How fortunate we are that one of my blog's readers, Janet Prior Gayes and her son David, attended the conference in Milwaukee and took the time to write me about their experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed her email and hope that you will too:
"The theme of this year's conference was I AM: Rise Up People of God. It is 30 years since the U.S. Catholic Bishops convened the first Call to Action conference in Detroit. From the program: "1,351 lay, religious and clergy delegates, appointed by their local bishops, voted for an inclusive church, open to women and married priests, with shared deciosion-making and greater social justice. That Call to Action was the culmination of a two-year national consultation involving over 800,00 Catiholics in 125 dioceses. Cardinal Dearden hailed this collaboration as 'a new way of doing the work of the church in America.'"
Sr. Joan Chittister, Jeannette Rodriguez, and Diana Hayes gave thought-provoking, challenging talks to the entire group. I especially enjoyed Joan's talk - she looked at the 6 times in the Bible that people were called to "Rise Up!" and gave connections to our world today. On Friday and Saturday there were many smaller workshops addressing issues of social justice, liturgy, crises within the church, and prayer sessions in addition to informal get-togethers of people with common interests or from the same state. David and I heard Fr. John Dear speak powerfully of the Beatitudes of Peace; we attended a photojournalist's presentation about illegal immigrants, watched a riveting one woman play about the life of Dorothy Day and had fun with a rousing Gospel Choir performance. Sunday's Eucharistic liturgy was prayerful, moving, and fulfilling, and challenged us to go forth and follow what Jesus said were the most important commandments."
She also wrote that :
"There are scholarships to help offset some of the costs that are available to those with limited financial means.
Next year's conference will have anti-racism as it's theme.
Call to Action website: http://www.cta-usa.org"
Janet pointed out that the facilities were very accessible except for the lack of a family bathroom in the hotel and added the staff was very helpful regarding information.
2 comments:
Thank you for sharing a bit about the Call To Action (CTA) Conference. I have gone to the conference for the past 6 years--five as a member and this year as staff at CTA. Every year I am reminded of Jesus' love for all people of all abilities and conditions and the need for our church to be more attentive to Jesus' example of inclusion. It is my favorite weekend every year as a Catholic--it fills me with the Spirit of God's love!
Also, as a young woman who had cancer last year when I attended the conference, I experienced the conference in a wheelchair and also found the facilities to be quite accommodating for people of various abilities. I highly recommend the conference to all Catholics or anyone who values the message of Jesus for healing, justice and love.
Thanks Nicole, for stopping by and sharing about your experiences with the conference. It's truly a wonderful message that it gives!
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