Dawn breaks at YMCA on the morning of October 11, 2024.

Synod 2024 is about to begin.

Photo by +Pablo Burson

Ecumenical Catholic Communion

Office of Presiding Bishop

October, 2024



Bishop Pablo Burson: BishopPaul@ecumenicalcatholics.net

Carolyn Sue Cecil: admin@ecumenicalcatholics.net

Mary Vonderheide: finance@ecumenicalcatholics.net

Photo by Jerry Shearer



Welcome to Synod 2024 at Y.M.C.A.

in Estes Park, Colorado!



Our Hospitality Team unloaded and began to set up

so the happy welcoming could begin!

Our Registration Team is ready to roll!

Ready to share about our Mary Magdalene Society

and all its wonderful work

to provide Clergy and Youth Grants

to our Ecumenical Catholic Communion.

+ + + +

Tammy Fuqua created a video for use at Synod 2024, featuring many recipients of MMS Grants, expressing their gratitude to MMS for the help and support received, which was being shown at this table during the weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKfb_tOaKOY

Smiles and Greetings from

Bishop Kae and Mark Stenson

Smiles and Welcomes from Wendy Boyd and

Fr. Henry Pruski from All Souls ECC, Reading, PA

ECC folks from Mary Magdalene Church in Rochester, NY gather with smiles for all!  

Elizabeth Jerabek, Jim Bridges and Bishop Denise

These were not tangled up when I left St. Louis!

Name tags are out!

Welcome Bags are ready!

It's time to begin!



Welcome! Welcome ! Welcome!

The Ribbon Project, where every ECC community brought/sent ribbons on which people wrote their dreams, goals, hopes, prayers and blessings for our Ecumenical Catholic Communion passing the torch and continuing to thrive and grow, resulted in a wonderfully overwhelming response!  

People wove the ribbons from their communities through the wire mesh frame, which was then made into a large flame that was part of our Liturgy on Sunday.

Bishop Pablo carrying the flame to the Chapel

for Sunday Liturgy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVfavhtFB1k

Bishop Pablo asked us all to write on the paper provided the burdens we were carrying with us at this time.  He instructed us not include any identifying factors, and then to bring our written burden and leave it in the basket under the three-legged Baptismal Font that continued our “three legged stool” concept of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.  

This Baptismal Font traveled from St. Francis ECC in Largo, Florida to St. Louis, Missouri and then on to Denver as our special symbol for Synod 2024. 

Open my eyes, Lord,

Help me to see your face.

Open my eyes, Lord…help me to see.

Open my ears, Lord,

Help me to hear your voice.

Open my ears, Lord….help me to hear.

Open my heart, Lord,

Help me to love like you.

Open my heart, Lord….help me to love.

I live within you

Deepen your heart, O Love,

I live within you…..rest now in Me.

The search began……to find the person who had our “twin saint’s name” and to share with that person our answer to this question:



When you reflect upon the foundations of your faith, upon whose shoulders are you standing?  (People who you knew/know personally as well as others who have inspired you).

Who are the “saints” in your life?

Y

Bishop Pablo shared with us about his prayer walks in the canyon where he finds pieces of petrified wood in the mud, in the riverbed that are fossils.  They are a reminder that life has been going on for millions of years and we are a part of this….and we get to care for this Earth on which we live.

Getting these pieces of petrified wood out of the riverbed means getting your hands dirty, just as being in service to others means getting our hands dirty.

He invited us to come forward and get one of these pieces of petrified wood as a symbol of getting our hands dirty, and then to share with our partner from earlier in the evening how we get our hands dirty in service to others.



 How do you and your parish reach out to those who are in need/those who have been marginalized?  

How does this engagement transform

you/your community?



Having brought our written burden and placed it in the basket earlier, Bishop Pablo then invited us to come forward and select a piece of paper….someone else’s burden…….and carry this unknown person and their needs in prayer with us throughout the weekend.

