exactly was relayed by the Archdiocese to these parishes, primarily because of what many have experienced as the Archdiocese's penchant for saying one thing publicly yet quite another thing behind closed doors. For instance, when CPCSM published the findings of its Pastoral Needs Assessment Study* in 1984, Bishop Robert Carlson, the then Vicar General of the Archdiocese, privately met with those involved in conducting the study and publishing its results and praised the group and their successful venture. Yet he was also very clear that if the publication of the study generated negative publicity, resulting in media involvement, he would denounce the study and deny any knowledge of those responsible for it. Thankfully, that didn't happen, but no one involved with CPCSM at the time doubted for a moment that it could have. After all, if there's one thing that those in positions of power and prestige fear and avoid more than anything else, it's public "scandal," people "breaking rank," and any adverse (or even inquisitive) media attention. This schizophrenic way of operating is to be expected whenever the feudally-structured institution of the Church, obsessed as it is with order, control, and a "party line" that demands unquestioning obedience, is confronted by issues that highlight its lack of accountability, transparency, and respect for diversity. Such issues - be they related to democracy in the Church, women's ordination, or any number of gay-related topics - have the potential to call for the repudiation of former limited ways of thinking and the development of new ways of understanding that expand our awareness and appreciation of God in our lives and our world. Without doubt, there are many working within the "institutional Church" (from "spokespeople" to bishops) who are forced to live compromised lives, who are compelled to uphold and defend positions and rules that, in good conscience, they find questionable, if not totally untenable. Yet once part of the machinery, the "monolith," as Chuck Lofy describes the institutional Church, it is no doubt very difficult to lift one's voice in dissent - especially when one's livelihood and the economic security of one's family is at stake. Not welcomed . . . Regardless of who called the shots, the bottom line is that the non-appearance of the Curoes at Cabrini on October 22 makes a mockery of McGrath's contention that the Catholic Church "welcomes gays and lesbians." Why? Because what he actually said was that the Church welcomes gays and lesbians conditionally. To be welcomed, says McGrath, they have to "follow the rules," which means they cannot be "sexually active." Well, I guess that means that Carol is out of the picture (i.e., the Church). She is, after all, a lesbian in a committed relationship. But what about her dad? Why was he denied the chance to simply share his story as a Catholic father of a lesbian? Why ban or (in McGrath's words) "discourage" him from speaking? That Carol's father, a straight man not known to be in "violation" of the Church's teaching on sex, wasn't permitted to speak, clearly indicates that the underlying issue here isn't one of morality; but rather of authority - of power and control. Accordingly, this whole brouhaha is not simply about an out lesbian speaking on Catholic property, but also (and perhaps more importantly) about a loving father and daughter sharing the story of a journey - a journey that led them and their family and friends to a greater understanding and acceptance of homosexuality, an issue that the Church, as an institution, is yet to deal with honestly and thus credibly. Sharing the wisdom and compassion gained from such journeys has the power to change minds and hearts; to transform individuals and institutions. I believe this is ultimately why the Archdiocese chose to prevent an 82-year-old man and his lesbian daughter from speaking at a Catholic parish. Robert and Carol Curoe offer a much truer embodiment of the liberating life and message of Jesus than do the Church's teachings (i.e., "rules") on homosexuality. This should not be surprising, given that these teachings are woefully uninformed by the findings of modern science and the experiences of gay people. In short, stories such as the Curoes' threaten to weaken the oppressive, life-denying stranglehold that the institutional Church has on the lives of LGBT people. It is this "stranglehold" that the Church should be seeking to eradicate, not the opportunities to hear the life-giving stories from folks like the Curoes'. . . . but still needed Given all of this, I'd like to suggest the following as the Archdiocese's next communiqué to families like the Curoes, on the current state of the Church: "Although we do our best to make you feel unwelcome, deep down we know that we need you. Your journeys of courage and integrity banish ignorance and fear, and liberate us from an impoverished understanding of sexuality that prevents us from perceiving and celebrating God's transforming love in the lives and relationships of all. Please ignore our unChrist-like words and actions, and forgive us for the unnecessary burdens we place upon you with our ill-informed and arrogant teachings. Please hear God's call within us to stay and help us become more Christ-like, even when we chose to not hear this call ourselves, but rather to drown it out with our cries of condemnation and prohibition." At this point in my life I choose to stay in the Church, identifying as a gay Catholic man, sharing my experience of God's liberating power in my life, and seeking to embody God's love in all my actions of body, speech, and mind. This is my response to God's call to help make the Church more Christ-like with regards to its understanding and treatment of LGBT persons. I am heartened by the knowledge that I am not alone in responding in this way. I stand in solidarity with good people like Carol and Robert Curoe, the folks at CPCSM, Catholic Rainbow Parents, Dignity, and many others - gay and straight. Elements within the Church may not welcome us, but this surely is a sign that our voices, experiences, and insights are indeed needed in the ongoing renewal and healing of the Church.
