West Coast Regional Conference 2019: Presentation Summaries

KEYNOTES

Roy Bourgeois – The Struggle for Gender Justice and Equality in the Catholic ChurchWhy the Catholic Church must ordain women to the priesthood or drift into irrelevance.

Sister Irma Dillard, RSCJ – How Much Do We Love Justice?  Are We Really “Woke”?Everyone deserves to live with dignity and live in a just society. We will be taking a look at who and what we are as Christians, as Catholics today, in the light of Catholic social teachings.  This will include reviewing the role of race and racism and the effects of slaveholding in our church today. What can we do besides pray to truly work at eliminating systemic racism? 

Ched Myers – Carbon Addiction and White Supremacy – Heeding the Gospel Call to “Turn History Around”Climate change is generating a matrix of interrelated social and ecological crises which impact marginalized communities first and worst.  Can our churches move beyond pronouncements to radical engagement with system disparities even as we embrace alternative practices of repentance and resilience?

WORKSHOPS

Bread for the World Simulation – Thirteen US Policies that Have Led us to the Current Racial Wealth Gap
This simulation is an interactive tool to help individuals understand the connections among racial equity, hunger, poverty, and wealth.  In the simulation, participants learn how federal policies created structural inequalities – property ownership and education are just two among many areas affected – and how these policies increase hunger and poverty in communities of color today.

Jennielynn Holmes – How to Solve Homelessness
Learn about why we should care about solving homelessness and what we can do to make sure every member of our community has a home.

Ched Myers – Watershed Discipleship: Churches Engaging Climate Crisis
This workshop will outline a bioregional and practical framework for ecclesial responses to interlocking social and ecological crises that are constructive, critical and contextual.

Miriam Noriega – From Charity to Accompaniment
Each person desires to help people suffering injustice, and the Gospel teaches us to do so.  Be empowering, not patronizing, the poor. The audience will see the accompaniment modeling in the context of current immigration justice activism.

Ian Stanley Posadas – Made in God’s Image: Seeking a Deeper Understanding of LBGTQ Identities
This workshop calls attendees to work for justice and create more inclusive communities.  Starting with an interactive exploration of sexual and gender identities and the sharing of personal experiences, this workshop will provide participants with best practices to use immediately in families, congregations, and neighborhoods. 

Re/Generation Cohort –  Sharing of Individual Justice Projects
The twelve members of the Re/Generation Cohort will be presenting their individual justice projects in three workshops with four presenters speaking at each workshop.   

Tim Stier — What You Won’t Hear in Church regarding Money, Clericalism and Sexual Abuse
The crisis of abuse and injustice in the Catholic Church is far from over because clergy leaders are the crisis with ongoing financial support continuing from lay Catholics in the pews.

Jane Via – From Rage to Courage
One Roman Catholic woman’s journey of increasing alienation from, and anger toward, the Church to responsibility for shaping the Church of the future.