2021 year-in-review
Call To Action members gathered on January 8th for an Epiphany celebration, reflecting on the highlights of 2021 and looking ahead to the new year. Whether or not you joined us for that celebration, we invite you to look back on what we did together in the last twelve months. Thank you to all of our members whose love and dedication strengthened our community this year! In 2022, we’ll continue to develop many of these projects — and launch some new initiatives! Sign up for our email newsletter to learn how you can join us.
We started the year with a “spring study” period to educate ourselves and sharpen our analysis of a few themes that emerged in our 2020 work. A monthly book club read Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) by Dean Spade. Mutual Aid challenged us to learn about the difference between mutual aid and charity, the limitations imposed by non-profit structures, and the challenges of grassroots community work. A labor study group learned about the challenges of labor organizing in Catholic workplaces and gathered for a know-your-rights conversation with Ken Homan, SJ.
In the fourth year of Re/Generation, our program for young adult leadership, the program continued to expand and evolve. For the first time, we launched two cohorts: the Local Cohort and the POC Cohort. Between the two cohorts, 43 young adults participated! Re/Generators cultivated relationships and solidarity — and developed some impressive projects that we highlighted in the Advent season.
Call To Action chapters continued their grassroots local work. We highlighted our Portland chapter, which has dedicated itself to mutual aid work with homeless folks through support of a group called Dignity & Peace, and our Baltimore chapter, which offered a presentation on its successful Honest Conversations on Racism series. Chapters hosted webinars on themes ranging from the Tulsa race massacre to the German synodal way to cultivating a discipleship of decolonization. The national network of chapter leaders organized a series of webinars that included a conversation on race in the Catholic Church with Irma Dillard, RSCJ. We honored closing chapters and celebrated updates from some of our most active groups.
In June, we gathered for our second annual virtual convergence. At this gathering, we introduced labor, immigration, and mutual aid as our three focuses for 2021. CTA members connected, chatted about what they learned during our spring study period, and looked ahead to a series of workshops on the three themes for the year.
The workshops that we centered in our 2021 national campaign leaned into collaborations. We worked with the Democratic Socialists of America, the Sunrise Movement, Catholic Workers, and NETWORK Lobby to organize a series of workshops. CTA members learned organizing skills like how to conduct a one-to-one and how to lobby elected officials for immigration justice. And we heard from movement leaders at events like our Catholic labor panel.
One of the biggest new developments of the year was our purchase of the Rye House! Call To Action bought this former Catholic Worker house in Minneapolis to develop an intentional community pilot. We’re learning about the role that intentional communities have played in our movement and exploring how they could shape our future. Several young queer and trans people have moved into the Rye House and started developing the community’s rhythms. You’ll hear more about the Rye House — and more intentional community projects! — in 2022.
On the other hand, work continued behind the scenes to keep CTA running smoothly. Our Vision Council issued an open call for members to join the committees that manage our operations. We’re striving to implement a governance model that reflects our mission, especially through transparency, accountability, and justice.
As it has done for several years, CTA’s Anti-Racism Team wrote a series of reflections for the Lenten season. The Team worked on developing its identity and mission, and continued to build caucuses for people of color and white people.
Working groups focused on alternatives and immigration met throughout the year, connecting CTA members across the country who want to focus on common strategies or issues. The Alternatives Working Group developed a calendar of inclusive, alternative liturgies for our website and held an Advent webinar for our membership. The Immigration and Borders Working Group worked with NETWORK to organize Advent opposition to Title 42, which gives a president the authority to block any entrance to the United States from a country in the midst of a communicable disease outbreak.
Finally, for the second year in a row, we framed Advent as the culmination of our year. It’s a time of preparation for Christ’s arrival, and we consider our work to be Advent work all year round: we are preparing a home for Christ, coming as a person on the margins of the church. Some of our Re/Generators wrote reflections on their experience with CTA or their projects. Jessica Lemes da Silva created the podcast Sacred Hearts, which tells a light-hearted queer Catholic love story in the context of the Advent season. Tess Thompson presented a conversation on rethinking the church’s relationship to stolen land. Re/Generators in Michigan and Ohio are developing local communities, Ericka Williams-Rodriguez continued to develop her new Catholic Worker community in Pennsylvania, and a team in New York created an immigration novena. Other CTA members organized a liturgy for queer and trans people of color. Many 2021 Re/Generation projects will continue to develop in 2022, so keep an eye out for more!
