Lenten Alert and Action - QUEST fiasco and more....

Dear Friends, As we enter the Lenten season we must not let our guard down: souls are at stake. I am including in this email Oregon Catholic Citizens research on QUEST, a program ordered by the Archdpdx to be put together just for us. This program encourages small faith communities to replace the Church and break down the relationship between the laity and true Church leadership from Rome. The cost is being investigated, this is a three year program and Disciples in Mission cost us millions. We are bankrupt and should be careful of our expenditures. The Archbishops appeal is almost upon us and we need to be mindful of where our Catholic Collection plate money goes. Also, please join with Precious Children of Portland www.pdx4life.org in blocking the building of the abortion site on MLK Blvd. The Archdpdx has hired the contractor and architect in the past and we need to stop this scandal now. The laity has this responsiblity...we cannot depend on others to do what we know is right. We will all go before the Lord sooner or later and will be accountable for our actions or lack of them. __________________________________________________________________________ From OREGON CATHOLIC CITIZENS....... What is QUEST and why is it promoted throughout the Archdiocese of Portland? What are Small Christian Communities? Excerpts from the book "Creating Small Church Communities" by Arthur R. Baranowski Pastoring the 'Pastors' The Small Church Community is really a church. Therefore, that church needs a pastor! The term carefully chosen at St. Elizabeth Seton to designate the pastoral leader of the small community is pastoral facilitator. The "PF" is often a couple, especially if the small community is mostly couples. The word facilitator in this title refers to the PF's being at the service of the other members of the group, helping them relate to each other, keeping the group true to its purpose. The critical presumption is that the Holy Spirit speaks in each person in the small community and through each person for the others. Thus the small community's PF (like the parish's pastoral staff) need not necessarily be the wisest, holiest or most articulate. The leader, in fact, works at not being the expert - the person everyone else addresses comments toward, the one giving approval. The facilitator is also not the problem-solver, not the counselor, not the teacher. Rather, the facilitator insures an environment where all members of the group can contribute to each other and where each person takes responsibility for the rest. The church always fails when only one person tries to take care of the community. The very term facilitate means to bring out the best already present in people through a process of interaction. Thus the small community's leader facilitates communication. The pastor of the Catholic Small Church Community does what the parish's canonical pastor or the bishop does: enable each person to bring his or her gifts to the entire group, help people in the church listen to each other, keep the vision of church before the members, connect this level of church to the other levels of church. READ MORE: www.catholicculture.org/library/view,cfm?id=6520&repos=1&subrepos=&searchid-172969 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call to Action board member boasted, "We are beginning to create a new church instead of fixing the old one" - and Small Christian Communities are major building blocks of this new construct of apostasy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Creating Small Church Communities: A Plan for Restructing the Parish and Renewing Catholic Life by Art Baranowski. St. Anthony Press Called to Be Church Workshop Shortly, we will be scheduling the Called to Be Church workshop for four core teams that have been in the process of basic formation for some time now. Fr. Art Baranowski will once again be on hand to conduct this workshop. Parishes whose core teams have previously done this workshop are welcome to send members who have joined their core teams since the original team participated to be a part of this workshop. Call the office for more information if interested. Source: Small Christian Communities (SCC) Quest web site: http://www.sccquest.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Further reading: Source: Catholic Culture http://www.catholicculture.org/ Compilation on Small Christian Communities Catholic Culture Staff (June 30, 2005) Description: This compilation includes links about Small Christian Communities and excerpts from the book Creating Small Church Communities by Arthur R. Baranowski. Publisher & Date: Catholic Culture, June 30, 2005 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=6520 A New Experience of the Church? Stephanie Block (Catholic World News, July 2004) Description: Stephanie Block writes about the burgeoning interest in Small Christian Communities and whether or not this is good for the Church. She traces their origin back to the Call to Action Conference held in Detroit in 1976. Larger Work: Catholic World News Publisher & Date: Catholic World News, July 2004 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=6519 What to Think of 'Small Faith Communities' James Likoudis (CUF NEWS, May/June/July 1996) Description: James Likoudis discusses the pros and cons of "Small Faith Communities". He says there is nothing wrong with gatherings of Catholics who meet in small groups regularly, ostensibly to study the truths of the Catholic Faith, to deepen their spiritual life, or to engage in the Church's mission for social justice. The problem is that in the United States they have developed a different agenda focusing on the leftest-liberal struggle for "social justice". Larger Work: CUF NEWS Publisher & Date: Catholics United for the Faith, May/June/July 1996 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=6590 Liberationism for North America Stephanie Block (Forum Focus, Spring 2002) Description: Liberation Theology was addressed and denounced by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in its 1984 Instruction on Certain Aspects of the "Theology of Liberation". The Instruction insists that while the "issues provoking liberationism are genuine," the expanding theological movement is "a perversion of the Christian message as God entrusted it to His Church" (IX.1). In this 2002 commentary Stephanie Block examines the Marxist roots of liberation theology and exposes some of the most significant and influential organizations which share the liberationist philosophy. Larger Work: Forum Focus