We then blessed our partner with whom we had shared our thoughts earlier in the evening with holy water from the Baptismal Bowl.

Click here to print Bishop Pablo’s Questions

to share with your Community for further discussion.

Photo by Fr. Mike Crotty

·     Some highlights from Dr. Pramuk’s Address

Stevie Wonder

1976 Album: Songs in the Key of Life

Joy Inside Our Tears

I've always come to the conclusion that "but" is the way

Of asking for permission to lay something heavy on one's head

So I have tried to not be the one who'll fall into that line

But what I feel inside, I think you should know

And baby, that's you, you, you

Made life's history

'Cause you've brought some joy inside my tears

And you have done what no one thought could be

You've brought some joy inside my tears

If there is any community that knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of such a liberation, I expect it is you, this Ecumenical Catholic Communion.

This community has made room for you where others haven’t.

It has welcomed you and cultivated your gifts when others haven’t.

With Howard Thurman, we might say the Ecumenical Catholic Communion has believed you into the fulfillment of your possibilities.

It has stirred your confidence into activity,

It has placed a crown on your head in ways that have freed you to grow tall enough to wear it.

In my mind, this is the very definition of what Dr. King called “Beloved Community”

I daresay you have brought joy inside of each other’s tears

In the pattern of Jesus, the Ecumenical Catholic Community has a space where you can come as you are and be who you are in the presence of others.

What a gift that is!

Free at last!

Free at last!

Thank God almighty I am free at last!

Fr. Bill McNichols

"The wombs and the imperfections we bear are powerful because they link to the wombs and imperfection of our fellow human beings"

"God loves what is leftover at the bottoms of our hearts and cannot be expressed in words."

Thomas Merton

"The light of God shines in everyone

or it shines in no one at all."

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

If faith is a blush in the presence of God, sometimes that blush is felt in our utter smallness before the grandeur of nature.

A fitting insight here in Estes Park.

"Oceans divide us,

Yet God’s presence unites us,

And God is present wherever life is afflicted.

There is a partnership of God in humanity.

God needs our help.

I would define humanity as a divine need.

God is in need of us."

Henry singing the sun into the water….

The forgotten mother tongue,

The language of wonder and radical amazement.

Howard Thurman:

"To feel ourselves come home into God’s wide-open love is to realize that there are many more rooms in God’s house than can be imagined inside our self-enclosed walls of class or race or religious identity.

Like a single lung, God breathes in and out of all things."

James Baldwin:

The birth will not be easy and many of us are doomed to discover that we are exceedingly clumsy midwives.

No matter, so long as we accept that our responsibility is to the newborn: the acceptance of responsibility contains the key to the necessary evolving skill."

We may be clumsy midwives but we are not bad midwives, or

incompetent midwives.

To midwife a new world, a new church, is an evolving skill,  necessary and evolving.

The key is not expertise, not perfection.

The key is acceptance of responsibility.

We have what it takes to birth a new world, a new church, into being.

Like childbirth, like parenting, it will require painstaking discipline and patience and slow intentional breathing.

One breath at a time.

But the child is in us asking to be born and the breath of the spirit we have come to know in one another is the same breath that gives life to the newborn, giving oxygen to the flame and kindling the hopes and dreams of a new generation.

May we bear this awesome responsibility together

With joy and with grace!



Dr. Pramuk invited us to share at our tables

what touched us,

what stayed with us,

what resonated with us,

what intrigued or raised questions.

Gratitude to Dr. Pramuk

for sharing his moving and thought-provoking

keynote address with us!

Enjoy listening to his entire address:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMXEfUVEnRM



Mother Tammy Fuqua began by sharing the names of the 2024 Clergy Scholarship Recipients.  She has interviewed all of the recipients so we can understand how important these funds are to them.  The videos have been posted in Newsletters in the past year and will continue to appear there.

