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Carving out a spiritual home
'The institutional church needs you, you are part of it, whether you like it or not'
Jun. 08, 2009
Mary Condon Peters and Henry Bromelkamp, members of the newly formed Spirit of St. Stephen's community in Minneapolis
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If the local parish is the hub of Catholic life, then members of intentional eucharistic communities might be like citizens of the suburbs -- close enough to still identify with the city but far enough out to avoid a lot of the noise and confusion.
And like the suburbanite who might answer Kansas City, Denver or New York to the question “where do you live,” some community members find “Catholic” an easy designation for their spiritual home when the reality might be more complex.
Indeed, the question of whether such communities should retain contact with the larger church and how closely they should be associated with the institution are continuous points of discussion and tension among the groups of intentional eucharistic communities that gathered in mid-May at the National 4H Conference Center here.
This was the third gathering of these loosely organized communities that can range in membership from fewer than a dozen to several hundred. The first was held 18 years ago in the Washington, D.C., area, which seems to have spawned some of the earliest and strongest communities. Some communities have been around for decades and others developed rather recently, like the group from the Spirit of St. Stephen’s Community in Minneapolis.
According to Henry Bromelkamp and Mary Condon Peters, members of the Spirit of St. Stephen’s, the community had been part of a parish and allowed to worship using inclusive language and other innovations. The community had also done extensive outreach and social ministry. A new pastor ended the separate worship and changed the tone of the parish. Many left, many went to other parishes and many struck out on their own.
Bromelkamp and Peters didn’t know until recently that their new community was actually part of a larger phenomenon, one that had been around long enough and studied deeply enough by sociologists to have arrived at a definition and some telling data. According to literature produced by the organizers, intentional eucharistic communities “are those small faith communities, rooted in Catholic tradition, which gather to celebrate Eucharist on a regular basis. Through sharing liturgical life and mutual support for one another,” the definition continues, “members are strengthened to live Gospel-centered lives characterized by spiritual growth and social commitment.”
The definition further pins the beginning of these communities to the “enthusiasm flowing from Vatican II for a church of the people” and acknowledges that some of the communities were started in parishes while others “were created as alternatives to the parish.” Some function independently while others retain close ties to the church.
Some might declare, as did the man from Denver in a small group when responding to a plea from a speaker to stay connected with the larger church: “I don’t care about the larger church! I don’t care what the bishop says.” Others are more circumspect, claiming their identity relies on some connection to the formal church. Some clearly see the movement as a harbinger of the future while others wonder if such communities are temporary, a stopgap of sorts for a kind of “had it” segment of the Catholic community: those who have had it with a new pastor who changes (usually in a conservative direction) the nature of a parish; or a bishop who imposes new rules or forbids certain speakers in the diocese; or those who have had it because they are generally weary of culture wars, the sex abuse scandal and what they perceive as a general lack of accountability on the part of church leaders.
Whatever the motivation, about 230 people showed up from 17 states and the District of Columbia representing at least 42 communities to discuss their future and the future of the church.
If the communities already had a definition, keynote speaker Robert McClory came bearing a theology, or at least some theological insights from famed Dominican theologian Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, 94, who might, in this context, be considered the intellectual author of intentional eucharistic communities.
McClory, author of As It Was in the Beginning: The Coming Democratization of the Catholic Church and a regular contributor to NCR, began his talk by relating his experience on an assignment in 2007 for NCR to cover what was occurring in the church in Holland following the publication of a booklet by the Dutch province of the Dominican order. The booklet proposed that because of the priest shortage and the theology of ministry coming out of Vatican II, parishes should consider selecting lay members to preside at the Eucharist.
The proposal actually grew out of experiences with what in most places would be considered wildly experimental liturgies and ecumenical community arrangements. In one instance, Dominicans have for the past 40 years overseen a parish community where a Protestant minister sometimes presides at the eucharistic celebrations and where the priests say they have no idea of the denominational affiliations of many in the congregation.
McClory recounted a conversation he had with some of the younger congregants who told him that he and his family came “quite a distance” to attend the services. Asked if he was a Protestant or a Catholic, the young man laughed and responded, “What you must understand is that the Protestants and Catholics went their separate ways 400 years ago, and now we, their descendants, are coming back together again. Isn’t that all right?”
McClory came home and went on a search for the foundation of what was happening and ran into Schillebeeckx, whom people in Holland said had essentially written the script for what was going on.
