I was delighted to learn from the National CTA Office that a number of New Mexicans have joined CTA since this newsletter correspondence began last February. I met some of them in Milwaukee. They are: Ginger Armenta (Farmington); Joan M. Brown (Sunland Park); W.J. and Rose Marie Crowe (Albuquerque); P.A.M. Fraser-Walters (Albuquerque); Moses Gallegos (Belen); Kathie S. Gilbert (Silver City); Virginia M. Johnson (Socorro); Jack Kessler (Taos); Eline Kinsley (Silver City); Rosemary Lessard (Santa Fe); Msgr. Frank Murphy (Cuba); Albert J. Noyer (Sandia Park); Jeanne Pahls (Zuni); Kevin & Judy Sweeney (Gallup); Zudie Schnedar (Roswell); Joni Thompson (Corrales); Brian D. Ward (Gallup); and Wanda Zimmerman (Albuquerque).

In addition to those who have joined CTA this year, Mary Kay and I also learned of and subsequently met with Mark and Rachael Sutton. Mark is a married priest (married, naturally, to Rachael). I learned of his whereabouts because I dropped by the CORPUS booth in Milwaukee and obtained a directory of married priests all over the country. Mark was in Albuquerque. He and Rachael visited with Mary Kay and me in T or C on 11/15/98 on their way to Las Cruces on business.

Kathy Albrecht of Taos emailed; she and her husband are concerned about the tendency of the ordained and religious to disempower the laity when the former take over and deconstruct programs formed by the latter.

Albert N. Noyer of Sandia Park wrote me a fascinating letter which demonstrated his writing prowess. He has written mystery novels heavily laced with 4th to mid-5th century church controversies. He is concerned about how mandatory celibacy has done much spiritual harm to both those who have tried to assume that discipline as well as those to whom the mandatory celibate attempts to minister.

Sr. Jane Kerns of Las Cruces wrote expressing hope that CTA in Las Cruces could become a mediating and peacemaking medium with regard to personnel and administrative problems which are ongoing in that diocese.

Ginger Armenta of Farmington wrote an enthusiastic letter describing herself as a Vatican II Catholic who came into the church 12 years ago and was grateful that she has been placed on [our] mailing list.

Rose Marie and Wally Crowe of Albuquerque wrote to express encouragement at having discovered a faithful remnant of progressive believers through the newsletter. Rose Marie was a delegate from the Archdiocese to the 1976 conference in Detroit which gave birth to CTA. I note that they have both written letters to the editor of NCR [National Catholic Reporter].

Thanks to all of you who wrote, emailed, or sent contributions toward publishing costs this month.

When Jesus was born, the Roman Calendar was in effect for the "world", which totaled about two million people. The Roman calendar came into existence fifty years before the time of Christ, because the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar had commissioned the astronomer Sosigenes to re-calibrate the calendar. The problem that led up to recalibrating the calendar was that the calendar in use kept sliding off the equinoxial table, so to speak. So Sosigenes calibrated the Roman calendar, and one month (July) was renamed in honor of Caesar. Unfortunately, that didn't solve the problem, and Sosigenes' calendar kept sliding off the equinoxial calendar as well, although less than its predecessor

So, in what is now 1582, Pope Gregory XIII, on the work of some astronomers, re-calibrated the calendar again. This time, he attempted to correlate the year zero with the birth of Jesus. Every subsequent year after zero was to be A.D. (anno dominus: "in the year of our Lord).

"Greg" did the best he could but he missed it slightly. Solid historical data today tells us some of the historical events presupposed to have happened during and after the year zero actually happened before them. For one, Herod (mentioned in Matthew's narration of Jesus' birth) was well out of power (and dead) by the year zero. So the most likely year of Jesus' birth in the current calendar was not zero, but between four and seven B.C.

Of course this is a historical glitch and not a theological glitch. We talk about the Year 2000 bug in computers; this is the Year Zero bug of which no one is overly concerned because the theological significance of what happened with the birth of Jesus and what it means to us, is so many times more important than the accuracy of the historical date.