Art Bavaso shared the 2024 Youth Grant Awards. 

Mother Tammy has also had interviews with these recipients who have shared their wonderful experiences because of these funds.  These videos will continue to be available in our Newsletters.



ECC Anti-Racism Statement

(recorded at YMCA during Synod 2024)

 ECC Anti-Racism Statement_ 2024 Holy Synod - 1728797602223.mp4

+ + + +

The ECC Truth & Reconciliation Commission is planning a Communion-wide Pilgrimage in the Spring of 2025 to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, AL. Our hope is to have at least a couple of representatives attend from each region or diocese of the ECC.  If you are interested, please contact us for more information:

B Phelps:  bernella_m@hotmail.com

or

John Phelps: jbillyphelps@gmail.com



Christine Garst, our ECC Treasurer, reviewed the 2025-26 proposed budget with the entire group, which was later voted on and approved by the House of Laity and House of Pastors.



House of Laity Steering Committee:

John Duffy-Burke, Dorothy Day House Church, St. Louis, MO

Mary Lu Stenson, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Leo Champagne, St. Francis ECC, Largo, FL

John O’Grady, St. Francis ECC, Largo, FL

Claudia Kilby, Holy Angels, Santa Ana, CA

Therese Gabriel, Sts. Clare & Francis ECC, St. Louis, MO

Christine Garst, Emmaus ECC, Olympia, WA

Tom Klein, Charis Community ECC, Eden Prairie, MN

Paula Hayford, Charis Community ECC, Eden Prairie, MN

Fr. Teri Harroun meeting via Zoom for the House of Pastors meeting. Mother Alice speaking.

House of Pastors members gathering in a blessing for Rev. Rosa Buffone

Newly elected co-chair of House of Pastors, Rev. Rosa Buffone

As two separate groups, we all met up totally by accident at a little restaurant in Estes Park and thoroughly enjoyed our evening together!



Photo by Fr. Mike Crotty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tFupXG6k6E

Guitar: Bill Smith, Flute: Mary Vogel,

Vocalists:

Fr. Ricky Manalo, Dale Van Zant, Kate Lehman,

Irene Yap, Katherine Pagoaga, Helen Majzler, Maggie Gann 

Keyboard: Rosanna Bateman, Guitar: Bill Smith

Our Special Guest Homilists

Rev. Delores Kropf

Erin Duffy-Burke

Rev. Brian Ashmankas

Therese Gabriel

John Duffy-Burke

Special Blessing and Welcome for Rev. Maggie Gann who is to be ordained into the Ecumenical Catholic Communion in November as pastor of St. Clare & Francis ECC in St. Louis, Missouri.

Let us offer each other a Sign of Peace.

Cheers for the East Coast representation!!



Let’s hear it for our California folks!!



Bishop Denise, Bishop Kedda, Bishop Pablo, Bishop Kae



Bishop Pablo and his life-long friend, Fr. Mike Crotty



Blessings on our friends from Washington!!



Fr. Mike Crotty, Brother James, OSB (Rob Otrembiak),

Bishop Pablo, Fr. Prior Michael Seger, OSB



Hooray for our St. Louis, Missouri ECC friends!!



Smiles and Blessings from our Benedictines of Holy Wisdom

Friends and Family!



Claudia Kilby, Therese Gabriel, “The Flame,”

Fr. Teri Harroun (on phone), Rev. Trish Vanni

and Bishop Pablo



ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION

COLORADO!! 

You are amazing and wonderful!!!!  

Standing ovation!!



PROFESSION OF FAITH,

Ancient and Unfolding 

(based on “Our Truth” by Michael J. Nicosia and Phil. 2:6-11)

While echoing the ancient creeds of our faith, using fresh words to articulate our core beliefs helps us to bring it into dialogue with our present experience of God’s activity in our midst.  

Together we profess what we have received, as it continues to unfold in our midst. 

