Contolling Collection Plate Money - A Question of Competency

Dear Friends, You be the judge of the competency of the leadership in the Office of Justice and Peace. After all this office controls a large budget and determines the distribution of funds from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. Here are notes of what's going on behind closed doors. Remember that the Pro-life Office has no budget and Cat Willett is controlling a budget of $90,000 from the Archbishop's annual appeal (3% of the 3.3 million) besides her own salary and benefits and retirement and health insurance and perks. Notice that David Carrier's name is offered as a speaker. A question: "Is he still being paid by Catholic money?" It seems that David has carved out a new occupation in debt relief etc. The Office of Justice and Peace opens doors into the land of job opportunities, even if it seems that the Office of Justice and Peace was left in a mess. There seems to be no oversight and the only way this could continue is by OUR CATHOLIC COLLECTION PLATE MONEY that keeps ROLLING IN. Are we truly just useful idiots? Are the by laws of the Office of Justice and Peace being followed? We aren't privvy to who's on the Board, who's on the Board that determines CCHD monies to see if there aren't any CONFLICTS OF INTEREST that could undermine Catholic Teaching. We SHOULD be allowed to see this, but are turned away by Mary Jo Tully. It's our money and we are responsible to be good stewards. Father Elwin Schwab, who is mentioned below as a possible consultant, is down in Roseburg with Father Juniper Schneider a member of the Justice and Peace Board. Prudent judgements might come into question with Father Schwab on board.... Portland, Oregon, October 28, 2002 (THE OREGONIAN, Excerpted - Archbishop John Vlazny has reassigned a Catholic priest who resigned as pastor of his Forest Grove parish after blessing the relationship between a married couple and a single woman who were later convicted of sex crimes. The three adults whose relationship the Rev. Elwin Schwab blessed in January 2001 -- Kimberly Ann Tasa-Ralph, Howell William Marsh and Bonny Marie Marsh -- pleaded guilty in July to sex crimes involving two teenage girls and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 20 years. The Rev. Elwin Schwab will be assistant pastor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Roseburg, said Bud Bunce, a spokesman for Vlazny and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland. Bunce said the move was not a demotion, simply a change of assignment. BELOW - FYI - The Justice and Peace Commission Notes, Plus Homework! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From cwillett@archdpdx.org Here are the notes from the September and October bylaws. As you can see, we're a little dormant as we're working on a long-term strategic planning process. Part of that, which we are going to review in November, is individual members answers to these questions...I would LOVE your thoughts on these questions. If you could get them in by the 12th or so, that'd be great! Here are the homework questions: 1 - Why does the Justice and Peace Commission exists? 2 - What do we hope to accomplish? 3 - What are the values that guide us while we do that? Thanks!!! Cat Thank you for your support of Catholic social justice in Oregon! Cat Willett Office of Justice and Peace Campaign for Human Development Archdiocese of Portland 2838 E. Burnside St. Portland, OR 97214 503-233-8361 justiceandpeace@archdpdx.org www.archdpdx.org/justice_and_peace Subject: Justice and Peace Commission: October 8th Meeting Notes Dear Justice and Peace Commission, Here are the notes (pretty much) for the October 8th Justice and Peace Commission. As always, please let me know if I have missed anything. October 8 Meeting Notes: Present: Fr. Juniper, Fr. Pat, Anne, Cat, Claire, Eileen, Jim, Judy Absent: Art, Brooke, Cyreena, Jean, Sr. Lucinda, Sr. Pat (and other potential J&P members from the newest list) Next Meeting: Nov. 12 or Nov. 19 (please let Cat know if you are able to meet on Nov. 12th, Veteran's Day. If not, we will meet on the 19th.) J&P Commission Membership Issues We actually started this conversation at the last meeting. Cat spoke with Mary Jo and all those people who sent in application forms and have been attending meetings are now approved members of the board. The board talked about the need to clarify board list and also expectations of board members. However, with all Cat's confusion with the J&P contact lists, we still have members (and potential members) who have not submitted paperwork. We will continue to talk about how to approve these members and handle the paperwork issue. Also, Cat mentioned that David pointed her to the most recent J&P Commission list, which has even more new people on it. The board agreed that these members need to be contacted and asked what role they would like to have in the J&P commission. We also talked about whether or not we need to require that board members be affiliated with a particular faith community, especially if we decide to focus mainly on parish outreach and education (for which there seemed to be unanimous interest). At one point, Fr. Juniper wondered if Cat (or whoever is in the office) should start completely over with a new board. No further discussion was added to this topic, and it appeared to warrant further discussion when all active commission members were present. There was also some concern about the missing board member job description in the old Justice and Peace Commission bylaws. This was noted by Eileen. Both Cat and Jim tried to track down this information before the meeting, but were unsuccessful. This conversation led to a general discussion of the importance and binding nature of the bylaws. Eileen felt that the bylaws were necessary, even in an edited state. Fr. Juniper felt that the bylaws were less important for the group, and that the main focus should be clarifying mission and purpose issues, which the strategic planning process will address. Action Item: - Cat will email board members on the new list from David, and ascertain their interest level in the board and the board's strategic planning process. (Done 10/12/07) -The board will continue to think of how to handle new members (or rejoining members with no paperwork), and what, if anything, should be the requirements for new board members. Strategic