Coastal Delmarva VOTF





      The Voice of the Faithful
TM
Updated 7/08/2008

PRAYER TO THE SPIRIT
O Spirit of God, and God of the Spirit,
We remember the many ways You have touched our lives,
transforming us and leading us to fulfill Your mission.
We celebrate the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit among us.
We believe that the Spirit calls us to continue the work of God in the world and through the Church.
We believe that the Spirit transfigures us from within and we are grateful.
We believe that you will empower us to be Your Presence to each other and to all those with whom we meet.
We pray now for continued hope and confidence that you will continue to generously pour out your gifts.
We pray for courage that we may remain committed to the vision of a stronger Church,
and for strength that we may work tirelessly to fulfill Your will.
We pray all of this in thanksgiving, and in the name of Jesus, our friend.
MEETING NOTICE
 

Dear Friends of VOTF:

Happy New Year! As Voice of the Faithful members, we begin the new year intent on remaining "attentive to the Spirit," as our mission statement says, while continuing our advocacy for transparency and accountability in the Church, as well as pursuing justice and healing for those affected by clergy sexual abuse.

With that in mind, our affiliate will begin its schedule of Winter Meetings on Wednesday, January 28 at 7 p.m. at the Ocean View Town Hall. The video program that evening will feature a talk by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson: "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church." Bishop Robinson's experience as the Australian Bishops' representative to victims and their families has moved him to probe into the meaning of sexual abuse in the Church. He addresses this in his talk and offers his approach to dealing with the systemic causes of the problem in an honest and fearless way. You won't want to miss this!

For more information on Bishop Robinson go to http://bishopgeoffrobinson.org/

Also, looking ahead to February, please set aside Wednesday, February 25 to be present for an evening with Fr. Paul Mast who will be speaking to us on "Voices of the Faithful in the Pauline Year - Embracing St. Paul as a Voice for Hope and Healing in a Post-scandal Church." Fr. Mast is a priest of the Diocese of Wilmington. He holds graduate degrees from Fordham and Catholic University and a doctorate in spirituality from Mundelein Seminary. He is much in demand as a retreat leader and spiritual director. We're very fortunate that he's able to fit us into his schedule, and look forward to hearing his message of hope and compassion as we begin Lent.  (We realize it's Ash Wednesday and our meeting time may conflict with church services, but perhaps you could plan to go that morning instead.)

For access to Fr. Mast's article on healing the damage done by clergy sexual abuse go to http://www.catholicdigest.com/newsletter/index.php/19


With fiercest hope,
Skip Sullivan 

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1/27/2009
Dear Friends of VOTF:

Just a reminder that we'll meet tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. at the Ocean View Town Hall. We have a full agenda featuring a video presentation of a talk by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson: "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church." There's sure to be an interesting discussion following his presentation.

Please come and bring a friend.

Keep the Faith, Change the Church!
Skip Sullivan
NEWS
2/2/2009
Dear Friends of VOTF:

Maryland Senate Bill 238 seeking to extend the statute of limitations in civil actions relating to child sexual abuse until 32 years past the age of majority and open a two-year look-back window is scheduled for a hearing this Thursday, February 5 in Annapolis. Dave Lorenz of the Bowie VOTF affiliate has asked for our prayers for the success of this legislation. I told him he could count on us! We know that prayer played an important part in the passage of DE SB 29.

Our members from MD may want to contact their legislators. The bill is being sponsored by Senators Kelley, Brochin, Exum, Harrington and Lenett and will be heard by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee whose members are:

Chair: Sen. Brian Frosh  410-841-3124
Vice-Chair: Lisa Gladden
James Brochin
Jennie Forehand
Nancy Jacobs
Alexander X. Mooney
C. Anthony Muse
Jamie Raskin
Bryan Simonaire
Norman Stone, Jr.

Let's do what we can to help!
Skip Sullivan


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