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New to Conference?
We
will offer an orientation to Call To Action's history and mission,
as well as vital information on conference activities. Meet other
newcomers and get help navigating the weekend program. This Welcome
Session will be held on Friday at 2:30 PM.
CTA Needs
Ethnic Diversity
We are very much aware that the membership and leadership of
Call To Action fall short on ethnic diversity. We have made some
progress, but more is needed. Our sisters and brothers in diverse
racial and ethnic communities bring unique gifts: different perspectives,
cultures, ways of understanding the world and expressing the
faith. We need those gifts to be a truly inclusive Church, the
whole people of God. Please help us reach leaders and members
of other racial and ethnic communities. Invite them to the conference!
(As an added incentive, see below about bringing two newcomers
and getting a free registration for yourself.)
Return with
two newcomers and get a free registration!
CTA wants
to thank faithful National Conference participants who come back. We
also want to encourage outreach to newcomers, and to ethnically diverse
communities not well represented in the past. So we are offering a free
full-conference registration to any 2003 conference participant who
registers with two new full-time attendees who have never been with
us before. We'll award a prize to the person who brings the most newcomers.
All registrations must be placed in the same envelope and mailed together
so that we will know who is to receive the complimentary registration.
Questions? Call (815) 399-2150.
Volunteer
Choir, Dance Ensemble
Join the volunteer choir for Sunday Eucharist. Three hours of rehearsal
required during the weekend, including Saturday lunch hour. Or join
a volunteer dance ensemble for Friday eve. plenary (rehearsal Fri.,
3-6 PM) and/or Sunday Eucharist (rehearsal Sat., 3-6 PM). Experience
in dance, mime or drama welcome but not required. If you can make rehearsal
commitment(s), sign up on your registration
form. To receive choir or dance packet by mail, be sure to register
by Oct. 15.
Caucuses
Interaction
and networking are just as important for building church as listening
to speakers. Ample times and places are reserved for caucuses formed
by conference participants. Contact CTA at (773) 404-0004, ext. 260
to obtain a caucus application. Caucus applications must be received
by September 15, 2004, to ensure a listing in the conference program
book, which will make it easier for people to find and connect with
you.
Regional Networking
Local and regional groups for church reform are sprouting like daisies
all over North America. If you wish to start one, plan to attend the
8 PM Saturday session to share stories, swap strategies, plan more cooperative
efforts, and see how CTA can help. In addition, plan to attend a regional
caucus at Saturday lunchtime, and to network at the Friday evening plenary
when you sit in your state area.
Take Action Table
Conference attendees often are eager to act on behalf of justice
and peace, but don’t know where to begin. The Take Action table
(part of the CTA Booth) in the Exhibit Area is a place to start. Pick
up materials that will help you take immediate action on societal justice
and peace issues. Stop by and talk to the volunteers about issues that
concern you, or bring action materials you wish to share.
New film about Jeannine
Gramick
A new documentary film about Sr. Jeannine Gramick will be shown
Saturday at 8 PM. For details, click here.
Just Treatment
of Church Employees: Present Shortfalls and Future Vision
Diocesan staff abruptly fired without warning or just cause? Veteran
parish pastoral staffers dumped by the new priest? Workers laboring
without contracts or basic rights? You probably know such horror stories.
In this workshop, two current episodes of unjust treatment will be described
by the aggrieved parties involved. Then Tom Conklin,
president of the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators
(NACPA), will outline a vision for a more just future. NACPA has just
published its “best practices” document about standards
for treatment of personnel, integrating best business practices with
Gospel values. Sat., 1 PM (8.02) and 2:30 PM (9.02)
“Eyes Wide
Open” to Iraq war
Plan to visit the Eyes Wide Open exhibition at the CTA
conference: a multimedia journey through the words, images, and sounds
of the Iraq war. It's a memorial to both soldier and civilian victims,
a look at statements told to the U.S. public to justify the war, an
outline of the war's cost at home, and an interactive, easy way to lift
your voice for peace. Eyes Wide Open speaks to hearts and minds,
shattering the claim that the war has made America safer and challenging
us to work for peace.
