The third West Coast CTA Conference was held August 13-15 at the Price Conference Center at the University of San Diego. The keynote address, Reflecting the Face of God in the New Millennium: Call to Conversion, was given by Edwina Gately.

Twenty speakers and panelists presented a wide variety of topics including: Hidden Women of the Gospels (Kathy Coffey), School of the Americas (Roy Bourgeois), You are my Beloved Sons and Daughters (Mary Rammerman), The Laity in History (Gary Macy), Healing from the Disease of Hierarchy (David Gentry-Akin) among many others.

The early-bird session was given by Rabbi Moshe Levin from La Jolla. He told us about a frozen custard store trying to open in Tel Aviv. The food was Kosher but they were refused a Kosher certificate (no Kosher certificate in Tel Aviv = no business). They were refused because the company had a dinosaur for its logo. Why, you ask? Because orthodox Judaism has precisely calculated the beginning of creation from the dates and lineage in the bible and it’s only something like 6,000 odd years. Therefore dinosaurs cannot have existed. Does this remind you of another city in that part of the world? Rabbi Levin also told us that he does not thank God for the good things in life, because, if he did, he’d also have to blame God for the bad things. His personal view is not of a God who interacts with the world in that way ("the puppeteer model"). He said that his view of God is very different than his mothers and he expects that his children’s vision of God will be different than his because our understanding of God is always developing. The view of God and creation is different in Genesis ch.1 and ch. 2. How about that. A cleric that expects people to have different views of God!
 
 

Pauline Turner and Bernard Cooke opened the conference Friday night talking about human friendship as the most fundamental sacrament.

Sr. Kathleen Schinhofen presented Left, Right or Other: How Church History Heals. She talked about how to talk to the mainstream so that they don’t "go deaf". She quoted Goethe: "Those who cannot summon 2000 years of history are living hand to mouth." And Lumen Gentium: "Every path sincerely taken will lead to God."

Closing Liturgy

Mary Rammerman, Rochester, NY

Mary Rammerman from Rochester, N.Y., talked about the recent experience of Corpus Christi parish when the bishop (ordered by the Vatican) removed the parish’s pastor of 15+ yrs. Mary described the discernment the parish went through to determine what their response should be. The parish decided that they could continue without their dearly beloved priest but they refused to give up their fundamental principles of inclusiveness on these issues:
  - women,
  - gay/lesbian,
  - Eucharist.

What struck me listening to Mary was the thoughtful, prayerful discernment she and the whole parish went through in response to being attacked and vilified. Not everyone agreed with the course and stuck with it, but they all respected each other for their individual choices. Ultimately, much of Corpus Christi parish became Spiritus Christi and continues living the Gospel.

Closing Liturgy