To sum up "Greg's" contributions to try and right the calendar, he also instituted "leap year", and for a one-time event, he lopped ten days off the calendar in October, 1582, to keep it from sliding off the equinoxial table. Unfortunately, what he thought was 1582 in the year of the Lord was already between 1586 and 1589. Again, these glitches are historical and not spiritual.

To further elaborate about Jesus's current birth date, December 25th is not the day of Jesus's birth. Jesus' birthday is somewhere in March, because in the current calendar the month of March is when the census was most likely taken that motivated Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem, at which time Jesus was born. The exact day and of Jesus' birth is not known.

Some centuries after the time of Christ, the date of December 25th was held as the feast day of an early Christian bishop, named (in English) Nicholas. This bishop had been a terribly charitable fellow, and known to have given away everything left and right (including his own time) to the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. It was decided that Nicholas was the best, most recently, embodied example of Jesus, so Nicholas was booted off December 25th and the date was given to Jesus. Another tradition had developed along with Nicholas and the date of December as well; the presence of the gentleman known as Santa Claus, or Holy Klaus, also referred to as jolly old St. Nicholas

The moral of all of this, I suppose, is that human calculations are feeble and inaccurate at best, while God's calculations are always timely and accurate, with the emphasis of living placed on what is important. To illustrate the point, God sent his Son, born of a woman, for us. The celebration of the year 2001 AD, the third millennium, cannot begin too soon, for it is already here.

There was also a call by a couple of keynote speakers to be more like a democracy. That's where Jeanne's comment of caution really made us think. Do we want our future church really shaped as a democracy? There are pitfalls to democracy also. So what would the future structure of the church look like? It's a good question to ponder.

The most important quote from the conference was from Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza. She said: you are not the 'laity'. You are the People of God -- chosen by God and elected by God and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise!

Our gathering continued with evening prayer. You should have heard these folks sing. I was impressed. We finished with a short business meeting followed by good snacks and desserts.

Mark your calendars: we will have another gathering in Albuquerque on Sunday, February 21, [1998??] from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Tom & Jean Baechle's home (7021 Lamar Ave NW, 899-2806). We will be doing some work on the mission statement plus a short business meeting and update. Everyone is welcome. If you haven't attended before, call Tom & Jane and let them know you are coming.

Mission statement update: the following thoughts have yet to be polished. We hope to finalize by March/April.

"As the New Mexico chapter, we embrace CTA's values and principles in Vatican II.,,
"... to operate in an egalitarian manner, respectful of divergent points of view -- reclaim our responsibility in our church, reform our church according to the Gospel, identify injustices in our world, form community, pursue constant renewal, be open and respond to 'signs of the time' and God's action in our lives, educate ourselves on the issues we face using scripture, tradition, and history.,,
"... form community, be inclusive, be aware of our need to deepen our spirituality, nurture and support each other, and engage in prayer and liturgical celebration which is inclusive in all respects."

Share your ideas with Sharon Pikula at 896-2726, Bea Brasher at 892-4081, Sr. Linda Chavez at 830-0369 (or email set@sjhs.org), or Tom & Jane Baechle at 899-2806 (or email tbaechle@aol.com).

Here is a brief story from my personal history. About 5 years ago, I as fired from a parish and in my period of time of trying to (a) decide if I was staying in the Church, and (b) figuring out how I could stay in the Church and stay sane, I was introduced to a small faith community.

The first evening I went we talked about where our lives were. We shared the readings for the upcoming Sunday and then they brought bread and wine and placed it on the coffee table and passed out a prayer -- an adapted eucharistic prayer -- and we prayed it together.

As I was driving home, I was feeling very uncomfortable. What happened?, I asked myself. On the one hand, I felt like a heretic, and other the other, it was really kind of neat. The experience took time to process and I needed to develop some kind of understanding about what this experience meant to me.

That was 5 years ago. I have continued to participate in this community. Please note: all of the members in this group are active members in their parish communities. Part of the reason this group continues to exist is that it provides an experience that most parishes do not or cannot offer. One thing I came away with from this gathering is that I am truly part of the People of God -- made in God's image with no influence of patriarchy.