Reading Schillebeeckx meant reading a reconsidered Catholic history, particularly on the issue of ordination, which the theologian argues was first a matter of community choice, the community appointed its pastors. Gradually the bishop -- also originally chosen by the community -- became the locus of all authority in the matter of ordination.
Schillebeeckx, said McClory, believes that the church can return to that earlier practice, particularly as the number of priests and opportunities for Eucharist dwindle.
“He says nobody’s got to do this, but we should consider it. He says, ‘Always, this involves a little bit of illegality,’ but we shouldn’t worry about that because the church never got anywhere unless somebody was willing to do a little illegality,’ ” said McClory.
Nor should there be “any sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ ” or “a new order” versus “an old order.” Instead, McClory said Schillebeeckx sees that “these two orders will be going along together.”
McClory said the theologian also warns those who seek reform not to complain about the bishops nor expect too much from the hierarchy. Schillebeeckx’s view, according to McClory, is that the bishops “are the caretakers of the old order and they don’t understand what you’re doing. They can’t understand what you’re doing because they are trained to understand the old order. They are the caretakers. The older order is in their bones. You can’t ask them to think outside the box because they are paid by the box.”
McClory made note that in a survey of those involved in intentional communities, 70 percent said they had no or very little interest in the institutional church. He said he thought Schillebeeckx would encourage them to preserve some kind of connection. “The greater body of the church is clearly in trouble today, and I would suspect strongly that it is groups like yours that can point the way to newer, better ways,” he said.
If all of this sounds like an invitation to chaos, an irony is that among the prime organizers of the three conferences is William D’Antonio, a distinguished sociologist and member of an intentional eucharistic community, who has done significant research on Catholic groups and attitudes in recent decades. A former CEO of the American Sociological Association and currently a fellow at the Life Cycle Institute at The Catholic University of America, D’Antonio is one of those who believe intentional eucharistic communities are a leading edge to the future.
In an interview he said he believes communities need to remain connected in some way with the larger church. However, given the priest shortage and other factors affecting parish life, he said, “the church needs us as much as we need the church.”
Another sociologist, Michele Dillon of the University of New Hampshire, reported from surveys taken of members of intentional eucharistic communities that the group’s profile holds few surprises. “You’re mostly Vatican II, pre-Vatican II generation and, as in the big church, more women than men. You’re highly educated and you have a very strong Catholic background.”
Dillon, who has worked on projects with D’Antonio, said the members of these communities demonstrate “the trajectory of all this Catholic education. It’s obviously very effective.”
In comparison with other groups, she said, intentional eucharistic community members are very similar to the profiles of members of reform groups such as Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful.
In other ways, the members are also very much like other Americans who are disaffiliating with a particular denomination in search of a broader spirituality. She cited numbers in the survey in which 70 percent said the “institutional church is not important to them personally.”
She urged community members to retain attachment to the larger church, a notion that was dismissed by some in the audience who recounted painful experiences with the church.
“Sociologists love institutions because the institutions, we know, are the building blocks of society. It is the institutions that connect us. If I may chide you,” Dillon said, “you all emphasized Vatican II … but sometimes you act as if you are not the people that are part of church.” In their detachment from “the so-called big church,” she said, the groups are actually “ceding authority to the institution.”
“I think my point would be that the institutional church needs you. You may not need the institutional church as much as they need you, but you are part of it, whether you like it or not.”
Dillon acknowledged the pain and reasons for people leaving the institutional church, but she said that leaving “is reneging on the exhortations of Vatican II. Given your immersion in that whole Vatican II model of church, it’s a little ironic … that at the same time you detach from the institutional church.”
While the plea to stay connected to the larger church was made forcefully in several presentations and in smaller group discussions, exactly how to do that was not formally addressed at any length. Many communities maintain connections with the institution because they have priests who regularly preside at eucharistic celebrations. In other cases, members remain active in the social outreach and other work of parishes and dioceses. And in yet other cases, people retain membership in a formal parish as well as a community.
Some, however, see liberation from what they view as overbearing rules and authorities as the end in itself and see little need to continue connection with the larger church.
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Tom Roberts, NCR editor at large, is traveling the country reporting on parish life. He is on the first of several trips he plans to take, this time moving through Ohio, eastward into New Jersey and on to the nation’s capital. His e-mail address is troberts@ncronline.org. Read the full series here: In Search of the Emerging Church.
