Upcoming events.
Landing strip or Launching Pad? Australian and Canadian perspectives on the historic nature of the Synod on Synodality
The Synod on Synodality is the most consequential event in the Catholic Church since Vatican II-and maybe ever! Yet not necessarily consequential in the ways people expected. If we were expecting big doctrinal or canonical changes by October 2024, that didn’t happen. But maybe what did happen is much more revolutionary. For the three years between 2021 and 2024, Concerned Lay Catholics followed events unfolding in Australia with interest and curiosity about the amazing reform movements that were coalescing in that country. Who were they? What prompted their formation and what enabled them to build a momentum that resulted in some stunning turns of events? And now that the formal Synod has concluded, what’s next for Australia and what might we in Canada learn from our Australian brothers and sisters. Please join us for a lively and spirit-filled conversation with Michael Gill and Patricia Gemmell as they unpack the synod in Australia, and we compare and contrast with Canada’s experience.
Presenters
Patricia Gemmell
Patricia is a wife, mother and grandmother, and semi-retired teacher of French, Latin and Italian. She holds a Master’s degree in theology. She belongs to the Grail, an international movement and community of women, and recently served 8 years on their National Leadership Team. An active member of her parish community in Sydney for nearly 40 years, she is currently the co-ordinator of their Laudato Si’ Action Platform group. Caring deeply about church reform she has been fully engaged in both the Australian Plenary Council and the Synod on Synodality and is also one of the working team responsible for Australian Women Preach, a weekly podcast of a woman preaching on the Sunday gospel. She also belongs to the World Community for Christian Meditation.
Michael Gill
Michael Gill is a brilliant and provocative voice in the Synodal project! As a member of the Jesuit parish Our Lady of the Way (could it be more synodal?) in the Archdiocese of Sydney, Michael is active in Social Justice, Church Reform and Ecology issues. During the COVID lockdown, Michael, demonstrating the power of lay leadership, started writing and circulating, Bits and Pieces, a weekly compilation of church news from Australia and around the world. Initially for his Kirribilli Community, the newsletter made it all the way to Concerned Lay Catholics in Canada where we found kindred souls. His grasp of the breadth and depth of synodality and its implications for our church and our world, is truly remarkable and illustrates once again, why the church needs the laity! Michael’s birth certificate says he is 77 years old; a retired lawyer, widower with three children and seven grandchildren.
Meet the Author - Michael Higgins
CLC - Books and Authors Series Presents:
The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis by Michael Higgins
Gary Warner, CLC Chair will chat with Michael Higgins about his impressions of this pope and his papacy as detailed in his latest book, ‘The Jesuit Disruptor: A Personal Portrait of Pope Francis’ (House of Anansi, Sept. 2024). On the eve of the second session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality to take place in October, this conversation promises to be both informative and inspiring.
Indigenous & Catholic Ecosystems: A Path to Reconciliation
Fall Webinar
Saturday, September 14, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. AT, 11 a.m. PT
Join us as we celebrate National Truth and Reconciliation Day and the Ecumenical Season of Creation by hosting a dynamic discussion about the intersection between Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and the writings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ - On Care for our Common Home. With input from Indigenous and Catholic leaders, and moderated by Agnes Richard of MLSM - Canada, we will explore connections and reciprocity between faith communities and Indigenous Peoples and, relying on Indigenous teachings and those of Pope Francis on caring for Mother Earth, practical ways which communities of faith might work towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Pride Panel Discussion
Join us Sunday, June 16 at 3pm EDT (12pm PDT) in this pride chat with Fr. Jarek Pachocki and CLC's Mark Guevarra. They'll be chatting about recent Vatican teachings on LGBTQ+ issues.
Cosmogenesis - with Sr Margo Ritchie Congregational Leader Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
What is the dialogue between the very real crises that we wake up to each morning and that call for our attention and intention AND the perspective that tells us that as we wake up each morning, we carry within our bodies a 14-billion-year history?
