Council of the Baptized logo
 
LAY NETWORK 
CLAIMING OUR VOICES
in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
   
 Dear 

Thanks to you who have emailed us with your thoughts, criticisms, encouragements.  We are trying to get some channels of two-way communication going in this Archdiocese.  Without it, no Church!

There is so much action and reaction going on, it is hard to keep centered. The local rage and sadness in the Black Lives Matter movement, solidarity with national tragedies, the quiet grieving for the loss of our beloved friend Father Mike Tegeder, gearing up for primary elections on August 9 and the September-October presidential electoral cycle--all can be claiming attention on top of our own life issues and family matters.  Each one of us has to maintain some stability and balance.  Good thing we can bring the entire experience with us each Sunday to be transformed at Eucharist, giving us the strength to go on.  

Does it seem that Eucharist works like that for you?   Does the ritual give you energy to engage your Christian life? We would like to hear about your experience of the liturgy and what it means to you. If you are willing to share, email us at info@cccr-cob.org .  Your experience is for our information only and will not be published.  Why we go to Mass is a subject we are not used to talking about, and we are thinking of how to initiate the conversation.

We promised updates on a plan for an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) and on the Pastoral Recommendations Project (PRP).   We have still not heard a response from Archbishop Hebda on whether he will meet with the PRP steering committee.  We have the recommendations we worked on since last December ready to present to him. 
Of course, he has other irons in the fire.  He was just in Rome to receive the pallium that new bishops get as a symbol of their responsibility.  We also hope he gets some vacation.  But then we do want to meet with him and get an idea of what 
recommen dations we can get started on.  Many of the recommendations we have begun working on without the Archbishop's   collaboration, but there are some, like the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, that need his support.  
Bottom line:  no forward movement on the APC or the PRP at this time.   You can count on our letting you know the minute the log jam breaks.  If any of you knows more than we do, please let us know.  


You are invited to the Council of the Baptized Open Forum on Tuesday, August 9, 7-8 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 700 S. Snelling in St. Paul. The presenters will be Diane Sineps and her team who have designed a program for parents of school-age children about sex education.  It is entitled "Be an Askable Parent."  What do Catholic parents do when children as young as thirteen are having sex?  The program includes principles of sexual ethics that may be helpful in today's culture.  How helpful?   Come give your ideas and hear what others are thinking and doing about this situation.   If you are a parent who needs some help being an "askable" parent, you can sign up for the team's next class.   

In Joyful Hope,
CCCR Board and Council of the Baptized