We (the small community) have pushed the envelope with this liturgical experience. I share this experience as a way to introduce the enclosed survey. We need to get a sense of where people are in the liturgical experience and in their understanding. So I hope you will complete and return the survey. It is important to help us encourage the formation of homogenous small faith communities and to form a corporate identity for the larger group.

Terms of the rating scale: 1 is total discomfort (you wouldn't want to participate). 2 -3 is uncomfortable but you would participate. 4 is OK, but not totally sure. 5-6 is Go for it.

Please mail the survey to: Bea Brasher, 850 Amethyst NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Bea will be tallying up the results and the information will be shared at the February meeting and in the February or March newsletter.
[Webmaster's note: I will put a link here to the results, later.]

We have surfaced a number of folks who are, like myself, putting their time on the line to help make this effort a success. Thanks so much to those of you who have contributed articles to this newsletter Thanks so much to Mike Thull for contributing the "Meditation Center" each month. Thanks to those of you who are serving on the Steering Committee, a hopeful precursor to a Board of Directors for CTA New Mexico, Inc. Tom/Jane Baechle, Bea Brasher, Sr. Linda Chavez, and Sharon Pikula have borne the load of trying to point us in the right direction through their mission statement project on the Steering Committee. Thanks also to John/Mary Phillips, Kate Pelley, and Faye Gibson of Las Cruces, who have contributed substantially to our organizational effort.

It is my hope that we can finish our organizational work by the late Spring of 1999. If we have a sufficiently large measure of support, we will incorporate, seek recognition from the IRS as a 501(c)(3) entity, and execute a formal affiliate agreement with the National Office of Call to Action.

But in order for any of these things to be feasible, we must hear from more of you who are willing to assume a leadership role by serving on a Board of Directors for a formal organization. I would envision quarterly meetings in the beginning, with probably three in Albuquerque and one in Las Cruces. Its function would be to establish policy for activities to be carried out in the name of our organization.

Sharon Pikula has, as most of you know, been a hard working partner in this effort. In fact, she has been indispensable to me. But she has serious time limitations over the next few months. Some of you may not know, but Sharon is studying for a Master of Divinity degree run by the Adrian Dominicans out of Barry University in Miami, Florida Periodically, she has to attend 2 week stretches of classes with intensive prior preparation. Between now and March she has her hands more than full, given the fact that she is also employed full time. She takes leave time for her classes.

I need your help. Will you consider volunteering to serve on a Board of Directors for one year commencing April, 1999? If you would like to talk about it, call me during the day at (505) 894-0632, or in the evenings and on weekends at (505) 894-9870. I have thoughts on how to make this work efficiently and with a minimum of effort on any one person's part. Cm'on and call. You know that I will be calling some of you if you don't call me first. Don't forget that I know who you are already. Remember that I have letters from most of you!

Their story has appeared on Peter Jennings' ABC News and the Lehrer News Hour. Time Magazine (11/30/98) featured a spread on Mary Ramerman entitled "Not Doing as the Romans Do". Fr. Jim Callan, their canonical pastor (they recognize Jesus Christ as their actual pastor) has been stripped of priestly powers by an otherwise sympathetic bishop who is under severe pressure from the Vatican. The new canonical pastor assigned to Corpus Christi to replace Callan has forbidden the Spring Committee from functioning on and with parish property. Correspondent Rosanne Hickey, a Corpus Christi parishioner, reported to your editor recently that a gathering of Spring Committee supporters consisted of between 5000 and 7000 persons.

Pray for them. They [had] a website at www.corpus-christi-friends.org/springappeal.htm [but, sez yer Webmaster, the domain does not exist as of December 2000]. Needless to say, they have no support from the institutional church. You may send your donations to the Spring Committee, P.O. Box 20607, Rochester, NY 14602. Please make checks payable to "The Spring Committee". [This too might be obsolete by now.]

Meditation Corner -- Mike Thull

December 6 Albuquerque Gathering -- Sharon Pikula

A Brief Survey for Members -- Sharon Pikula

January 19 Las Cruces Meeting -- John Wheeler, Editor

A Few Good Persons Needed -- John Wheeler, Editor

Ratzinger Postcard -- there was one enclosed

Can't Hold Back the Spring at Corpus Christi -- John Wheeler, Editor

CTA-NM Home Page