ALL:  We believe in God, our Mother out-pouring, our Father uniting,

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and yet to be revealed.  

Jesus the Christ, although divine in essence, 

disregarded the image of a lofty God. 

Instead, Jesus poured himself out, taking on the mantle of a servant.

Born, human in essence, human in every way,

Jesus humbled himself, accepting death on a cross.

Yet even in this, God brought forth new life.

God gave Jesus the name above all other names,

so that all will honor the name of Jesus,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

so that every tongue will proclaim 

that Jesus the Christ lives and reigns 

with peace and love, for the glory of God.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth and giver of life, 

who with the Father and the Son models equality in diversity 

and the blessings that proceed from self-giving love. 

 

With the Father and the Son, She is worshiped and glorified.  

We believe in the ways She unites us:

through her prophetic challenge, 

through the Body of Christ, the Church,

in our shared baptism, in our sacrifices on behalf of others,

in our hope in the resurrection, 

and in the fulfillment of God’s promise in eternity.

+ + + +

Click here to print this Prayer.



In addition to our wise and wonderful Guest Homilists who so generously shared their wisdom and love with us at our Sunday Liturgy, we are now also blessed to get to see and hear Deacon Bes share with us her special message.  Visa Complications may have prevented her from traveling to be with us, but they are not going to stop her from spreading her Light and Love!

A heartfelt thanks to Tom Moos, for his time, dedication and skills that made this happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFYPqxz7KkA



While in the best of scenarios we could have dedicated a whole Synod to just visioning, we deemed it important to at least begin a process in the time we had on Sunday afternoon.  

While overall the sessions made some initial progress towards expressing where we thought we needed to go and what we needed to focus on at this moment in the life of our Communion, the limitations of the time and process stirred up frustration, anxiety and hope for the future.  As many of us know from past experiences of Synod of yore, the process of communal "wine make" or "sausage making " is always messy.  

As we revisit the session below, I am thankful for our communal dedication to this initial beginning, which will be followed up by zoom meetings.

+Pablo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kc2rVK4yoI

Two weeks before Synod, Rob Otrembiak was asked to facilitate a visioning conversation for the future of the ECC.  After meeting with the Council of Bishops and Leadership Council, he  constructed an agenda, activities and a survey designed to help prioritize aspects of our ECC identity.

In a bridge-building activity, he asked us to consider:

+ to what groups or communities are you committed?

+ what is something in your personal or spiritual development on which you have made progress?

+ what is one step, support or method you rely on for personal or spiritual growth?

+ how do you stand apart from violence and oppressive cultures?

Rob then asked for initial sharing of these reflections with a neighbor.  Zoom attendees were placed into breakout rooms for discussion.

Rob proceeded to share the results of the survey and asked the delegates to identify whether we, as a communion, need to apply efforts to define, clarify or share the topics of the survey.

After discussion, a person from each table shared their insights with the written words being posted on the walls  around the room.    

Rob concluded by saying that the papers would be collected, catalogued, categorized, and submitted to the House of Laity, House of Pastors, and Council of Bishops.

These 3 groups will determine what areas are deemed most important to pursue so plans and structures can be set in place for 2025.  

Rob then invited everyone to stand, to offer up our hands and our work with his closing prayer:

Gracious and Loving God, 

as we continue our discernment as a community,

Grant us the intellect to understand,

Reason to discern,

The diligence to seek you,

Wisdom to find you,

A spirit to know your ways,

And a heart to meditate upon them.

May our ears hear you,

Our eyes behold you,

And may our tongues proclaim you.

Give us grace that our way of life

may be pleasing to you,

That we may have the patience to wait for

And the perseverance to look for

You

And grant us the joy of finding You

every day in everyone.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

Let us all say… 

AMEN!

Cuatro Amigos!

Obispo Armando, Obispo Francisco,

Padre Francisco, Padre Erick

And out of the blue, you find a cousin!  