Pages: 4 – 22 Publisher & Date: Wanderer Forum Foundation, Inc., Hudson, WI, Spring 2002 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=7756 Structures For a New Church Model Stephanie Block (The Wanderer, August 17 2000) Description: In this article, Stephanie Block writes, "Truth by consensus, see-judge-act methodology to achieve that "truth," small base communities, conscientization, and faith-based Alinskyian organizing are the five pillars on which a new "model of church" (to use the terminology of a prior Encuentro document) is being built. These elements, while not blatantly designed into the Encuentro 2000 Conference, were nevertheless a very real part of its activities, as evidenced by at least one speaker, one sponsoring organization, by the documents of the past Encuentros, and by a number of Encuentro workshops, providing a clue as to what has deeply disturbed conference critics, namely that the laudable conference goal of ethnic harmony -- at least within the Church herself -- will be swallowed by a darker goal, the destruction of the essential elements that are Catholicism. Larger Work: The Wanderer Publisher & Date: The Wanderer Printing Company, August 17, 2000 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=3127 The Underground Call to Action Stephanie Block (Forum Focus., Winter 1999) Description: An analysis of Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) activities relative to Call to Action initiatives. Larger Work: Forum Focus Pages: 7 -16 Publisher & Date: Wanderer Forum Foundation, Inc., Winter 1999 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?recnum=1318 A Commentary on the Industrial Areas Foundation Unknown (Forum Focus, December 1998) Descriptive Title: The Industrial Areas Foundation Description: This commentary was prepared in response to proposed changes in the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) guidelines. It provides information about the Industrial Areas Foundation, which receives the largest percentage of CHD grants of any CHD grantee Larger Work: Forum Focus Pages: 7-21 Publisher & Date: The Wanderer Forum Foundation, Inc., December 1998 http://www.catholicculture.org/library/view.cfm?id=2885 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" (Mt 4 :1-4) ********************************************************************************************************* ********************************************************************************************************* FROM BILL DISS AND PRECIOUS CHILDREN OF PORTLAND www.pdx4life.com 40 Days For Life February 6th - March 16th YOU can help save lives! This spring, from February 6 - March 16, our community will be one of 59 cities in 31 states joining together for one of the largest simultaneous pro-life mobilizations in history -- the national 40 Days for Life campaign. 40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life effort that consists of: 40 days of prayer and fasting 40 days of peaceful vigil 40 days of community outreach We are praying that, with God's help, this groundbreaking effort will mark the beginning of the end of abortion in our city and throughout America. Take a stand for life While all aspects of 40 Days for Life are crucial in our effort to end abortion, the most visible component is the peaceful prayer vigil Vigil Information for Portland: We would love to have you at these locations at any of the times listed or find a friend or two and come at other times. Please stop by for just 20 minutes if you cannot stay an hour; your presence will make a difference! Drive by and honk for life and give us a thumbs UP. Day of Week Location Times Sundays NE Beech and MLK 12:30pm – 4:30pm Tuesdays 15th and NE Fremont 4:00pm – 5:30pm Wednesdays SE 50th, 3 blocks N. of Powell 8am – 7:00pm Thursdays NE Beech and MLK 4:00pm – 5:30pm Fridays NE Beech and MLK 4:00pm – 5:30pm Fridays Beaverton: 12220 SW 1st St by Post Office 9:00am – 7:00pm Saturdays NW 25th and Lovejoy 9:00am – 2:00pm The Wednesday site is particular important because that is the current headquarters and main prenatal killing center for Planned Parenthood. If you have questions on vigil times or locations contact or need signs contact: Portland: 503-309-0280 or 503-334-6183 Beaverton: 503-430-7087 Salem: 503-569-4794 McMinnville: 503-434-6789 Outreach Information: Please write and call the following that all have some part in building the huge new Planned Parenthood prenatal killing center on MLK Blvd. City Officials who own and control the land sale. Mayor Tom Potter 1221 SW Fourth Avenue Portland, OR 97204 503-823-4120 Commissioner Mark Rosenbaum 1675 SW Marlow Avenue, Ste. 401 Portland OR 97225 (503) 352-1300 Commissioner Charles Wilhoite 9655 NW Marvin Ln Portland, OR 97229-9168 (503) 203-8469 Beech St. Developers (People who will buy land for Planned Parenthood) James Adamson 2044 E Burnside, Ste. C Portland OR 97214 801-558-7704 Timothy Ray 2814 NE 40th Ave. Portland, OR 97212 503-249-0134 Brett Anderson 2525 N Sumner Portland, OR 97217 503-519-5210 Architect for the abortion center Ankrom Moisan Architects 6720 SW Macadam Ave. Portland, OR 97219 (503) 245-7100 Proposed Contractors: Bob Walsh 4240 SW Fairview Blvd. Portland, OR 97221 503-228-5912 Al Beyer 2905 SW First Ave. Portland OR 97201 503-849-7168 Please tell these people: "I urge you to not have any thing to do with Planned Parenthood and their plans to build the prenatal killing center on MLK Blvd." Please contact us at 40DaysPDX@gmail.com or call 503-309-0280 to learn more, to sign up for specific hours, or to let us know how you feel called to serve God in this effort. See www.40DaysForLife.com. ********************************************************************************************************* ********************************************************************************************************* Things to learn and never forget: CALL to ACTION - group who conducts anti-Catholic events "woman ordination" etc., and is connected with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. LIBERATION THEOLOGY - condemned by the Church. It directs true Justice and Peace due Christ and replaces focus on starting groups that build economic base to replace church. Used freely in our Office of Justice and Peace and new director focus as proved by events and advertising on Archdpdx website for Ecumenical ministries of Oregon events. Do what you can this Lent. Even a well placed prayer can move mountains. God Bless you and yours, Carolyn www.vocalnews.org 503-769-4767 Member of Catholic Media Coalition - " In line with the Church, on-line with the World."