Rise Up, People of God: A Spirituality for the Times

Joan Chittister returns to CTA for our 30th anniversary with the visionary voice and leadership that has blessed us over the years. Last time was 2001, our silver jubilee, when she was keynote speaker at all three CTA national conferences in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago. An Erie, Pa., Benedictine, she is an international speaker on peace, human rights, women's issues and contemporary spirituality. Six of her over 30 books have received awards from the Catholic Press Association. She is co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, a U.N. partner organization linking women peace builders worldwide, particularly in Israel and Palestine. Sister Joan writes a weekly web column for the NCR, "From Where I Stand". She is founder and
executive director of Benetvision: a resource center for contemporary spirituality in Erie, Pa.

Friday, 8 PM

Wounded by Love: Being Church in the 21st Century

Jeanette Rodriguez reflects on the challenges and woundedness we who are church must face, and calls forth the blessing of being loved and having loved as a response. Grounded in our own faith tradition and the principles of Gandhi, we choose once again the power of love over the power of violence. Rodriguez is chair of the theology department at Seattle University. An Ecuadorian-American, she sees as her primary commitment the use of theology to articulate the faith experience of Hispanic people, especially women. Her doctoral dissertation, also a book, is Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment Among Mexican-American Women. A frequent traveler to Latin America to connect with the church of the poor, she has also helped CTA make those connections in her roles as presenter, former board member and architect of the AntiRacism Team.

Saturday, 4 PM

Rise Up, Shepherds!

Diana Hayes observes that for centuries, we have been the sheep blindly following the shepherd. But as the people of God we too are shepherds, called to lead our Church into a future that is open to all persons and welcoming of their gifts. It is time to stop following and provide the prophetic leadership this church needs if it is to survive. Hayes teaches systematic theology at Georgetown University. Her areas of interest include black and womanist theologies; the intersection of race, class, and gender with religion; African and African American religions and spirituality. She was the first African American woman to receive a doctor of theology
degree from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). Her five books
include And Still We Rise: An Introduction to Black Liberation Theology. Her forthcoming book is Forged in the Fiery Furnace: African American Spirituality.

Sunday, 9 AM