[Oe List ...] The Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic movement, and our common memory

[R Williams]

David,
 
I find the concept of 50 ecumenical Catholic (not Roman) parishes to be intriguing.  Frankly, the point of my greatest concern about the "Roman" Catholic church is, that with such heavy, top-down emphasis, nothing much is happening in the local parish, and the laity is (still) dormant at best.  As we've always known, local people working locally is where the rubber meets the road.
 
Would love the hear more about ECC, where it exists, and why we (I) haven't heard of it before.
 
Randy

"Listen to what is emerging from yourself to the course of being in the world; not to be supported by it, but to bring it to reality as it desires."
-Martin Buber (adapted)
 

________________________________
 From: David M Dunn <dmdunn1 at gmail.com>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
Sent: Thursday, May 3, 2012 9:21 AM
Subject: [Oe List ...] The Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic movement, and our common memory
  

On May 3, 2012, at 4:16 AM, R Williams wrote:

To the point, what is the state of being of an organization, i.e. the Catholic Church, where people can't go to the bathroom without hierarchical permission?  These guys are so afraid of losing control that they're rendering the church irrelevant, and losing control.  Just one more sign, I fear, of institutional decay.


There are interesting developments in the historical church:
• new monasticism
• emergent churches
• co-located congregations
• independent Catholic churches

I know the most about the Ecumenical Catholic Communion (ECC), a 13-year old network organization of nearly 50 autonomous Catholic parishes around the U.S. Think: 
• Catholic, but not "Roman"
• sacramental, eucharistic
• married priests, ordained women
• welcoming gays and lesbians
• transparent, decentralized polity
• apostolic succession with clergy-laity parity
• acknowledging the Bishop of Rome, but not the Papacy

The ECC is wrestling with movemental challenges that will resonate with many of us:
• a young, growing organization
• local self-sufficiency and decisional autonomy
• structural contradictions
• the role of symbolic leaders
• bureaucratic systems and participatory process
• organizational capacity building
• depth spirit formation
• sharing common memory
• rapid leadership development

The "bottom line" —the need for an order colleague network to mentor the ECC
Are any of you intrigued with making yourselves available to this movement as mentors to individuals, ECC parishes, or projects. I'm exploring a "creative companioning" relationship with ECC colleagues and wish I had a few order colleagues with whom I could consult and collaborate.

Be in touch. Let's explore.


David Dunn



David Dunn
740 S Alton Way 9B
Denver, CO 80247
--
dmdunn1 at gmail.com
720-314-5991



  

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