Michael Bayly is an editor of The Progressive Catholic Voice and the executive coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM). This article was first published on Michael's blog, The Wild Reed. _______________________________________________________________
A Review of Peter Manseau's Book, By Rick Notch A riveting family saga, Vows, the Story of a Priest, a Nun, and their Son, is a unique combination of biography and autobiography dramatizing all the reform and melodrama of the last 50 years of American Catholicism through the lives of one family. Peter Manseau writes about his parents, Bill Manseau and Mary Doherty, devout Boston Catholics who enter religious life right out of high school in the late 1950s. This is a time when every Catholic family wanted to have at least one priest or nun among their grown children. When the pair meets for the first time in 1968 they are ready to challenge one of the core teachings of the church. By June 14, 1969 Mary has left the convent and marries Bill. But Bill is still a priest. They hope their marriage will inspire the church to allow a married priesthood. Boston media cover the wedding. Their wedding photograph is published with the caption "Fr. Manseau and bride." An avalanche of hate mail follows. Rome's answer is excommunication (a later change in canon law reduces the punishment to censure). For the rest of his life Bill refuses to seek release from his vows. By the time Bill and Mary have three children, they are part of a large community of other former priests and nuns. Although condemned by the official church, Mary insists the children attend a "real" Catholic church. This leads to some confusion for young Peter. In third grade the CCD class the teacher explains why priests don't marry, "because they only serve the church and don't have time for a wife or children." Eight-year-old Peter raises his hand. "Sometimes priests get married," he says. This line of discussion ends with the teacher deciding to never call on Peter again. Later the book detours from the parents' stories for Peter's college years when he too considers a religious vocation. Even though he had been raised to think of the celibate life as an unhealthy perversion of the Christian ideal, he was attracted to the monastic life. He enters St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, as a guest during his senior year of college. But like his parents, Peter finds the reality behind the Catholic ideal to be incompatible with living his life. The final section of the book addresses the sex abuse scandal, which explodes in the Boston archdiocese. Friends and former seminary classmates of Bill Manseau are accused of abuse. And both Bill and Mary reveal the priests who mentored them in the 1950s also abused them. As the abuse scandal leads to the closing of many Boston parishes, Bill writes an impassioned letter to Archbishop Sean O'Malley to consider the hundreds of married priests in the Boston area who could be serving the church if only... well, if only.... Rick Notch is a founding member of The Progressive Catholic Voice. _______________________________________________________________
"Transformation" "Growing up" can take a long time and doesn't just happen all at once. Sometimes it takes a traumatic event, or a series of them, to "put away the things of a child" as St. Paul puts it. I was baptized Josephina Anna by a German priest who thought Jo Ann was not a proper saint's name, at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Louisville, Kentucky. I was surrounded by my parents and grandparents, various other relatives, and family friends. So began my life in the Church. Attending Mass every Sunday was a given after that. I remember at age five vowing that one day I would find out what the priest was saying up there on that altar so high above all the rest of us in a language I couldn't understand. After attending Catholic grade and high schools and graduating from college, I was married at age 22, deeply in love and committed to a life-long relationship with the man of my dreams. I often said later that I was 22 going on 14. It never occurred to me at that time to question Church decrees of any kind. Both my husband and I knew then that children were part of the wedding package