Plan Update Cat did not have time to meet with Sarah before this month's meeting, so the update was brief. Cat presented the idea of doing a join strategic planning discussion with the CCHD folks. However, it would present some logistical issues. Jim asked what the potential benefits would be. Cat explained that it might streamline communication and help CCHD address burn-out issues by creating allies. However, a social holiday event might do the same thing. Cat will look into that and present more info. Cat and Sarah put together homework questions to be emailed to the board. These questions center around missions and values, and will be compiled for review before the next meeting. Action Items: -Cat will email Strategic Planning homework to board (done Oct. 12) -Cat will look into planning a joint CCHD/J&P holiday party Executive Director's Report Cat gave an update on what the office has been working on. In October, she visited several parish justice and peace groups to offer resources. The day after the meeting she was headed to Grants Pass to do an educational presentation. She's also been working on soliciting grant applications and some basic office organizing. Cat also echoed the request she made via email for volunteers to help with events and advocacy efforts that the office is involved in. Eileen agreed to participate via email, and Claire agreed to help during the meeting. Other people expressed willingness as their schedules permitted. Action Items: -Cat will continue to update commission on the needs and opportunities of the Justice and Peace Office, as well as continue to do a monthly Executive Director's Report. Short-term Goals Cat explained that she and Jim hoped to find ways for Commission members to stay involved during the lengthier strategic planning process by working on short-term, achievable projects during this time. Jim asked if people felt that helping out the office was enough or should we focus on other things. The two biggest themes of this discussion were various aspects of parish education/support for justice-and-peace parishoners and immigration. Judy asked if writing up the discernment process Downtown Chapel is doing around New Sanctuary might be helpful. Claire mentioned doing a feasability study of how to get a justice and peace focus in religious education. Fr. Juniper mentioned that Fr. Elwin Schwab does a great history of the Oregon Catholic Church, especially the social justice aspects. We talked about trying to approach the Archbishop to do a video on immigration as NOT a political issue, but a moral issue. Cat talked about the various people who have approached the office interested in immigration and how we might partner with them for either an event or an advocacy action. It seems like we are well on our way to identifying short-term goals. Action Items: -Commission Members will brainstorm activities around immigration and parish education, and be willing to discuss short-term goals further next meeting. Upcoming Events from Office and Individual Members Cat continues to yammer on about the upcoming Tobin Lecture (November 10th-be there or be square!) - Claire and Judy have seen Siovhan speak and told the group how great she was. -Judy mentioned that Downtown Chapel will be doing a piece at the EMO Collins Lecture morning workshop piece on October 18 -Eileen mentioned the work she was doing with Oregon CURE to plan their annual meeting, including getting Rachel Hardesty to speak on October 14 These are the notes - please correct or add anything I may have missed! Peace, Cat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Justice and Peace Commission September 17th Notes (Requested Bylaws Attached) Dear Justice and Peace Commission, Attached please find the original bylaws for the Justice and Peace Commission. Several commission members expressed an interest at looking at these bylaws, during our conversation about the strategic planning process. Let me know if you would have problems opening the document. Now, without further adieu, here are the notes (if anyone present at the meeting would like to add or amend certain sections, please reply-all with corrections): September 17th, 2007 Justice and Peace Commission Meeting Notes: Present: Jean Eilers, Fr. Juniper Schneider, Sarah Gregory, Sr. Lucinda Peightal, Brooke Anderson, Judy Kittel, Eileen Kennedy, Jim Scherzinger, Ann Stephenson, Claire Burt, Fr. Pat Donoghue Next Meeting: October 9th, 2007 (please see Strategic Planning action items for more information on attendance at October's meeting) Introduction/Welcome -Everyone introduces themselves and told the group what their main social ministry was Updates on last year's plans and actions -Several commission members mentioned the success and importance of continuing outreach to parishes around the state, to ensure that the diocese is informed about the commission's work and has a personal connection with us. The phone tree is an important tool, but questions came up around whether it is the best way to communicate with parishes. Regardless, the commitment to working with parishes enjoyed a majority of support as a project that should be continued into the next year. -Sr. Lucinda was pleased with the Global Solidarity Day held at the UP campus, although there were some problems, according to other members, with communication and publicity for the event. There was also some initial confusion over whether we were speaking of the Peace Together retreat or Global Solidarity Day, but positive things were said about both events. Cat mentioned that there is no specific funding to continue the Peace Together retreat in the office's budget, but money can be taken from the general retreat budget if there is particular enthusiasm for this event. Action Item: *Cat will do more information sharing with the group about planning for upcoming events -Jim Scherzinger brought up the commitment of the commission to five of the issues identified as faith issues by the USCCB. He and other members of the commission reported positively about the need to do parish outreach and evangelization, and that these 5 issues offered a really directed energy for parish relations. -Claire Burt really liked the public work the Office of Justice and Peace did with EMO, Roundtable of People of Faith for Peace, and other interfaith programs. Some people agreed that it was unclear how much of that was David's