Called to be Prophetic Voices

2005 West Coast Regional Call To Action Conference

Keynote speakers: Edwina Gateley, Anthony Padovano, Miriam Therese Winter




Friday night opening prayer service

Miriam Therese Winter - Friday keynote

Edwina Gately - Sunday keynote

Patty Hawk - National CTA Co-President

  Gospel singers

Workshops

Pamela Bjorklund, licensed Clinical Psychologist and Spiritual Director “Spirituality for the Social Activist: Why You Need Prayer”  Why do we (as social activists) need prayer?  Three of many possible reasons: so we can be reminded that this is God’s work and not ours alone, to keep from burning out, and to keep from taking ourselves so seriously.  Come and discover that prayer is perhaps more (or less) than you think it is.
S. Simone Campbell, SSS, National Coordinator of Network, a Catholic Social Justice Lobby in Washington D.C.  “Theology of Insecurity”  In a time when the politic of fear is dominant in our country, this workshop will explore an alternative vision of what is needed in our world today—Christ’s message of trust.
James Conlon, PhD, Director of Sophia Center “From the Stars to the Street—A Celebration of Geo-Justice and Engaged Cosmology for the Earth”  How do we connect the wonder of the night sky to acts of solidarity in the practice of geo-justice?  What is our Great Work as hospice workers for the structures that are now in their terminal phase of existence?  How are we called to be midwives of a new creation, so that beauty can shine forth in the landscapes of our country as we celebrate a preferential option for the Earth?
David Gentry-Akin, is an Associate Professor at Saint Mary’s College of California where he teaches in the Great Books Core Program, Collegiate Seminar, and in Religious Studies.  He also directs and teaches in the Graduate Liberal Studies Program.  He holds the STL and STD degrees from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium and the M.Div. from the University of Notre Dame. “The Catholic Imagination”  Conservatives sometimes think the church has changed too much and liberals think it has not changed enough.  Beneath ideological battles over left and right positions, however, are the constants of the Catholic tradition, the deep beauty of our Catholic faith that continues to be alluring to both the left and the right.  What are some of the essentials of the Catholic worldview, the things that bind us together in spite of differing perspectives on theological and social issues?  This presentation will explore some of the aspects that constitute common ground between different perspectives that sometimes threaten to become isolating polarizations.
Spencer Johnston, social justice activist, and Certified Catechist for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.  “Faith and Trade Justice: Implications for Global Catholicism”  Participants will learn about the trade justice movement, trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA, and the reality of the global south.  From the perspective of our Catholic faith, new implications for living in an increasingly interconnected world will be shared.
Christine Minnehan, Managing Advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty “Many Mansions—Few Homes”  Presentation will describe the appalling number of seniors, low income families, disabled and farm workers who are homeless or poorly housed, and our church teaching to relieve and eradicate.  Participants will receive handouts and practical advice on local, state and federal efforts needing assistance.
Ched Myers, working with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries, an ecumenical organization promoting biblical literacy, church renewal and faith-based witness for justice.

(1) “Speaking Truth to Power: The Prophetic Vocation from Hulodah and Baruch to M.L. King” 
We’ll look briefly at the Old Testament tradition of prophecy, focusing on the cases of Jeremiah 36 and II Kings 22.  Then we will revisit the context of King’s oft-ignored “Beyond Vietnam” speech, delivered exactly one year before his assassination.  Naming the “giant evil triplets of racism, militarism and poverty,” it was prophetic in every sense of the word, and has a stinging contemporary relevance.

(2) “Jesus as 'Re-enactor' and 'Re-contextualizer' of the biblical prophetic tradition”.
We will look at how Jesus’ proclamation and practice consciously drew on prophetic texts and actions, from his parable-spinning to the wilderness feeding to his Temple “exorcism.”
Eloise Rosenblatt, RSM, PhD, JD, author, on the faculty of Silicon Valley Law School, member of the national Restorative Justice Council for Sexual Misconduct in Faith Communities.

(1) “State and Church: The Law You Don’t Know Will be used Against You.  Reviews due process and employment law rights for church ministers according to Canon Law and Civil Law.

(2) “It’s Not Just Little Boys: Sexual exploitation of Adult Women” Reviews the studies and cases which show that clergy sexual exploitation of women is an unaddressed church problem.
Jean Schafer & Sheila Novak,  are Sisters of the Divine Savior (Salvatorians).  The Salvatorian Sisters work in 27 countries to help empower impoverished women and children in a variety of ways.  S. Sheila has a Masters degree in education and in pastoral ministry and has been a teacher, formation director, partish pastoral minister and congregational administrator.  She is now engaged full time in anti-human trafficking education and advocacy.  S. Jean holds a Doctorate in Human Endocrinology and has served as the international leader of the Salvatorian Sisters providing here with first hand experience of the poverty women and children face throughout the world.  She prepares a monthly electronic newsletter, Stop Trafficking, featuring information about human trafficking. "The Trafficking of Women and Children."  Cited as the emerging human rights issue of the 21st century, this form of modern-day slavery is affecting vast numbers of women and children.  The first workshop will give an overview of human trafficking globally and within the USA.  The second workshop will look more deeply into its causes and some ways that ordinary citizens could make a difference.  (No taping.)
Dr. Miriam Therese Winter, a Medical Mission Sister Eucharist with a Small “e”
Dan and Chris Delany, Georgia Lyga, Kevin Wood Panel discussion: "Pursue Gospel Justice Locally". This panel will discuss witness against the death penalty; protests to stop U.S. terrorist training/School of the America’s Watch; serving the hungry and homeless; resistance to U.S. militarism and Iraq war.
Judy Illig, IBVM, Jim Mize, Deacon Bill Boudier Panel discussion: "Called to Action--The Local Response". Panelists are involved in Loaves and Fishes, Wellspring Women’s Center, Sharing His Bounty, The Gathering Inn. Social justice begins at home here in the Sacramento Valley.  This program will highlight 4-5 programs for which you can volunteer your services immediately and help bring Christ’s message of compassion and love to the poor of Sacramento.
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