and to be welcomed gladly, which we did. Six years later we had five children, the oldest just five. I had a doctor tell me once that my body was a perfect baby making machine. By then I wasn't quite sure this was good news. Fortunately for all of us, I had what appeared to be unlimited energy, at least until after my fifth child was born. Then I went into a mysterious tailspin that ended in a black hole with no way out. Getting out of bed in the morning was almost more than I could manage and crying became my M.O. With five babies to care for, I had no choice but to carry on. On top of it all, I was deeply ashamed and told almost no one what I was experiencing. Except God. I cried out to Him a lot, (God was a "He" in those days.) but I got no answer that I could hear. The pain of depression is hard to describe only to say that for me it was terrifying. I was certain that I would end up in a mental institution. Back then I didn't have a name for the debilitating condition that tortured me. I had a classic case of post postpartum depression, as it turned out, coupled with exhaustion, I believe, but I didn't understand that until years later. After about five months the sun began to shine again and I was back among the living. I was left with a lingering fear, though, that at any time I would be struck with the pain I had somehow managed to shake off before. Four years after that, our sixth child was born and three years later we had our seventh. During those years we tried the temperature method of birth control, which worked, but barely, as we dealt with the daily issues of raising seven active children and feeding and clothing them all. We had gradually grown from unquestioning "good" Catholics to parents trying our best to manage our lives, love our children and each other at the same time. We became convinced that we just couldn't have any more children and still stay afloat. However, questioning the Church wasn't an option back then. All that we were painfully aware of was the toll that "Vatican Roulette" took on our lives. Eventually my husband turned to drink and I turned cold. My mother even presented us with what she considered the perfect, no-doubt-Church-blessed, contraception: twin beds! At the time we lived in the shadow of Holy Name Church. It was the center of our lives and where all our friends were. Our children went to school there and our pastor knew all their names. That church defined who we were, and we were happy that it did. I went to daily Mass at six o'clock each morning. That became my shield against whatever might happen that day. There I regularly poured my heart out to God, Jesus, Mary, and any other saint I thought would listen. This practice kept me sane, I now believe. And then came Vatican II. The year was 1962 and Pope John XXIII decided to open some windows. Old Father John Garvey, our pastor, and as dyed-in-the-wool Catholic as you can get, knew the importance of that historic gathering, and saw to it that we, his flock, were properly informed about it too. He had us studying the documents that came out of Rome during those years and spared no money for speakers who could explain them to us. Through that study we discovered a whole new image of "Church" and our place in it. We were all pilgrims together on the same path to salvation. Even that word, "salvation," took on new meaning. It no longer meant just getting to Heaven, but was a state of mind designed to free us from fear in this life and help us to become who we were meant to be. Those were exhilarating times, full of hope. It was that study that finally showed me that I was responsible for my own soul and convinced me that even Rome had no power over my own conscience.* Taking my first birth control pill was one of the most liberating things I did up until then. I had finally grown up, only dimly realizing there was still a long way to go; but I was on my way, and had no regrets. Even though living under a harsh rule and, at the same time, being blessed with seven wonderful children, is a paradox, I would have it no other way. With the help of AA, Al-Anon, and lots of prayer, my husband and I were graced with a whole new life that lasted three years before he died at the early age of fifty-five. Love had the last word as it turned out.
