A Guide to CTA’s Advent Activities
Welcome to your one-stop guide to Call To Action’s Advent 2020 activities! This hub of events, news, and calls to action is a living document that we will update throughout the month.
We chose Advent as a time for coordinated action because of its symbolic resonance. Advent is the beginning of the Catholic year. It is the time of preparation for the birth of Christ, a time of gestation, anticipation, and longing. Call To Action’s strategy working groups, Re/Generators, chapters, and members have planned a series of events to mark the season. This is the culmination of our 2020 National Campaign, a project to strengthen the movement for church reform through strategic collaboration across strategies, issues, and geographies.
We hope that you will join our communities in this season of transformation!
November 29 - December 24
Read daily reflections from the Advent of Liberation Calendar. You can subscribe to receive the calendar in your email inbox every morning or follow along on our website. Think of this like a chocolate Advent calendar, but instead of candies, you’ll open the door to find delicious reflections from activists and artists.
November 29
Join a Public Witness for Ordination Justice. As followers of Jesus and co-creators with the Spirit, we demand dignity and affirmation of gifts among us. Join us on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29, as we canvas prophetic messages around key Catholic dioceses by displaying the posters included in our toolkit. This Advent, we ask: How much longer must Catholics wait for the Church to recognize priestly people of all genders?
November 29,
December 6, 13, and 20,,
7-8 pm ET/6-7 pm CT/4-5 pm PT
Attend a series of queer and trans led liturgies each Sunday of Advent. During these ecumenical liturgies held over Zoom, we will reflect on topics including darkness, lament, waiting, resilience, queer joy, and family. We welcome queer and trans folks looking to nourish their spiritualities in a life-giving and alternative way throughout this Advent season. Each week we will be led by a member of our community reflecting on their lived experience as it relates to the themes we see in Advent.
December 6, 12-1 pm ET
/11 am-12 pm CT/9-10 am PT
Pray with others at the Liturgy of Lament, a liturgy for Catholics who have been disenfranchised from their parish communities because of an abuse of power. Here we will express our pain and grief together, finding comfort and hope in our sharing.
December 6, 13, and 20,
4-5:30 pm ET/3-4:30 pm CT/1-2:30 pm PT
Take part in one or more sessions of the Answering the Call Advent Retreat Series. This series features Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Jamie Manson, and Karen Gargamelli-McCreight. Over the course of the last three Sundays in Advent, we will gather virtually to share in the wisdom of learned speakers, practitioners, and fellow seekers. Through talks, spiritual practices, and group reflection we hope to provide a centering space as we decide how we as a church and society are to move forward.
December 12 (Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe),,
1-2 pm ET/12-1 pm CT/10-11 am PT
Join CTA’s WorkGroup: Immigration and Borders for A Virtual Border Experience. Get a pulse on what’s happening on the border now and explore what the future may hold for a comprehensive immigration policy that honors the dignity of each person.
Ongoing:
Advent Reflections on Church and Colonization
Read reflections from this series: Using the themes of Advent (faith, hope, joy, and love), Re/Generation participants and leaders reflect on aspects of how colonization in the United States has been intertwined with Christianity, and the Catholic Church in particular.
Open letters against Catholic polarization
Take action: Our Lobbying Working Group has designed letter templates you can customize and send to Church leadership affiliated with the Napa Institute, Angelus News, and Relevant Radio. These three apostolates perpetuate tension and division in our Church and world.
Bishop Anti-Racism Scorecards
Read the Bishop Anti-Racism Scorecards designed by our Lobbying Working Group. These cards are a starting place for future anti-racist campaigns.
