The Steering Committee met in Albuquerque on January 10 and completed a draft of the mission statement suitable for discussions at subsequent membership meetings. The Southern N.M. group met in Las Cruces January 18. There will be a general meeting in Albuquerque on February 21. Sharon Pikula shares some interesting information gained from her Doctor of Ministry program. Mike Thull shares some thoughts on understanding Jesus' law of love. The editor gives a report on communications and provides a financial report. The editor closes with a description and estimated timetable for incorporation, tax steps, and official recognition by the National Office of Call to Action.
CTA New Mexico is an affiliate of Call to Action, a national non profit organization composed of Catholic laity, religious, and clergy. We embrace the values and principles of the national organization, which are grounded in the Second Vatican Council. We operate in an egalitarian manner, respectful of divergent points of view. As an inclusive community, we nurture and support one another, aware of our need to deepen our spirituality. We reclaim our responsibility to be church by being open to renewal, by identifying injustices, and by responding to the 'signs of the times'."
The foregoing will be open to discussion by everyone at the general membership meeting in February.
The Call to Action News article went on to quote Fiorenza's elaboration on egalitarianism as applied to the Roman Catholic Church and its so-called laity. "Never call you selves 'lay' ('laicos' in Greek, meaning subordinate to the clergy)," she said. "We are the People of God, not second-class citizens. We hold the power of the people. If we refuse to consent o dominative teachings, the Vatican loses its power of control.
Some of us, including the Editor, looked askance at the use of this strange "big" word. However, an examination of the Thesaurus was no help. It has no synonym, simple or otherwise.
Readers of CTA New Mexico may wish to reflect on these thoughts of egalitarianism as they ponder the significance of the use of this concept in the Steering Committee's proposed mission statement.
We will socialize for about 15 minutes, begin with a prayer, then view a video entitled "Genesis of the Heart", the lead program of the "Inside the Vatican" series. The video focuses on St. John XXIII, who had the kind of empathetic heart which most of us feel all pastors and bishops should have. It not only speaks lovingly of the beautiful personality of Angelo Roncalli, but describes the social climate within which he called the Second Vatican Council. This will be followed by a discussion on the differences between then and now. Finally, we will discuss the mission statement (see discussion elsewhere in this issue). Assuming sufficient consensus (and time permitting), we will move on to some brainstorming on appropriate Goals and Objectives. This will assist the Steering Committee when it meets again in March to continue its organizing work.
Thereafter, and following introductions, the group followed a prepared agenda which consisted of a reflection on Dr. King's life, a report on the work of the Steering Committee, recruitment activity, Silver City potential, availability of promotional literature, identification of social justice projects, report on the national CTA conference, implications for CTA growing out of Las Cruces Cathedral difficulties, and more.
Several members of the group will assemble again on February 7 at 5:30 p.m. at the home of Paul Mitchell and Genevieve Chavez, 700 Watson Lane, Las Cruces, for an informal home liturgy in the spirit of the early Christians.
The group is planning another general meeting on March 13, 1999, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the home of Janis McNamara, 1450 Avenida de Mesilla, #076, Las Cruces. A pot luck lunch will be shared.
I have been reading an article by Edward Schillebeeckx on "The Changing Concept of Ministry" (from roughly 7th century to 14th century). Sounds like a good article for insomnia. In fact, I thought a lot about our current Church as I read this article. My incorrect impression was that in the 7th to 14th century the Church ruled with consistent and absolute authority. I was pleasantly surprised. The gist of this article was to show how ministry did evolve based on economic, societal, and pastoral situations. Rulings just did not get handed down from Rome. It was quite the contrary. I have three examples.
Married Priesthood flourished for many years until roughly the 13th-14th century. But an interesting piece of trivia is the year 1010. Evidently the people thought that priests should be celibate (following the monastic movement that had been developing). One local bishop (Burchard of Worms -- in the area of present-day Germany) was insistent married priesthood was OK. He actually married priests. Our current hierarchy could take a few lessons from this period.
Priesthood of the Laity: This is definitely not a new fad. In the 12th century the laity was trying to be more involved in the Church by having a bible in the vernacular and by preaching. There were compromises but in a decree called Decretum Gratiani there is a provision for the laity to preach if a priest is not available, and if they are available they must receive permission. So this controversy has a long history.