Nurturing Synodality - Sharing our perspectives with Synod Delegate Sr. Elizabeth Davis
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Nurturing Synodality - Nicholas Jesson, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Regina ‘Synod on Synodality from an Ecumenical Perspective’
Nicholas Jesson
Nicholas Jesson, a Roman Catholic theologian, has been an ecumenical leader in Saskatchewan for nearly 30 years, now serving as ecumenical officer in Regina and formerly in Saskatoon. He is a former executive director of the Prairie Centre for Ecumenism. He is a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in Canada, a member of the Commission on Faith & Witness of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC), and a former member of the Roman Catholic-United Church Dialogue. Nick is Synod Coordinator for the Archdiocese of Regina.
Married to the Rev. Amanda Currie, a Presbyterian minister, Nick has been actively involved with an international network of Interchurch Families and continues to champion the contributions that these families offer to the churches and the work of Christian unity.
Nick is editor of the website "Ecumenism in Canada" and dialogue archivist for both the international Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue and the Margaret O'Gara Ecumenical Dialogue Collection, a website of the Canadian Council of Churches.
About this Series - Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Future Topics include:
May 5 -TBD
Nurturing Synodality - Catholic Network for Women's Equality: Voices Rising for Reform
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Future Topics include:
April 7– Nicholas Jesson, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Regina-Synod on Synodality from an Ecumenical Perspective
May 5 -TBD
Nurturing Synodality - Fr. Bill Burke ‘Why We Need a Synod in Canada’
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Future Topics include:
March 3-Mary Ellen Chown on Synodality and the Global Movement for Women’s Equality
April 7– Nicholas Jesson, Ecumenical Officer for the Archdiocese of Regina-Synod on Synodality from an Ecumenical Perspective
May 5 -TBD
Slavery, Catholicism, and Lessons for Today
Is it really true that people “didn’t know slavery was wrong back then”? Did the Catholic Church teach against slaveholding, or for it? In this presentation, Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, will explain the basics of the Catholic Church’s historical involvement with slaveholding and the Atlantic slave trade, drawing lessons from this history for the life of the contemporary Church.
Christopher J. Kellerman, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and author of All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church. He serves as Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
Support CLC in bringing you more excellent speakers on topics of interest to Canadian Catholics.
Nurturing Synodality- Series
January 7
On the Way to Here - The Personal Spiritual Dimensions of Synodality with Phil and Margaret Small
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Nurturing Synodality- Series
December 3
Synodality and Preaching in the Parish - Richard Shields
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Nurturing Synodality- Series
November 5
Reflections on our time in Rome - with Cathie Pead, Christine Way Skinner and Mark Guevarra
Each month, Concerned Lay Catholics invites you to join in conversation about some aspect of synodality and its implications for our life in the church. A different resource person or panel will get us started each month. Then we will all have an opportunity to share in the spirit of synodality.
Synodality: Ancient Traditions, New Ways of Proceeding with Dr. Catherine Clifford
Please join us for Concerned Lay Catholics Fall Keynote presentation:
Synodality: Ancient Traditions and New Ways of Proceeding with Dr. Catherine Clifford
Saturday September 23rd at 2 p.m. on Zoom
Mark the start of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod. Join us to learn the place of synodality in the life of the Church from its earliest days up until Vatican II and beyond. Professor Catherine Clifford of Saint Paul University in Ottawa has been invited to participate in the Synod on Synodality as a voting member. Catherine E Clifford is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. Her research interests and publications are focused primarily in the areas of ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the history of the Second Vatican Council, with a particular emphasis on the conversion and renewal of the churches, the development of doctrine, and the unity and diversity of Christian communions within the world Christian movement.
Webinar is free. Your donation over $10 to help us cover costs will receive a charitable tax receipt.
Walking with Survivors
First Friday Fellowship will gather on the First Friday of each month. It is designed to allow survivors and ordinary lay Catholics to listen to one another and to share the ways their faith has changed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in our Church. Each session will be co-facilitated by a survivor and a CLC member. We will focus on a different theme each month and invite resource people to assist as appropriate for the topic.
Our first meeting on November 4 will provide an opportunity to get to know one another before we start
learn more about Concerned Lay Catholics and our survivor partners
seek participants’ input on the topics to be covered
review the guidelines for participation so you can be sure this experience is right for you
attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required
“The Church and Truth and Reconciliation - Challenges, Learnings, Opportunities to advance Reconciliation.”