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Follow Tom Roberts on his journey "In Search of the Emerging Church." Sign up to receive an e-mail alert when his stories are posted to this series. If you already receive e-mail alerts from NCR, click on the button that says "update my profile."
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There are a number of these
There are a number of these "intentional eucharistic communities" in the Pennsylvania area and they are very connected to the larger community in that many of the priest celebrants are priests who left the institutional church but who remain forever Roman Catholic priests.
How are the priests in these
How are the priests in these communities vetted, supervised, evaluated and (if need be) removed?
Dear Mark, I am not sure what
Dear Mark,
I am not sure what you meant by "vetted, supervised, evaluated and (if need be) removed"?
But the way the current practice of the Church goes---as long as the priest--
lets say 'pastor' doesn't have many people complaining about him, and does not
have the parish in debt---the bishop really doesn't care what he does.
But in these communities, the priest is responsible to the people of that community---and that is the difference. They hire him and pay him. He is accountable to the community of his ministry.
I can't say I agree with this
I can't say I agree with this whole intentional community thing, but I understand the model.
So is it a handshake deal, or is there a contract? There's probably as many different means of supervision as there are ICs. I wonder if there are any sample contracts or agreements floating about? It'd be interesting to read them.
I wonder how they do background checks?
Which is not how it is
Which is not how it is supposed to be. Priests answer to the bishop. They share in his episcopal ministry and it is the bishop who, through granting of faculties, grants the priests power to minister in his diocese. The priest does not answer to the laity and he receives no power or authority from the laity. This "congregational" mentality is diametrically opposed to the Church's tradition and teaching, and the will of Christ Who established His Church on the foundation of His Apostles.
The only thing "Catholic" about these communities is the common baptism of the people. But, though that makes the people members of the Catholic faith, it does not make their "intentional" community Catholic and, if they operate without sanction and support of their bishop, they do so illicitly at best and schismatically at worst.
It seems to me that the
It seems to me that the presider is selected by the people. The old model of authoritarian rule has shifted. A new paradigm has finally emerged. In our group there is no priest. The members rotate the role of presider.
With the punitive mentality
With the punitive mentality of the current crop of bishops it may not be a question of whether members of such communities choose to "leave" or not. They are likely to be booted out via the often-wielded club of excommunication.
There are just too many technical violations: "Liturgical abuses," inter-communion, inclusive sacramental language, other sacramental "irregularities," and all of the things which stick in the craws of conservative bishops attempting to re-assert their feudal authority. To say nothing of liturgies celebrated by married priests and women priests.
Yes, the communities or individuals may or may not choose to recognize their excommunications, but such will represent an impediment to any meaningful dialogue and to further community participation in the "mainstream" of parish life.
I, too, am very disenchanted
I, too, am very disenchanted with the current institutional church and belong to the demographics that Dillon talks about. I feel a need to engage with the spiritual community, but feel, too, that Vatican II is being uprooted by the last 2 popes who have infused the entire clergy w/ the "old order". I don't want to stay away, but feel I must for my own soul's sake. I didn't know these "intentional eucharistic communities" existed. Maybe I can find one of my own.
Find one of your own? Heck,
Find one of your own? Heck, just start one. It seems everyone else has, and who's to say you can't too?
i am happy to learn of the
i am happy to learn of the growth of these small communities. they happen and are happening more often. it is not about creating division it is about prayer and the living gospel. so it does not make sense to "go public".
people recognize good parishes that are alive. and good priests who do ministry and do it well. and we also see those who don't want to "move" or perhaps are too comfortable and/or lazy to spend time with the people of God.
bread, broken and shared. amen.
new jersey
Tom Roberts makes all of this
Tom Roberts makes all of this so clear and so far the comments fill me with hope. What a time to live in and how wonderful that so many people have such grace in the face of so many problems. WOW!
Whoever does your math needs further scholling or I am missing something. 5+1 is not 6?
It's hard to keep caring
It's hard to keep caring about the institutional church when it doesn't seem to care about or for us. I have been fortunate to find a spiritual home in a Jesuit parish located near a Jesuit university, although I have done the intentional eucharistic community thing (until the bishop asked us to stop, and we decided to honor his request, which left us adrift for three years without any church community until we joined our current parish). Not only does the institutional church not care about us but it doesn't want us to talk about what is important to us or to use our education and gifts for ministry. Dillon is right about the education aspect: I received an MDiv from a Jesuit school in 1980 and have had to struggle to find work in ministry in the institutional church all these years. The fact that I'm still here is a testament to the grace of the Spirit (in spite of the institutional church) in both me and in those I have been able to work with these last 29 years. And for that I am thankful - but the institution does not seem to want people like me to be a significant part of the future of the Church as they see it.