Carolyn Sue Cecil (from Kentucky) met Richard Life (from Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO) and learned that his Mother was a Cecil!  With the Cecils, as numerous as they are, you can start figuring out who married who and how many “times removed” you are – or you simply hug and say, “Hi, Cuz!”

A sweet, unexpected reunion!

Rob Otrembiak discovered that a friend of his from high school (whom he had not even seen since high school!) was playing keyboard at our Sunday Liturgy:  Rosanna Bateman, from Mary of Magdala, Ft Collins, CO!

Fr. Mir Plemmons (Holy Questions, Washington)

and Tim Shead (Light of Christ, CO)

Mother Tammy Fuqua (Holy Angels, CA)

and Carolyn Sue Cecil (OPB, St. Louis, MO)

Beverly Saling (Holy Questions, WA),

Deacon Constance Hanser (Emmaus, WA)

and Fr. Mir Plemmons (Holy Questions, WA)

Bishop Pablo and Fr. Ricky Manalo

Rev. Mike and Cathy Bober (Emmaus, WI)

and Deacon Mike Weil (Church of the Holy Family, CO)

Mary Vonderheide (OPB, St. Louis, MO)

and Steve de Haas (Light of Christ, CO)

Tim Shead (Light of Christ, CO),

Carolyn Sue Cecil (OPB, St. Louis, MO) and

George von Stamwitz (Sts. Clare & Francis, MO)

Mother Tammy Fuqua (Holy Angels, CA), Fr. Erick (Holy Trinity, CA) and Fr. Francisco (Holy Trinity, CA)

Mary Vonderheide (OPB, St. Louis, MO),

John O’Grady and Leo Champagne (St. Francis, FL)

Erin and John Duffy-Burke (Dorothy Day House Church, MO),

Rev. Delores Kropf (St. Michael the Archangel, AZ)

and Therese Gabriel (Sts. Clare & Francis, MO)

Claudia Kilby (Holy Angels, CA) and

Mother Tammy Fuqua (Holy Angels, CA)



THANK YOU

to all of the wonderful folks from

CHARIS COMMUNITY ECC

Eden Prairie, MN

for such a fun and fabulous

DANCE PARTY!

Photo by Fr. Mike Crotty

Fr. Ricky offered many practical ways to engage our communities through the use of media.



One of the many important points in his presentation was what he termed his “unscientific” survey on Facebook:

“What are the pros and cons of live stream Mass?”

Fr. Ricky welcomed questions and discussion from the group.

Please enjoy listening to Fr. Ricky’s entire presentation:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUDNLY0eMxE&t=1135s



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8wgjCViDxA

Our closing ceremony began by reflecting on Monday, October 14, as American Indigenous Peoples Day.  Fr. Michael began by acknowledging that the land on which we stand once was the territory primarily of the Utes but extending out to the plains, also of the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Peoples.

He continued with a brief retelling of how and why these peoples were removed from Colorado, then played for us the song that the Cherokee people had passed down for generations: “The Trail of Tears.” 

“The Trail of Tears” was the song the mothers sang to their children as they carried them through the winter’s cold in their forced march across the country.  It was a song that gave them hope in the midst of all their tribulations and despair.  Fr. Michael played this song today as a sign that the hope for our future is when we travel together in love and compassion, holding each other and helping each other.

While this song was being played, everyone was invited to come forward, to bless themselves with water from the “three legged Baptismal Font” shared with us by St. Francis ECC in Largo, Florida, and then to sign the back of the photo poster of Thomas Merton which Bishop Pablo will hang in his office.



With our signatures, we left something of ourselves with Bishop Pablo as a loving reminder of all of us gathered for Synod 2024 in prayer, reflection, the sharing of meals, laughter and love, and working on the vision of passing the torch and carrying our Ecumenical Catholic Communion forward into the future.



Bishop Pablo called the Leadership Council forward to thank them for their leadership role in planning Synod 2024.