How has the Church responded to the TRC’s final report and Calls to Action and to the Pope’s visit? The panel will reflect on the challenges of reconciliation – the aftereffects of the Doctrine of Discovery and of Canada’s assimilation policies on Indigenous peoples, ongoing obstacles to reconciliation as well as opportunities to advance it. What concrete evidence will demonstrate what healing actually looks like in practice and what is/should be the Church’s role in advancing healing? What lessons can we draw that will guide the Church’s actions on the path to truth and effective reconciliation.
Presenters:
Fr. Daryold Corbiere Winkler serves as Pastor of St. Basil’s Parish and assists in the Kateri Native Ministry in Ottawa. An Ojibway, and second-generation survivor of the Indian Day School and Residential School system, he believes the way forward for the Church, after the rescinding of The Doctrine of Discovery and the Papal apology, is to respond actively to the calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
Peter Bisson, S.J., is a Jesuit priest in the Canadian Jesuit province. Based in Ottawa, he currently serves as the assistant to the Jesuit provincial for justice, ecology and Indigenous relations. He also participates in Kateri Native Ministry in Ottawa. From 2009 – 2015 he represented the Jesuits at meetings of the parties to the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
With contributions from Donna Naughton, Executive Director of the Kateri Ministry in Ottawa.
Walking with Survivors
First Friday Fellowship will gather on the First Friday of each month. It is designed to allow survivors and ordinary lay Catholics to listen to one another and to share the ways their faith has changed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in our Church. Each session will be co-facilitated by a survivor and a CLC member. We will focus on a different theme each month and invite resource people to assist as appropriate for the topic.
Our first meeting on November 4 will provide an opportunity to get to know one another before we start
learn more about Concerned Lay Catholics and our survivor partners
seek participants’ input on the topics to be covered
review the guidelines for participation so you can be sure this experience is right for you
attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required
Aging Issues: Listening to Indigenous Voices
Concerned Lay Catholics and Hamilton Aging in Community join forces with Indigenous elders on Saturday April 22 to reflect on Indigenous approaches to aging.
Walking with Survivors
First Friday Fellowship will gather on the First Friday of each month. It is designed to allow survivors and ordinary lay Catholics to listen to one another and to share the ways their faith has changed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in our Church. Each session will be co-facilitated by a survivor and a CLC member. We will focus on a different theme each month and invite resource people to assist as appropriate for the topic.
Our first meeting on November 4 will provide an opportunity to get to know one another before we start
learn more about Concerned Lay Catholics and our survivor partners
seek participants’ input on the topics to be covered
review the guidelines for participation so you can be sure this experience is right for you
attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required
Can Women Heal the Fractured Catholic Church?
Can Women Heal the Fractured Catholic Church? with Rosemary Ganley
Walking with Survivors
First Friday Fellowship will gather on the First Friday of each month. It is designed to allow survivors and ordinary lay Catholics to listen to one another and to share the ways their faith has changed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in our Church. Each session will be co-facilitated by a survivor and a CLC member. We will focus on a different theme each month and invite resource people to assist as appropriate for the topic.
Our first meeting on November 4 will provide an opportunity to get to know one another before we start
learn more about Concerned Lay Catholics and our survivor partners
seek participants’ input on the topics to be covered
review the guidelines for participation so you can be sure this experience is right for you
attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required
Walking with Survivors
First Friday Fellowship will gather on the First Friday of each month. It is designed to allow survivors and ordinary lay Catholics to listen to one another and to share the ways their faith has changed as a result of the sexual abuse crisis in our Church. Each session will be co-facilitated by a survivor and a CLC member. We will focus on a different theme each month and invite resource people to assist as appropriate for the topic.
Our first meeting on November 4 will provide an opportunity to get to know one another before we start
learn more about Concerned Lay Catholics and our survivor partners
seek participants’ input on the topics to be covered
review the guidelines for participation so you can be sure this experience is right for you
attendance at all sessions is encouraged but not required
Can Concerned Catholics Repair the Church? Dr. Tom Urbaniak
Dr. Tom Urbaniak presents Can Concerned Catholics Repair the Church? Faith, Governance, and Accountability.