personal interest in the issue, and whether those relationships would continue. -Brooke mentioned the work that Jubilee Oregon is doing as a prime example of interfaith work, and then passed out a letter from the US Bishops supporting Jubilee legislation. David is currently doing workshops for churches on debt relief and global poverty issues, and is available to do these talks at other issues. -Brooke, Sr. Lucinda and Jim both brought up whether we ought to look at changing the five issues we focus on, or recommitting to them. This segued into our conversation on strategic planning. Strategic Planning -Sarah and Cat began by giving a small talk on the definition of strategic plan, and the decision to do the strategic planning in small sections during the monthly Justice and Peace commission meetings, and continuing with a weekend retreat, probably in January. Action Item: *Cat and Sarah will meet to decide the areas of emphasis for the October, November, and December meetings, and Cat will send this information to the group. -Fr. Juniper brought up the idea that, for this process to succeed, the membership of the Justice and Peace commission needs to stabilize. A majority of people agreed that membership needs to be more structured. Cat mentioned that, at least until we get a chance to talk about it at the retreat, Justice and Peace meetings will be monthly, and people who attend will have to be interested in doing the specified parts of the strategic planning process. Action Item: *Current Justice and Peace Commission members are asked to look at their interest and available time, and spend some time discerning whether they will be able and willing to meet monthly and work to define the mission, goals, and vision of the Justice and Peace Commission. Anyone who is not able to take part in this process can email Cat for alternate ways to remain involved in the work of the Office of Justice and Peace. *Cat will send a copy of bylaws (attached), so commissioners have some idea of the original purpose of the commission. -Sarah mentioned the importance of doing this work in smaller steps, and also the importance not skipping steps along the way. Action Item: *Sarah and Cat will make available the PowerPoint Sarah presented at the April J&P commission meeting, and can also answer specific questions people have about the strategic planning process. -Jim filled us in on the history of the commission. It used to be purely advisory, but has become more action-oriented, but also more undefined. Sarah agreed, based on what she saw at the April meeting, and stressed the importance of the Strategic Plan in collaboratively building definition and mission for the commission. -Both Jim and Fr. Juniper expressed their desire to not be advisory to the Archbishop, which would eliminate some of the problems of approving board members. However, they both added that a process for formally appointing and approving new members would need to replace the current system, in order to have a stable membership base. -Fr. Juniper further suggested that the work of the commission might be better if it was split into three committees: one to do parish education, one to do issue-based work, and one to do advisory work. Sarah and Cat agreed that this should be discussed during the October strategic planning session of the meeting. -Eileen mentioned that, if the commission does continue to advise the Archbishop, everyone should have a chance to meet him. Cat mentioned that Mondays don't work with his schedule, and it was proposed that we could make a special meeting date that might better accommodate him. -Brooke also added a desire to meet Mary Jo and clarify her role in the commission. Cat and Sarah mentioned that this coincided with the need to have someone come in to talk about organizational mandates (the specific work that the commission must accomplish as an Archdiocesan committee). Action item: *Cat will find out when the Archbishop can meet with the commission. *Cat will talk with Mary Jo and find time for her to present her role and the necessary roles of the commission Statewide Visits/Involvement -Cat briefed the board on her whirlwind tour of Southern Oregon and the similarities/differences around Catholic social ministry in the two southern vicariates. Upcoming Events / Announcements -Cat reminded the commission that the Tobin Lecture will be held on November 10th from 10:00am-12:00pm. Fr. Juniper asked if the November meeting could be held either Friday night or after the meeting on Saturday, so he does not need to come up to Portland twice or stay late. Action Item: *Board will decide at next meeting whether to change our November meeting from Monday, Nov. 12 to Friday, Nov. 9 -Cat also mentioned that any commission member who is interested in event planning should contact the office to be part of future planning. Action Item: *If you are interested in participating in the planning of events in the office, please email Cat. -Sarah mentioned that the Collins Lecture is coming up on October 18th. She will be co-presenting a session with Fr. Ron from Downtown Chapel. (for more information on the lecture, go here: http://www.emoregon.org/pdfs/2007CollinsLectureBrochure-letter.pdf ) That's all I have for notes - I am hopeful that people will correct me if I have missed something. Thanks to those who could make it! It was a real help to me in filling in gaps in knowledge and understanding - thank you! Peace, Cat -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have tried for a month to get clarification from Cat on these and other issues, to no avail. Go to www.vocalnews.org if you want to make a comment for all to see. By the Grace of God we will protect the ideal of the Church regarding TRUE Justice and Peace. Remember to order "Justice in Pieces" virtual workshop CD. Just contact me. God Bless you and yours, Carolyn What the Church should be doing "In 1984 and 1986 the Church issued major documents on the theme of Liberation. They echoed John Paul's view that the Church should work for the liberation of the poor, but do so in an appropriate way for a church, inspired not by a political vision of a perfect world, but by helping each human being to find their freedom by redemption from sin - the church's job was to bring people into personal contact with God." VOCAL Voice of Catholics Avocating Life PO Box 458 Sublimity, OR 97385 503-769-4767