You say "institution" and
You say "institution" and "institutional" like they are bad things. The Jesuits are an institution. So are parishes, universities, churches, schools, degree programs. And newspapers. And web sites. Why should the church, as a human and social institution, be immune from the human faults and failings all to common in the Jesuits, parishes, universities, churches, degree programs, newspapers and web sites?
My experience is that the
My experience is that the Institutional Church at the diocesan level (and probably above) is very dysfunctional. The Institutional Church (i.e. Diocesan Church) does not welcome me and does not demonstrate care for me. So I do not feel a part of it. It's like being a part of a dysfunctional family: if they don't want me there, if they treat me badly, why should I stay? I do feel welcomed and cared for by the Jesuits individually and collectively. That doesn't mean they are perfect, but they make an effort; and that effort is clearly lacking in my experience of the Diocesan Church.
To MKL - Come on in! The
To MKL - Come on in! The water is fine.
Great to find out about these
Great to find out about these intentional eucharistic communities. How do we locate them? The hierarchy I am sure wants to wipe them all out. I love the intentional part, the committed part and devotion of Catholics who know that the present system of clerics is mostly damaging and resposnible for continued abuse of the most vulnerable, children, youth, seminarians.
No reform has been made, as cover-ups, silencing and ignoring victims of cleric abuse still go on. Now I see the pope has issued new ways for bishops to more quickly laicize priests and religious, so excommunication is not enough. Repression, brute force is what the panzer pope is all about. Must be his suppression tactic against any who want reforms in the church, who want an end to a cleric culture of pedophilia continuance and continuance of misogyny towards women.
Christopher Hutchinson, American author, refers to Catholic church as the church of the community of cleric pedophiles. He calls it that instead of RCC. He sures nails it accurately what the RCC has become. The Church of the Community of Cleric Pedophiles. This must be changed, this status quo that the pope enforces is so wrong. The abuses and corruption are driving all ethical and thinking Catholics away from the RCC. Paulette
Thank God for the Dutch
Thank God for the Dutch Dominicans putting all of these neo-conservative Roman ecclesiological power plays into a proper historical and theological context. No one will ever convince me that the current monolithic dinosaur masquerading as the "Church Militant" is really the so-called WILL OF GOD!
After reading the above
After reading the above article I'm not exactly sure how these communities are different from the average parish community. Most parishes operate around a core of more active members, those people who have decided to take a more active part in their parish liturgy and ministries for whatever reasons. The main distinguishing characteristic of the communities in the article seems to be that their members are more liberal and have adopted a Eurocentic enlightenment based interpretation of Vatican II. luke
In my case, a new
In my case, a new ultra-conservative priest came in to our parish and systematically dismantled each and every means of involvement of the laity in our parish. No longer are we a community, each contributing a vital element to our parish but are now passive, silent observers of the liturgy. The people of our community know better. We know we are all members of the body of Christ and some of us are not willing to let Medieval interpretations of what it means to be Church interfere with the Christ-centered imperative to BE church for one another.
At times, faithful Roman
At times, faithful Roman Catholics come to the conclusion that there is no way they can continue to remain connected to the institional church without doing irreparable damage to their spirits. My husband and I found ourselves in this sad situation in Baltimore, MD. We began to explore the world of Independent Catholocism, and were overjoyed to discover CACINA www.cacina.org. Through a fruitful association with this national independent catholic church, we once again have found a spiritual home.
What an excellent series by
What an excellent series by Tom Roberts!
Yes, I believe the Dominican theologian Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx is correct in seeing intentional eucharistic communities functioning alongside the institutional church, the new and old orders moving forward simultaneously. There may be more or less cross-over, depending on how rigid the local bishop is; it’s up to him.
Judging by the tenor of recent elevations, the trend is not at all hopeful though. The uproar by Austria’s hierarchy and laity in foreclosing the appointment of a far-right bishop this spring is a rare victory for reason, but B16 took them to the woodshed earlier this week for it. The power structure will certainly attempt to crush any such further expressions of opposition as B16 implements his restorationist approach.