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An Open Letter to Coadjutor Archbishop John Nienstedt [Note: We invite you to join with us in signing this letter by sending an e-mail (that includes your name and city) to: progressivecatholicvoice@gmail.com. In the subject line, please enter the words “Sign Nienstedt open letter."] Dear Archbishop John Nienstedt, Welcome to the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis. In your homily at your Mass of Reception on June 29, 2007, you expressed a desire for unity among Catholics of the Archdiocese. This is our deepest desire also. At present we are painfully conscious of division and divisiveness among us that inhibits the Gospel witness of the Roman Catholic Church in the state of Minnesota. We invite you to lead us in healing our divisions. We believe that we all start from the same position: we want the Catholic community in this state to be a vibrant living witness that our God is a God of love manifested in the whole creation and in each individual within it. We believe with you that this is the Gospel lived and preached by Jesus. We are all called, sent, baptized, to live this simple message of universal, unconditional love. However, working out the Gospel message in human community at this stage of our evolution is not so simple. We believe that unity – community – is an organic working together of individuals with different gifts and views. Our individual spirits and life experiences have formed us with different outlooks and drives. Among us we have progressive views, moderate views and conservative views. Each has a role to play in shaping the ongoing life of the community. The Archdiocese is an institution to be administered, but it is also a thinking, feeling, and acting community requiring continual formation and renewal. All voices must be included in the dialogue necessary for this type of pilgrimage, and in order to heal divisions and grow in effectiveness and love. We are progressive Catholics who ask you to dialogue with us and to include us in the ongoing conversations that shape the thinking of the community. _________________________________________________________
Upcoming Events – November 2007
Call To Action National Conference:
Northland Bioneers Conference When: November 2-4, 2007. Where: UAW Ford Training Center (on the Mississippi River at Ford Parkway), 966 S. Mississippi River Blvd., St. Paul. The second Northland Bioneers Conference returns to Minnesota, serving as a convening place for the growing number of Midwestern people and organizations keen to protect and sustain the ecosystem by illuminating the connections between the environment, social health, economics, science, and spirituality. National and local leaders showcase practical solutions to today's most pressing environmental and social challenges. The Northland Bioneers Conference is for people who want to benefit many generations ahead by making thoughtful decisions today. Some participants are leading advocates for environmental and social well-being while others are just beginning to understand that how they live influences all other life. More than 600 attendees from the five-state region, will be inspired, informed, and will return home with expanded resources to make decisions that benefit themselves, others, and the Earth. Online registration is now available at www.uptowntix.com>UptownTix.com. For more information about the Northland Bioneers Conference, visit www.nbconference.org>www.nbconference.org or call 651-209-6799.
A Tribute to Women with Breast Cancer When: 5:00 p.m., Monday, November 4, 2007. Where: Hoversten Chapel (followed at 6:30 p.m. at the Gage Family Art Gallery, Oren Gateway Center), "A Tribute to Women with Breast Cancer" is a benefit for Well Within, a non-profit holistic wellness resource center. This tribute involves two components: an oratorio by Diane Benjamin, entitled "Becoming Well Again" (and featuring a host of soloists and narrators), and a exhibition of collages by Janette Maley and photographs by Arther Hand, entitled "Journey Through Healing." For event and parking information, call 612-330-1180 or visit www.wellwithin.org.
Paul Krugman on the “Conscience of a Liberal”
Voices Against the War: Iraq War Veterans and Military Families Speak Out When: 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 7, 2007. Where: Foss Center, Hoversten Chapel, Augsburg College (625 22nd Ave. S. on the West Bank in Minneapolis). Co-sponsored by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), Augsburg College for Student Activism, Iraq Peace Action Coalition, Twin Cities Peace Campaign/Focus on Iraq, Veterans for Peace, and Women Against Military Madness (WAMM), this event will feature IVAW members Wes Davey and Brandon Day, and a yet to be announced member/s of MFSO. This program is free and open to the public. A collection will be taken to support continued anti-war organizing. Parking is available in Augsburg College lots (a large lot is located at 25th Ave. S. and Butler Place) on the southeast side of campus, the Fairview-University Medical Center Parking Ramp (paid parking), across Riverside Ave. from the campus, as well as metered street parking. For more information about this event, call 612-827-5364.