Bishop Pablo asked everyone to stand and extend a special blessing to those whose time of service with the Leadership Council was completed (HOL, Therese Gabriel and HOP, Fr. Teri Harroun) and those whose time of service was beginning (HOL, John and Erin Duffy-Burke and HOP, Rev. Rosa Buffone).

Bishop Kedda lead us in a blessing:



“With outstretched hands and hearts,

we pour blessings upon you

from an Almighty Love

that is our God.

We pray that you will be guided

by Sophia’s Wisdom

as you leave

and as you begin a new ministry.  

Open your hearts and open your minds

and listen to your people and guide us well.”

Amen.

All Parade of Parishes Videos Playlist

(will play all parish videos in sequence): 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHRN1n88s6c&list=PL9ZbB2xC44l3PLjsoMzvz-XtE6P_kqIQA

HOL Chair, Claudia Kilby

HOL Vice-Chairs:  John and Erin Duffy-Burke

HOP Vice-Chair, Rev. Rosa Buffone

HOP Chair, Rev. Trish Vanni



Can we give a standing ovation to this amazing Technology Team who worked countless hours before, during and after Synod to keep us connected and on track!?!  They are all amazing and wonderful!!  

We are so grateful to them and their dedication and care in all they did for Synod 2024!

Jerry Shearer, All Souls ECC, Reading, PA

Tom Moos, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Mallory Rusch, Sts. Clare & Francis ECC, St. Louis, MO

Mandy Recker, Charis Community ECC, Eden Prairie, MN

+ + + +

An extra special shout-out to Tom Moos for all of his time and dedication and hard work after Synod, editing and cleaning up the recordings (all posted here with each individual speaker) and getting them posted on our You-Tube Channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/@ECCSynod

We are forever grateful to you, Tom!

There are not enough words of gratitude to express to Kelly de Haas (from Light of Christ ECC, Longmont, CO) for all she did for us as she worked her magic in coordinating transportation and rides for all of our ECC family who flew into Denver International Airport and needed to get to Y.M.C.A. at Estes Park.  

Her amazing husband, Steve de Haas, was her No. 1 Support and No. 1 Van Driver (Josephine) to get people up the mountain!

 Thank you, Kelly and Steve!!!

A HUGE round of applause for

all of these Amazing Volunteers

who so generously gave rides

to our ECC friends

from the airport to Light of Christ

and Estes Park!

Dan Gabel, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Tammy Gabel, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Mike Weil, Church of the Holy Family, Aurora, CO

Chuck Cooper, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Chuck Howard, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Gerry Geiger, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Jim Herbst, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Kelly de Haas, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Mark Werner, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Rachel O’Neil, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Steve de Haas, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Rachel O’Neil, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Cindy Cloyd, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

David Cloyd, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Tom Moos, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Bruce Yeazell, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Dennis Giblin, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Greg Madden, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Fr. Michael Nicosia, St. Paul, Denver, CO

Richard Life, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Sandra Life, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Pete Vanni, Charis Community ECC, Eden Prairie, MN

Thanks to Scott and Pam Hora, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO, for donating the use of their van!

Thanks to Bethlehem Lutheran for donating the use of their van.  (Light of Christ shares space with them.)

THANK  YOU!!

Rosa Buffone

Paula Hayford

Thank you, Rev. Rosa Buffone (Holy Spirit Catholic Community, Newton, MA) and Paula Hayford for spearheading the Registration Committee and for all the hours you spent keeping track of people registering, then passing that information on to the Office of Presiding Bishop for finance tracking (Mary Vonderheide) and Name Tags (Carolyn Sue Cecil). 



THANK YOU

to the volunteers who worked

the Registration Table at Synod!

Victoria Green, Holy Angels, Santa Ana, CA

Linda Joyce, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Diana Rohffsen, Charis Community ECC, Eden Prairie, MN

Christine Garst, Emmaus ECC, Olympia, WA

Mary Lou Devlin, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Linda Joyce, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Mary Vonderheide, OPB, St. Louis, MO

We could not have done this without ALL of you!!!

