<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:tahoma, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><div><span>David,</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>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.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Would love the hear more about ECC, where it exists, and why we (I) haven't heard of it before.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Randy</span></div><div></div><div> </div><div>"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."<br>-Martin Buber (adapted)<br></div> <div style="font-family: tahoma, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div style="font-family: times new roman, new york, times, serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <div dir="ltr"> <font size="2" face="Arial"> <div style="margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); height: 0px; line-height: 0; font-size: 0px;" class="hr" contentEditable="false" readonly="true"></div> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> David M Dunn <dmdunn1@gmail.com><br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> Order Ecumenical Community <oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> <br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Thursday, May 3, 2012 9:21 AM<br> <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [Oe List ...] The Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic movement, and our common memory<br> </font> </div> <br><div id="yiv1782309165"><div><div><div>On May
3, 2012, at 4:16 AM, R Williams wrote:</div><br class="yiv1782309165Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span style="text-transform: none; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-variant: normal; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; border-collapse: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span"><div><font class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span" face="Tahoma">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.</font></div></span></blockquote><br></div><div><br></div><div><b>There are interesting developments in the historical church:</b></div><div><span style="white-space: pre;"
class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• new monasticism</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• emergent churches</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• co-located congregations</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• <i>independent Catholic churches</i></div><div><br></div><div><b>I know the most about the <i>Ecumenical Catholic Communion</i> (ECC)</b>, a 13-year old network organization of nearly 50 autonomous Catholic parishes around the U.S. Think: </div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• Catholic, but not "Roman"</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• sacramental, eucharistic</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• married
priests, ordained women</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• welcoming gays and lesbians</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• transparent, decentralized polity</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• apostolic succession with clergy-laity parity</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• acknowledging the Bishop of Rome, but not the Papacy</div><div><br></div><div><b>The ECC is wrestling with <i>movemental challenges</i></b> that will resonate with many of us:</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• a young, growing organization</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• local self-sufficiency and decisional autonomy</div><div><span
style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• structural contradictions</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• the role of symbolic leaders</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• bureaucratic systems and participatory process</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• organizational capacity building</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• depth spirit formation</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• sharing common memory</div><div><span style="white-space: pre;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-tab-span"> </span>• rapid leadership development</div><div><br></div><div><b>The <font class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span" color="#ff2a1a">"bottom line"</font> —<i> <font
class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span" color="#103ffb">the need for an order colleague network </font></i><font class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span" color="#103ffb">to mentor the ECC</font></b></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Be in touch. Let's explore.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>David Dunn</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>
<span style="font:/normal Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; border-collapse: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span"><span style="font:/normal Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal; border-collapse: separate; orphans: 2; widows: 2;" class="yiv1782309165Apple-style-span"><div style="word-wrap: break-word;">David Dunn<br>740 S Alton Way 9B<br>Denver, CO 80247<br>--<br><a href="mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" ymailto="mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com">dmdunn1@gmail.com</a><br>720-314-5991<br><br><br><br></div></span></span>
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