The point is not to waste precious time or energy on pope or bishop, who are necessarily locked in the old order. It’s just self-destructive to beat your head against a concrete wall, and meanwhile there is a spiritual life to live. We are not children begging permission to grow, but adults empowered to come together and live out our faith accordingly.
William D’Antonio is right that intentional eucharistic communities will be key in the future. If you can’t find one, start one, though a national directory online would be helpful.
Prof. Dillon’s chiding about
Prof. Dillon’s chiding about “ceding authority to the institution” is backwards. All executive, legislative and judicial authority resides in the person of the bishop by canon law, so there is no authority left to cede back to the source. None exists outside of episcopal control, advisory boards notwithstanding. The institutional church functions quite happily with a quiescent, deferential remnant. Should that change, they know where to call. But the impetus must derive from THEIR need and initiative. We’re not fodder for dismissal anymore.
As she acknowledges, Dillon focuses on institutions, but I believe she fails to appreciate the context in which they operate. The machinery can work, but that does not mean the organization flourishes at its core. I was deeply disappointed to see her quoted at length last year about the remarkable leadership qualities of NH’s Bishop John McCormack, the chief aide of Bernard Law in Boston. Perhaps the reporter only selected positive remarks, to give some benefit of the doubt, but here they are:
"He rode out that storm remarkably well and it's sort of a personal testament to his leadership style… he has managed, within his diocese, to maintain his stature. He won back, I guess you could say, his credibility to lead the diocese… McCormack likely will not bear the same stigma as Law…It will be like a passing incident or episode that has to be noted, but it won't end up defining his legacy."
A strong rebuttal to the article with her views and the vast majority of online comments below the original report and the follow-up dispute her assessment.
Scroll down at
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Bishop+McCormack+suffer...
and see
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Carolyn+B.+Disco%3a+A+m...
Still, her research is informative, though I suspect she misjudges how much pain people are willing to endure before seeking alternative relief. Maybe the fact that she does not live in NH has an impact; the low grade fever many of us feel would not be 24/7.
Way back in the early 1960s
Way back in the early 1960s in Washington, DC, I attended liturgies with a group of runaway Catholics called The People of God. They did rash things such as having all the people stand around the altar for the consecration, i.e., concelebrating with everyone pronouncing the words of consecration. Parish after parish got scolded for letting this heretical group hold liturgies in their facilities so that the group had to let people know by word of mouth where the next week's liturgy was going to be. It was a good liturgy, but a little too exciting to be comfortable. Eventually the group disintegrated, showing that it wasn't enough to be a community of martyrs who shared liturgies.
Later I was part of The Community of Christ, an ecumenical group founded by a Lutheran pastor, then head of Lutheran Social Services in Washington. At first most people were Lutheran, then others joined. There were a Methodist minister who taught at Wesleyan seminary, a Presbyterian minister who drove a city bus. One of the members was the lovely man who invented Smokey the Bear for the Park Service. Another was a professor who founded the center where several of us worked, and was my prof at Georgetown. Finally the group invited a few of us Catholics to join, and a Benedictine priest from St. Anselm's Abbey came to be our minister. My first liturgy with the group was Holy Thursday as part of a Passover meal. It seemed very right to share the Eucharist with all the people present.
We wrote our own liturgies. It was my first clue to the fact that liturgies in many Protestant churches are very similar to a Catholic Mass. There was always one or another of the ordained ministers to lead them, but we took turns doing the homilies. Rosemary Reuther and Gabe Huck used to join us for liturgies when they were working in DC.We were encouraged to take up social ministries that moved us. At first we were committed to the square mile where we all lived, doing tutoring with inner city black kids, then other new things such as a Christian art and book store named the Sign of Jonah, a plant shop named The Third Day. A smaller group of families undertook to be a kind of commune, sharing cars, using a co-op for food, etc. We all supported each other in everything. Some of the Lutherans were quite conservative. The Catholics I guess had to be more progressive types to be there at all. We got along quite well as far as the ministries and liturgies and study groups went, but it would fall apart when we tried to do theology studies. We Catholics were okay taking communion with the Lutherans but we felt forbidden to let the others take communion in a Catholic Mass. Gradually that feeling disappeared, too. Not only did it feel unfair to us, but also unreasonable. There weren't enough differences for us to remain separate. It was the most 24/7 Christian life I ever lived, withal my 22 years of Catholic schooling, both parents church musicians, and my home base the Univ. of Notre Dame. We studied all kinds of new books about community and scripture study and social action. We supported each other, we built our daily lives into our Church, and the other way around. Once my parents came to visit me and my father planned to go first to a Catholic Mass and then sit in on our Sunday liturgy, but he didn't get up for the Mass and came only to our Community liturgy. Nervously, he watched everything very carefully from a corner and in the event, decided to take Communion with us. After the liturgy he sat a long time with the pastor, asking questions, "Do you believe...? What do you believe about ...?" He felt okay there. I didn't feel we had left the church. We just kind of stepped sideways and moved parallel to the Church. We were the Church. We had weddings and a funeral or two. We went off somewhere for a retreat now and then. My daughter made her first communion there. It was great. We were really one in the Spirit. Of course it also attracted a few members who were trying to find themselves, so we learned how to build them into our community. Without realizing that they were missing the point, they usually didn't stay so long. In other words, we went through every good and every difficult aspect of a normal Catholic parish. Because we were all involved in all the decisions about everything, it was good.