Prayer and Eucharist
Opportunities for prayer abound. Prayer leaders include Lalor Cadley,
Brian Christian, Kathryn Christian, John Chuchman and Karen Schrauben;
Mary Ann Garfold, Salome Harasty and Janet Herrick; Joan Horgan, Joseph
Kilikevice; Melvin Miller and Kuukua Yomekpe; Gloria Ulterino and Judith
Boyd. Many of these prayer sessions use music, chant, dance, art, or
movement. A special quiet room will be available for individual prayer.
The conference will close with Sunday Eucharist.
Children’s
Program
There will be lots to keep children active and involved at conference
this year. For younger children (3 to 7 years old) there will be stories,
arts and crafts, music and games and other activities. Children 8 to
12 years old can participate in a special program exploring peace and
justice themes. There will also be opportunities for children's program
participants to tour the exhibits, see performing artists and take part
in prayer experiences. Friday pre-conference activities for children
(3-12) enable parents to participate in Friday Seminars or Days of Reflection.
Register children on your registration form (click here).
Children must be preregistered: there will be no on-site registration
for this program. Program details will be mailed to parents in October.
Teen Program
Do our teens know their Church is much bigger than their parish? Do
they resist church, suggesting they won’t go once they’re
of age? Is your parish leaving your teens spiritually undernourished?
Are you concerned that we are losing our children from a faith that
could sustain them through life?
We invite you to bring
your teens to the CTA Conference. We’ll have programs designed
to challenge them and expand their view of social justice. Issues will
be presented in a way that provides historical perspective, while showing
relevance to their own experiences. Teens will have question-and-answer
sessions with conference presenters, and opportunities to socialize
with their peers in a thought-provoking atmosphere. Register teens on
your registration form (click here).
Teens must be preregistered: there is no on-site registration for
this program. Program details will be mailed to parents in October.
Next Generation
(18-42) Events
Friday evening there will be a coffeehouse for you. Come and enjoy good
conversation and music. On Saturday night, we’ll have a more formal
gathering — time for introductions and strengthening our connections
with one another. Throughout the conference, look for the buttons that
designate the CTA Next Generation Leadership. Ask them
about other opportunities for networking and future leadership.
Special housing options
are available for those who want to avoid the cost of hotel rooms. For
more information, click this link to download the housing
assistance form. Also, check out the special registration
rates for students!
Award
to Bernard J. Cooke, theologian and prophet
For more than 50 years — since even before Vatican II —
Bernard J. Cooke has been teaching theology to Catholics in ways that
have empowered them TO BE the Church, the People of God. As chair of
the theology department at Marquette in the 1960s, he broke precedent
by opening a doctoral program to lay people. His real gift was translating
the best theology into popular language for the first generation of
Vatican II Catholics. When he wrote college textbooks like Christian
Sacraments and Christian Personality (1965), he aimed it as well at
the thousands of adult Catholics who needed their theology updated for
a new age.
Bernard
left the Jesuits in 1969 and married his theological collaborator, Pauline
Turner, in 1970. Vatican power politics made sure no Catholic university
would hire him. In the 1970s he taught on non-Catholic campuses in Windsor
(Ontario) and Calgary. But his books and lectures continued to feed
the multitudes. His Ministry to Word and Sacrament became a
best-seller, and retailed his finest sacramental theology. By 1980,
Jesuit faculties were ready to hire him. He taught at Holy Cross, Worcester,
Mass., for 12 years until mandatory “retirement” in 1992
at age 70. Then he and Pauline kept right on teaching, first at Incarnate
Word, San Antonio, then the University of San Diego. Wherever they went,
they worked for justice — for people of color, and for women.
And they cast their lot with Call To Action. Since speaking in
1991 (“Whose Eucharist Is It?”) Bernard has addressed nearly
every CTA conference. He served on the CTA board, 1998-2003. Then USD
decided Bernard and Pauline were no longer welcome. Undaunted, they
moved to New Orleans where they are both teaching at the Institute for
Ministry of Loyola University.
After
82 years and 22 books, Bernard Cooke is still empowering us. In June
the Catholic Theological Society of America (he is a former president)
will honor him and discuss his contribution to theology. At CTA, our
2004 award goes to Bernard for more than theology. We honor his courage
and humor, his love and leadership. We thank him for building up the
people of God.
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