Men and Violence: Violence, Love, Power, and Purpose in the Evolution of Creation When: 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 7, 2007. Where: Carondelet Center (1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. See below for directions). Sponsored by Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality and facilitated by Phil Steger, this evening of reflection and discussion will focus on four areas: the violent foundations of human evolution, society, religion, and politics; the appearance of self-sacrificing love and non-violence, first in religion and then in politics; a synthesis of these forces in human evolution and revealed religion; and the practical and spiritual implications of violence, love, and power for men seeking purpose in 21st century America. The presentation will touch on a range of leaders and thinkers such as Augustine, Niebuhr, Clauswitz, de Chardin, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Cost: $30. For non-profit or senior: $25. (Note: This is the second part of an ongoing men's spirituality series entitled "Storytelling and Soul-Making." For more information on this series, call 651-696-2788.) Registration is requested at least one week in advance. To register, call 651-696-2788 or send an e-mail to wisdomways@csjstpaul.org. Directions: The Carondelet Center is on Randolph Ave, between Cleveland and Fairview Avenues. From I-94, take the Snelling Ave. exit, go south to Randolph Ave.; turn right on Randolph. Just past Fairview Ave., turn left at the black and teal "Sisters of St. Joseph" sign. Or from 1-35E, take the Randolph Ave. exit, go west on Randolph. Just past Fairview, turn left at second black and teal "Sisters of St. Joseph" sign.
Freedom: Spirit and Accountability
Can We Talk? An Evangelical / Liberal Dialogue When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, November 8, 2007. Where: Bigelow Chapel, United Theological Seminary, New Brighton, MN. All too often public conversation about religion becomes divisive and, as a result, people who profess to believe in the same God become polarized and unable to communicate. Join Eleazar Fernandez from the "liberal" United Theological Seminary and Kyle Roberts from the "evangelical" Bethel Seminary as they seek to find a "third perspective" - a way to talk about things differently but together. This unique forum will treat the topic of "Does Christianity have the Monopoly on Salvation?" from an evangelical and liberal vantage point and then move into dialogue and conversation about where the similarities and differences lie. The goal of the evening will be to present a model that promotes dialogue and understanding, a conversation that presents the full spectrum available in an open discussion. Eleazar Fernandez is professor of constructive theology at United and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. He earned his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines, his Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Reimagining the Human: Theological Anthropology in Response to Systemic Evil. Kyle Roberts is assistant professor of systematic theology at Bethel Seminary. Roberts earned his M.Div. at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Ph.D. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His dissertation was on Søren Kierkegaard's understanding of the role of Scripture in the development of authentic selfhood. Cost: $10.00 (Students: No charge) Registration is required. Register online by clicking here or by calling 651-255-6138.
Dignity Twin Cities Liturgy When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, November 9, 2007. Where: Prospect United Methodist Church (located at the intersection of Malcolm Ave. SE and Orlin Ave. SE, Minneapolis). Dignity Twin Cities meets every second and fourth Friday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at United Methodist Church. Celebrating its 33rd anniversary this month, Dignity envisions and works for a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality and their sexuality, as beloved persons of God, can participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and society. Dignity's November 9 liturgy will be followed by the organization's Annual Business Meeting. All are welcome.
Restoring an Earth Community: Ecology, Faith, and Religion When: Friday, November 9 - Saturday, November 10, 2007. Where: Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality's 14th Annual Soul Conference, "Restoring an Earth Community: Ecology, Faith, and Religion," features Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim from Yale University. Both serve as co-directors of the Forum on Religion and Ecology, the largest international multi-religious project of its kind, exploring religious worldviews, texts, and ethics in order to broaden understanding of the complex nature of environment concerns. The "Restoring an Earth Community" conference will explore three critical questions of our day: Ho can our religious and cultural perspectives and actions help solve environmental challenges? What is our moral responsibility toward future generations? How can we move with hope and promise into right action? Cost: Full conference: $125 To register: call 651-696-2788
November Meeting of the Minnesota Network of Spiritual Progressives When: 7:00 p.m., Monday, November 12, 2007. Where: Plymouth Church (1900 Nicolett Ave., just south of downtown Minneapolis) The November meeting of the Minnesota Chapter of the Network of Spiritual Progressives will be facilitated by the chapter's Campaign 2008 affinity group, which will provide advice and training on how citizens can be a meaningful part of the campaign process, starting with understanding how best to participate in the party caucuses. This event is free and open to the public.