Eventually the founding minister grew into a life shaped by the beatitudes, and we watched him go there but weren't ready to go along. So he left and started a retreat center on a farm in West Virginia. After that we had the interesting experience of calling a pastor. Unheard of to Catholics used to having no say when their bishop appointed their pastor. But it was hard to find a like-minded person. Things were never quite the same.
The group is still there forty-some years later, continuing its missions on 16th St. in the Mt. Pleasant area. I still go to pray with them when I'm in town. A couple of the original ministers are still there but a self-selected few non-ordained members also take turns leading the liturgies and giving the homilies. They still have study groups reading the likes of Walter Brueggerman and Larry Rasmussen (who was part of the group for awhile). They still go through throes pondering what the group's direction should be. They alter the liturgy a bit now and then. They respond to the needs of the community around them. I'm very grateful to have been a part of the group. It formed my daughter's view of living a Christian life in a way a Catholic catechism class could probably never have done. And it's still the most 24/7 Christian life you could devise, living in the secular world.
Thanks
Thanks
If there's one thing I think
If there's one thing I think the Holy Spirit is demanding of me, it is NOT to listen to our Bishops. Their credibility has been lost and their authority is non-existent. I think these Eucharistic Communities are, for the most part, the Holy Spirit directing Christ's followers to continue the work begun by the Second Vatican Council but repressed by the last two Popes. One way or another, the old order is dying and the winds of Vatican II blow ever stronger. I fully expect these Intentional communities to grow wider and as a result, inform the old guard that they have become obsolete and out of step with the true spirituality of Catholic tradition. People like one of the posters in this thread, "Craig B. Mc Kee" haven't a clue when it comes to the Church and the Modern World as they are still in search of black and white answers to every question posed by challengers to the corrupt and decaying leadership of the Institutional Church. They are threatened by any mention of REFORM of this old guard system. For these people, an Imperial Roman model is the only game in town.
I have been part of "an
I have been part of "an intentional community" for ten years. We see ourselves as members of a "home church", similar to the home churches of the early Christians. We do not have an ordained presider. This community has been a source of spiritual nourishment for all the members and has helped us to move beyond the anger and frustration we experience with the institution.
All of us, however, are still connected with a parish church.
We formed this group by inviting a few other people we knew were experiencing pain and frustration in the institution and who we thought were seeking some more meaningful way to pray. We meet once a month.
As SAFischer states, "The
As SAFischer states, "The fact that I'm still here is a testament to the grace of the Spirit," speaks to me. I, too, am trying to find my way in the church, even in my 60's. About ten years ago I decided that I could branch out in my need for church in changing my career/vocation. I completed my chaplain training and became certified. I now work with hospice patients who are such inspirations to me at both difficult and precious times in their lives.
But, I am still trying to find my place in my parish community of which I have been a part of for 23 years. Over the years my parish has changed to a very traditional one with many devotionals renewed and liturgical changes that basically do not promote community. So, I don't have a "community" to organize a group. How can I go about finding an intentional eucharistic RC one? I've never heard of one in my city but maybe that's not unusual. Any ideas?
"...members are very similar
"...members are very similar to the profiles of members of reform groups such as Call to Action and Voice of the Faithful."
Well, duh. May as well add NCR to that list. Articles like this always feature the same old kooks, cranks and dead-enders from Woodstock generation.
"What you must understand is that the Protestants and Catholics....are coming back together again." Sure, if by "coming together" you mean Catholics give up their faith.
