Regional Gathering of NW CTA Chapter Leaders

May 6, 2006

 

 

The first regional chapter leadership conference for Call To Action was held on May 6, 2006 at the La Quinta Inn in Tacoma, WA.  There were 5 chapters represented which included Western Washington, Spokane, Bend, Anchorage, and Fairbanks.  Bob Heineman, CTA Resources Developer, and Lena Woltering, a member of the CTA National Board responsible for Chapters, were a part of the 24 in attendance.  (Click here for a photo of attendees).

 

We focused on what could we point to with pride.  Some of the responses included:

  • Seattle:  Our 7 years of spirit led leadership, retreats, and good speakers. Help to watch the archdiocese, particularly in the area of finances.  Our newsletter and articles, email articles, and opportunities for education.
  • Olympia:  The community that has formed.  Education has been good.  Move to social activism.
  • Bend:  Proud of their community and focus through spiritual direction.  The ability to print and distribute  “Deus Est Caritas” in all parishes with CTA names and phone numbers of 5 members published in the back. 
  • Spokane: The forum they sponsored, “Healing Our Broken Church” held at a local parish with 300 in attendance.
  • Alaska: Starting just last year they are the local critics.  They have found Eugene Kennedy’s book, The Unhealed Wound, helpful in their focus.

 

We also focused on what we view with alarm.  Some of the responses included:

  • Spokane: After our successful forum we are not prepared for ‘what next’.
  • Seattle:  Difficulty in recruiting new members.  Apathy of many Catholics. Failure to stand up to injustices in the parishes.
  • Olympia:  Injustice in the church.  Laity’s lack of a well-rounded education. Intimidation by the clergy.  Narrowing sense of what it means to be Catholic.
  • Bend: The powerful are willing to capitalize on apathy. Our bishop’s use of edicts, forced pledges of loyalty, his new definition of conscience.
  • Coos Bay (not a chapter):  Dogma is a barrier. Language that doesn’t relate to the present.  Need for women’s spirituality.
  • Alaska: We have occurred mental abuse by the church. We are banned from church property. Reluctance of clergy to speak out, fear of hierarchy: feudalism, fatalism.

 

After time spent on ‘Why and How to do a Planning Session’ by Tom Hill we moved into the National CTA agenda. Some items mentioned were:

  • CTA’s 30th year anniversary will be celebrated at the conference.
  • There is an Ecumenical Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. that CTA is co-sponsoring.
  • The anti-racism team is undergoing intense training.  Lena Woltering, a member of the team, explained the need and some of the things she has learned in this long process.
  • Speakers that will be at the Conference in Nov. include: Joan Chittister, Diana Hayes, Jeanette Rodriguez, David Gibson, Robert Blair Kaiser, Tom Doyle.  Cindy Sheehan will win the Leadership Award.

 

We ended our day be discussing how can we build ourselves and support one another?

§         Discussion groups build a common faith.

§         We need a list of speakers that would be willing to come to the NW

§         We would like to invite Bishop Patricia Fresen to speak, a Roman Catholic ordained woman bishop, validly ordained.

§         We would be willing to join other chapters where picketing would be beneficial

§         Circulate Chapter Updates

 

We opened and closed the session with prayer.  A new sense of communion was developed between those attending as well as with the chapters they were representing.

 

Tom and Betty Hill,  Co-Presidents of CTAWW