Married Religious: Some of the Knights that were part of the Crusades belonged to religious communities and were married when they returned from the Crusades. Pope Alexander III made provisions to allow the religious to remain married.
Finally, there were the Cathers. Now we don't know much about this organization but they (according to the Church) were a heretical group that tried to reform the Church structures and worked for the equality of both men and woman -- does this sound familiar? My point in sharing this is that our Church has tried to respond to the pastoral needs of the People of God. Sometimes it has done well and other times it has been rotten to say the least. But no matter what century, when injustices are present, the People of God continue to find ways to be part of the Church where their spiritual lives are fed and they truly try to lead lives that are Christ-like. Our Church is not a stagnant institution with books of rules and regulations. Rather it is a journey -- where we as a community of believers try to find our way into the loving arms of God our Creator.
This is one of numerous phrases in the Scriptures that mean essentially the same thing, regardless of the process of interpretation.
While a significant part of the Scriptures can be interpreted to mean "fundamentally" what they say. there is a larger part of the Scriptures that needs to be interpreted scholastically and "en contexto" -- a particular phrase needs to be interpreted i the context of the sentence ahead of it and the sentence behind it, and the paragraph ahead of it and the paragraph behind it. In addition, it needs to be interpreted in the context of the "sitz im leben" -- the life and world situation in which it is written.
That having been said, let me give an example. A lot of people who wear religion on their sleeves like to talk the ten commandments. The fact of the matter is that the ten commandments are only a small part of the rules and regulations of the Mosaic law, which takes up several pages in Exodus, chapters 20 to 24. All of the stipulations are to be read as equally important. For instance, Exodus 22:15: "If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and sleeps with her, ... he must make her his wife." And 22:17-18: "You shall not allow a sorceress to live. Anyone who has intercourse with an animal must die." These, along with the rules of four other chapters, are no less important than their companion "ten commandments" in the Mosaic law. That was the times for which they were written.
Centuries later the Jewish rabbi Jesus came (in his words) "not to do away with the Mosaic law, but to fulfill the law." The Mosaic law is fulfilled by the new commandment, of which Jesus spoke when he said, "I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another." (John 13:34) In practice in the Christian context, the new commandment of love overrides (fulfills) the rules, regulations, and ten commandments of the Mosaic law.
It takes a scholastic and in-contextual interpretation (of which this is merely a skeletal overview) to show the dynamics leading up to the unveiling of the new commandment of love. But whether interpreted "fundamentally" or "scholastically and in context", the new commandment means the same: love Him, one another, and ourselves. Yes, the ten commandments are important, but not as important as the commandment of love.
Your editor thought it would be well to inform you of total financial support for the ten month period ending 12/31/99: We have received $855 from 37 individuals. Seven exceptionally kind people have given $50 or more apiece, some in multiple gifts. The remaining thirty have given $2 or more at various times. One sent a single postage stamp (gratefully accepted). The median gift has been $10 to $15. At the end of the year we had $202 on hand. This has diminished somewhat since then. Monthly costs include paper and envelopes (mainly provided by the editor), postage, and in recent months, the cost of duplication at a local stationery store. Thank you one and all!
While the incorporation process is going forward, we will need to continue discussing appropriate goals and objectives necessary to carry out our mission statement. These discussions will be carried forward by the Steering Committee and its successor, the initial BOD.
Next, we must file a Form 1023 with the Internal Revenue Service [Application for recognition as a tax-exempt entity under 501(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code]. Approval of this by the IRS will enable us to solicit contributions which will be tax deductible to the donor. Paul Mitchell CPA has graciously offered to assist us in this process (after tax season closes!).
Finally, we must apply for recognition with the National Office of Call to Action in Chicago for recognition as a regional affiliate.
So ... it is beginning to look like we are making it happen, folks!
Interesting Information from the Doctor of Ministry Program -- Sharon Pikula
Meditation Corner-- Mike Thull
Correspondence, Contributions, and Financial Report -- Editor and Self-Appointed Treasurer
Future Organizational and Legal Steps for CTA New Mexico