THANK YOU!!!



Thank you to Fr. Michael Nicosia for leading the Liturgy Team to bring us beautiful prayers and music throughout the weekend!  Thank you for the work on the Liturgy, the beautiful Liturgy Guide, for the closing song, for the closing prayer service and for those countless hours and details that you were called upon to take care of.  Most especially, thank you for the heart and love you bring to the Ecumenical Catholic Communion.

THANK YOU to the Liturgy Team 

for the gift of time and talent and love 

so freely shared with our family 

in the Ecumenical Catholic Communion!

Fr. Michael Nicosia, St. Paul Catholic Community, Denver, CO 

Fr. Prior Michael Seger, Benedictines of Holy Wisdom    

Irene Yap, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Janell Flaig, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Mary Kay Fairbanks, St. Claire, Spokane, WA

Fr. Frank Quintana, Rocky Mountain Region / Westminster, CO

Peter Azinwin Tentow, Charis, Eden Prairie, MN / Our Lady Advocate of Africa ECC Community, Cameroon

THANK YOU

to the Liturgical Items Team 

for tending to those many “little” details 

to make our Liturgy extra special and complete!

Maureen DeAoun, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Dennis Giblin, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

Carol Persons, Mary of Magdala, Ft Collins, CO     

Thank you, Maggie Gann (Sts. Clare & Francis ECC, St. Louis, MO) for heading up the Music team, for sharing your beautiful voice and talents in preparing and helping with the amazing music for our All-Communion Mass! 

THANK YOU

to the Wonderful Music Team, 

For your planning and 

Sharing of time and talents

to make our Liturgy so beautiful and prayerful! 

Maggie Gann, Sts. Claire and Francis, St. Louis, MO        

Nancy Newton, Charis, Eden Prairie, MN / Mission, KS

Rev. Kate Lehman, St. Teresa of Ávila, Phoenix, AZ

Janell Flaig, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Fr. Michael Nicosia, St. Paul Catholic Community, Denver, CO

Irene Yap, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Fr. Len Schreiner, Rocky Mountain Region/Rowe, NM 

THANK YOU to all of our

wonderful MUSICIANS AND SINGERS 

who led us is song and prayer

for our Sunday Liturgy!

Keyboard, Rosanna Bateman, Mary of Magdala, Ft Collins, CO

Guitar: Bill Smith, Mary of Magdala, Ft Collins, CO

Flute: Mary Vogel, Mary of Magdala, Ft Collins, CO

Fr. Ricky Manalo, Composer and Songwriter

Dale Van Zant, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Rev. Kate Lehman, St Teresa of Avila, Phoenix, AZ

Irene Yap, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Katherine Pagoaga, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Helen Majzler, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Maggie Gann, Sts. Clare & Francis ECC, St. Louis, MO

Thank you, John Duffy-Burke, (Dorothy Day House Church, St. Louis, MO) for once again coordinating and gathering together our Parade of Parishes!  We are so blessed to have you as part of the Ecumenical Catholic Communion!  

Thank you, John!

(See the link above to view our Parade of Parishes)

They manage to escape the camera for the most part but these two men were some of the many “behind the scenes” people who kept all of us going with their quiet help and support (carrying, packing, lugging, laughing!) for anything we needed all through the weekend!  

THANK YOU

to

Mark Stenson and Steve de Haas

(both from Light of Christ ECC, Longmont, CO)!!



Standing Ovation for our Queen of Hospitality, Mary Lu Stenson from Light of Christ ECC, Longmont, CO.  Not only did she head up the Hospitality Committee, she made several trips to and from YMCA before the event, to scout out possible problems (which she promptly got resolved), and she spent countless hours creating the “Welcome Bags” full of goodies for our ECC family when they arrived.  As a retired nurse, she also provided so much information about preparing for traveling to the higher altitude, what to bring and what to wear.  “HYDRATE” was her mantra and it was a good one!  