Revisiting Therese of Lisieux When: 6:00-8:00 p.m., Thursday, November 15, 2007. Where: Carondelet Center (1890 Randolph Ave., St. Paul. See below for directions). Presenter Mary Rose O'Reilley, PhD, writes, "Most girls who grew up in pre-Vatican II Catholicism were presented with a range of role models which served the interests of patriarchy very well indeed. Preeminent among the 'devotions' offered to young women was the cult of Therese of Lisieux, 'The Little Flower.' She died of tuberculosis at the age of twenty-four in a French Carmelite convent, leaving behind two notebooks detailing her 'Little Way,' which - to the puzzlement of some - won her canonization and the title 'Doctor of the Church.' "These journals, as scholars now understand, were extensively rewritten by her family and sisters to eliminate anything that didn't conform to popular stereotypes of goodness, femininity, and bourgeois convention." In this presentation sponsored by Wisdom Ways Center for Spirituality, O'Reilley will "revise Therese backwards into her own voice, and bring forward the details of her life and struggle that help us to feel common ground with her." Therese's story, says O'Reilley, "raises questions for all of us about the vulnerability of women's lives to the kind of colonization Therese suffered from those who thought they knew better than she did how to be a saint." (Note: This is the third part of an ongoing women's spirituality series entitled "Sophia's Chronicles: Wise Women Have Their Say." For more information on this series, call 651-696-2788.) Registration is requested at least one week in advance. To register, call 651-696-2788 or send an e-mail to wisdomways@csjstpaul.org. Cost: $30. (For non-profit or senior: $25.) Directions: The Carondelet Center is on Randolph Ave, between Cleveland and Fairview Avenues. From I-94, take the Snelling Ave. exit, go south to Randolph Ave.; turn right on Randolph. Just past Fairview Ave., turn left at the black and teal "Sisters of St. Joseph" sign. Or from 1-35E, take the Randolph Ave. exit, go west on Randolph. Just past Fairview, turn left at second black and teal "Sisters of St. Joseph" sign.
"Group Process" Workshop with Tom Esch When: 2:00-5:00 p.m., Saturday, November 17, 2007. Where: Unity Church Unitarian (732 Holly Ave., St. Paul). Would you like to grow your inner awareness? Do you enjoy working with groups? Do you sometimes feel you get stuck in a certain perspective or mood? Do you believe that your life challenges and questions are intimately connected to and shaped by your social and cultural surroundings? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you may benefit from and enjoy being part of some Process Work groups that Tom Esch will be facilitating in the coming year. Tom is a facilitator of personal and organizational change. He has been a student of Process Work for nine years. He is presently seeking a master's in "Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change" at the Process Work Institute in Portland, OR. At each workshop participants will be practicing "group process" in the Process Work model, working sometimes with a selected topic and sometimes with whatever issues and concerns the group has when it gathers. The aim of the practice is twofold: 1) to build awareness both individual and communal by a simple method - identifying what is most alive in the group, gain momentary consensus on that issue, and then together unfold our feelings and thoughts related to the topic, and 2) to teach a method of dealing creatively with differences (in yourself, your relationships and social and professional circles). Says Tom: "Group process is great training for anyone -- teachers, facilitators, trainers, ministers, coaches, salespeople, therapists, healers, community organizers, and activists. It is the best means I have encountered for depolarizing a polarized situation. It is also a way to become more fluid with our own perception of ourselves, others, and the world." Cost: $5 donation suggested for the cost of room. Please RSVP a week before this event to Tom Esch at 612-724-3930 or awarenessmeltswalls@msn.com.
Dignity Twin Cities Liturgy When: 7:30 p.m., November 23, 2007. Where: Prospect Park United Methodist Church (located at the intersection of Malcolm Ave. SE and Orlin Ave. SE, Minneapolis). Join with the Dignity Twin Cities community for a Eucharistic liturgy with Roman Catholic Womanpriest, Rev. Regina Nicolosi. Dignity envisions and works for a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics are affirmed and experience dignity through the integration of their spirituality and their sexuality, as beloved persons of God, can participate fully in all aspects of life within the Church and society.
_________________________________________________________ Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's Radical Call for Reform by Michael Bayly Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus - with Bishop Geoffrey Robinson: ___________________________________________________
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