LAY NETWORK UPDATE
CLAIMING OUR VOICES
in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
October 17, 2020
 
CCCR Newsletter
October 2020


 
  
 
Lay Network Update -  October 2020 
 
 
The Covid 19 pandemic has slowed down the activity of the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR), but it has also given us time to review our original vision.
 
CCCR Vision: A church fully alive, locally and universally, that radiates Jesus' core teaching of radical equality, unabashed inclusivity and transforming love.
 
CCCR has been pro-active in support of the LGBTQIA community and we continue to challenge the Bishop's harsh guidelines for schools and parishes regarding exclusivity of any student that does not identify as only male or female sex. We held a virtual workshop on transgender with Nancy Corcoran in Sept. and we are working with Dignity, who will invite principals and staff from schools as a follow up in addressing these guidelines.
 
 
CCCR continues to promote leadership of women in the universal church, particularly women deacons and priests. In the archdiocesan listening sessions, the need for women's leadership came up several times. We are waiting for the Synod to address this concern.
 
CCCR begins every Board meeting with prayer and reflection. It has not only been personally transforming, it has been a vehicle of support and has promoted understanding among the Board members. This practice will continue throughout 2021.
 
By now, some of you have voted. If you haven't voted yet, we urge you to vote wisely and pray fervently for candidates that demonstrate Jesus' core teachings of inclusivity and equality. With the help of God's grace, we will make it through Covid and this election. May the Holy Spirit give us the peace that passes all understanding and transform us into a church that is fully alive in Christ.
 
CCCR and CTA MN is co-sponsoring a St. Frances Cabrini - Tegeder talk on indigenous people by Linda Le Garde Grover on Nov. 9th. Details below:  
 
 A Conversation About issues affecting Native Americans
with  
Linda LeGarde Grover
 
moderated by:
Jessica Rousseau, Little Earth Residents Association Executive Director
 
Monday, November 9, 2020
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. central
To register for this live online event, go to cabrinimn.org/tegeder-talk-signup
 
Can stories about the past expose the injustices that impact the lives of Native Americans today?  What truths might we learn? How has the history taught in schools been distorted? Are we willing to reach into the uncomfortable spaces in our history that we have ignored?
 
St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church, as part of its Tegeder Talks Speaker Series, presents Linda LeGarde Grover, an Anishinaabe novelist, poet and short story writer. An enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, she is a UMD professor of American Indian Studies.
 
She will discuss ways in which federal policies have adversely impacted Native Americans living in Minnesota today. You'll learn about boarding schools, theft of Native lands; forced relocations; foster care treatment of children and other issues.
 
Although our conversation with Linda LeGarde Grover will focus on her novel, "The Night of Memory" she has several other books in publication. The Dance Boots" received the 2009 Flannery O'Connor Award and was published by the University of Georgia Press. Dr. Grover's manuscript "The Road Back to Sweetgrass" received the 2008 Native Writers Circle of the Americas First Book Award, and a collection of her poetry The.Indian.At.Indian.School" was the 2009 Native Writers Series selection for publication by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Sequoyah Research. "Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year" won the 2018 Minnesota Book Award for Memoir and Creative Nonfiction and the Northeastern Minnesota Book Award.
 

CCCR Board
Nancy Gotto - Chair
Gottonancy@gmail.com
952-451-6947

 
Still living in joyful hope,
CCCR Board