She was also there all through Synod to provide nursing care (which was needed) with the great love and devotion that comes from her heart. 

She was an amazing volunteer, totally dedicated to making this Synod the best it could possibly be.  She definitely went far beyond the “call of duty” because that is what kind of person she is. 

A shout-out to her co-chair, David Cloyd, (Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO) who provided the amazing Sunday Continental Breakfast, with enough food to feed an army!  

Thank you to

all the Hospitality Volunteers

for all you did

to make Synod 2024 a more pleasant experience for all!

Mary Lu Stenson, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

David Cloyd, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Irene Yap, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Katherine Pagoaga, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Mark Stenson, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Anne Beaven, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Jean Christen, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Rev. Jane Reina, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Mary Vonderheide, OPB Finance, St. Louis, MO

Carolyn Sue Cecil, OPB, St. Louis, MO

Musician:

Fr. Len Schreiner, Rocky Mountain Region/Rowe, NM

 

For making our signs:

Kennah Brackett, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Thank you to the

Welcome Committee at Light of Christ!

These generous volunteers

offered their hospitality at their very own

“Room At The Inn” 

providing a resting point for ECC travelers

with snacks, water, bathrooms,

and a place to sit and catch their breath

before heading on up to Estes Park.

What a special gift! 



Diane Schell, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Ellen Cooper, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Donita Evans, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Judy Nielson, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Mary Franch, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Patty German, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Fr. Teri Harroun, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Barb Olander, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Tiny but mighty, Irene Yap, from Light of Christ ECC, Longmont, Colorado managed to coordinate rides for everyone needing assistance to get from building to building at the YMCA Campus during Synod.  

This beautiful lady was a powerhouse of support and dedication and we are deeply grateful for her!!

THANK YOU to the Kind Souls

Who lent a hand in getting people from

One Brown Building to Another Brown Building

Throughout the Weekend!

Irene Yap, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

Rick Rogers, Light of Christ, Longmont, CO

David Cloyd, Mary of Magdala, Fort Collins, CO

Dennis Giblin, Church of the Beloved, Northglenn, CO

We know there were people who simply jumped in and helped, whose names we did not get...

To each of you: 

THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  

THANK YOU!

See that guy – front and almost center?  His name is Jerry Shearer from All Souls ECC, Reading PA and he is with his wonderful friends, Fr. Henry Pruski, Wendy Boyd, and Ben Renkus.  

He gets the “Roving Photographer Award”  because HE is an amazing photographer!  Most of the photos you are seeing in this Newsletter are because he is a wonderful and generous man who spent so much time snapping photos and sharing them on Facebook because the rest of us were busy doing other things.  

Thank you, Jerry, for giving me permission to use these, for all the photos you posted on Face Book and for the priceless gift of your time and talent all through Synod! 



THANK YOU, Jerry!!!



A special shout-out and THANK YOU to my new dear friend, Fr. Mike Crotty, who got up before God every morning and hiked out and got some glorious sunrise photos, which he shared with me, thus making me his newest and biggest fan!  And yes, some of his amazing photos have appeared in our Synod Newsletters already!

Thank you for sharing

your gift of photography with us,

Fr. Mike!  

We were accused of sitting in the “back of the bus” causing trouble but, in spite of all of the laughter and fun, we were there, always ready to jump forward with any help needed!

Thanks, Steve, Mary, Carolyn Sue and Mary Lu!

For any Volunteer and Helper that I failed to mention, please write me and let me know!  I want to be sure every single person who gave of their time, talent and treasure to help make Synod 2024 happen is recognized, applauded, hugged and thanked.

Carolyn Sue Cecil

admin@ecumenicalcatholics.net

Photo by +Pablo Burson