Christ gave us His Body, the Church. It is astounding that anyone is so infatuated with himself, or so obsessed with conforming to the faddish political correctness of his neighbors, that he would reject the most exquisite gift any human being can hope to receive in this life.
www.intentionaleucharisticcom
www.intentionaleucharisticcommunities.org is the official website for these intentional eucharistic communities. They can provide you with a list of IEC's in your area. You'll probably be surprised about how many there are in your area. I was.
Here in Queensland,
Here in Queensland, Australia, there has been a fracas regarding a "rebel" priest who had empowered an entire community. He has been laicised by the Archbishop and nearly all his community has walked out to continue their inclusive worship at a nearby trades hall. The "crime" was irregular liturgies and no vestments on the clergy. (Apart from allowing women to preach!) The real crime was the informers who went to Rome with their complaints and covert videos of "irregular" baptisms.
I have been privileged to have served as a presider in a small community at the far reaches of a parish where the priest could only preside at the Eucharist on the first Sunday of the month. Now we have moved to a parish where there are two priests (one semi retired) and they also have to give the outlying churches the authority to preside. There is a book, which I read last year, written by the Claretian Fathers in the Phillipines, that actually lays out an idea of ordaining teams of lay people, under the parish Priest to actually cosecrate at liurgies. I doubt that the present old guard would ever countenance that but we can but hope and pray!
Please share with us the name
Please share with us the name of the book. We need some inspiration!
Thank you and God bless.
Rachele Have only just found
Rachele
Have only just found this thread. I think the book is TEAMS OF ELDERS by LOBINGER and indeed published in Manila.. I saw it reviewed on the Catholica Australia site which I find a very interesting DB and forum, very welcoming and with some good thoughtful members.
It's my substitute for a thinking element in my parish! Hope this reaches you and is helpful asI know no other way to contact you.
God be with you!
Carolyn Disco: Much thanks
Carolyn Disco: Much thanks for giving us a recounting of your experiences elucidating what an IEC must "feel like." Seemed pretty gentle yet fervent, to me.
I have to say I do agree with Craig B. McKee over there in Hong Kong, probably a hard-working, unsung hero missionary person. Can't you just hear Jesus say: "Uhhh no! A church militant in 2009 is just so passe."
And then Tom Roberts: applauding your great wordsmithing, and telling it like it is, in the old order quote: "You can't ask them to think outside the box, because they are paid by the box."
Luckily for me, I can envision myself both as having lots of FUN (uppercase intentional) as an IEC person, and as a staying-connected-no-matter-how-vulture-like-the-local-bishop-is person. Folks I'm not exaggerating about the vulture part, in my neck of the woods.
But hey! as Paul Lakeland says: (Now where is his book on this desk so I can see if I'm spelling his last name right?) we Catholics HAVE TO study Church History, and put all of this in context. Lots of theology and practices had to be struggled over, and argued over, for all of us People of God to "get it right." All of us together, with a heck of a lot of patience mixed with equal parts of open-mindedness--we can "get it better." PS The together includes (shh) Protestants. Hey we all breathe the same air, and have the same Global Warming problems, and if some of us ecumenical types actually want to COOPERATE, PRAY TOGETHER, AND COLLABORATE. I think it's a good thing.
Rachele, as I remember ( or
Rachele, as I remember ( or believe so) the title was "Beyond Viri Probati" It may be hard to get hold of outside the Philippines. The copy I read, over a year ago, was by the kindness of a friend with a contact over there. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to obtain a copy for reference since, which is a pity, as it makes a lot of sense.
I was really graetful for
I was really graetful for this article. I am a member of the parish that was pushed out from it's church by the Archbishop in Brisbane. It is early days yet, but our faith community continues to thrive and develop in the Trades Labour Council Building down the road from our old church. Our priests have been 'defrocked' and as a community we will probably at some time be excommunicated. But you know what, despite what the 'sooth sayers' say you cannot separate me/us from God no matter what is said or done to us. We celebrate a very rich and meaningful Eucharist and we come to this in an adult developed faith.
Blessings of peace and love to all those who are finding their way and developing what it means to be Church.
Carole
St Brigids, church in
St Brigids, church in Victoria is to be closed and sold out from ownerhip by the local people, against their wishes. It seems, from this distance, that the clergy is against any form of lay led liturgy and wish the people to travel to other churches to "attend Mass". This8 is breaking up another community with a proud heritage. lay led liturgy is empowering and joyous, is this what some clergy are afraid of?
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