Programs and Services

 

2001-2002 Speakers' Series
The Sacramentality of Human Experience: Empowerment Toward Prophesy

November 14, 2001
January 16, 2002
February 20, 2002
March 20, 2002
April 17, 2002
May 8, 2002

Sponsorship of the Series
The Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) was founded in 1980 and is a grassroots, self-supporting and independent coalition dedicated to promoting ministry to, with, and on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) persons and their families and friends -- primarily those of a Catholic background.

We function from the understanding that one's sexuality can and must be affirmed as gift and as an essential element to be integrated holistically into one's faith life.

CPCSM Mission Statement
We pledge to create just and safe environments within the Catholic Church and society in which the dignity and integrity of GLBT persons and their families are recognized and affirmed.

The Purpose and Format of the Series
Over the past 20 years, CPCSM has regularly presented speakers' forums that have served important functions in the evolving life of both CPCSM and the wider Church and society.

By bringing to the broader Catholic community a range of informed and articulate speakers, we hope to foster valuable opportunities for education and the sharing of ideas, experiences and resources.

Our speakers' series continues to serve as a visible advocacy tool for the rights of GLBT persons and their full inclusion in the Church by putting human faces on issues that for many are confusing and threatening.

In recent years, the series has had a brown-bag luncheon time format. This year we are expanding the time frame to include evening programs. We continue to value the parish-based audiences who have been the core of our luncheon-time format, and we hope now to reach out to include the broader public community as well.

Calendar of Events

Jamie Nabozny
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
St. Albert the Great Church
2836 33rd Avenue. South
Minneapolis,, MN

Rainbow Families Panel
Wednesday, January 16, 2002
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Carondelet Center
1890 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN

Peter Liuzzi, O.Carm.
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
Noon - 1:30 pm
St. Albert the Great Church
2836 33rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

Peter Liuzzi, O.Carm.
Liturgy: GLBT and Allies Together at the Table
Wednesday, February 20, 2002
7:00 pm
St. Stephen's Church
2211 Clinton Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D.
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
12:00 noon - 1:30 pm
St. Philip's Church
2507 Bryant Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN

Rev. Anita Hill, M.Div.
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
12:00 noon - 1:30 pm
St. Joan of Arc Church
4537 Third Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN

Dick Sparks, CSP, Ph.D.
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
12:00 noon - 1:30 pm
St. Lawrence Church - Newman Center
1201 5th Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Dick Sparks, CSP, Ph.D.
Wednesday, May 8, 2002
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Carondelet Center
1890 Randolph Avenue
St. Paul, MN

Directions to the Speaker Event Venues
Directions from your home to any of the venue addresses can be obtained
on the Internet at: http://www.maps.com/directions/. If you do not have access to the Internet, please feel free to call or email the CPCSM office. (See details in Information and Registration at the bottom of this page.)

Theological Context of the Series
CPCSM is proud to announce the theme of this year's speakers' series: The Sacramentality of Human Experience: Empowerment Toward Prophecy.

The series is built on that tenet of sacramental theology that acknowledges and celebrates human experience as the locus of divine revelation; that is, human experience has the potential to connect us with the loving and
transformative presence of God.

When this experience of the sacred by individuals and communities is prayerfully and reverently reflected upon and listened to, it has the potential to inform, challenge, and nourish the Church's theological and doctrinal development -- the potential to empower individuals and communities toward prophecy.

About the Speakers
Jamie Nabozny was at the center of a landmark 1996 lawsuit that highlighted the problem of rampant harassment of gay and lesbian students in the schools. He now lives in St. Paul and lectures on anti-gay harassment issues.

Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D., is a feminist theologian who is co-founder and co-director of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) in Silver Spring, Maryland. A Roman Catholic active in the woman-church movement, she lectures and writes on theology and ethics with particular attention to liberation issues.

Rainbow Families is a community-based organization of GLBT parents and their children that provides support and information and works to transform institutions that affect their families. Rainbow Families in the Twin Cities is the oldest and largest Rainbow Families organization in the country.

Anita C. Hill holds an M.Div. from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She was ordained in 2001 at St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The congregation has been censured by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for ordaining her, as the ordination violated the synod's rules against ordaining people who are in lesbian and gay relationships.

Peter J. Liuzzi, O.Carm., is a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He has just completed eleven years' service as director of Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Catholics (MLGC) for the Archdiocese. MLGC is the largest official diocesan GLBT ministry in the country. Note that Father Liuzzi will celebrate a liturgy with our GLBT community and allies while here in the Twin Cities.

Dick (Richard C.) Sparks, CSP, Ph.D., is a Paulist priest. He is pastor of the Newman Center at the University of California at Berkeley and has authored two books and numerous articles on ethics and pastoral practice. Father Sparks is also a primary consultant on sexuality issues and education to the United States Catholic Bishops' Conference.

Information and Registration
The 2001 - 2002 Speakers' Series is free and open to the public. Registration in advance is helpful for us but is not required.

For further information or to register for the series (or separate event/s), please contact CPCSM by:

Phone at 612/872-9128;

Email -- by clicking here on our email address: cpcsm@mtn.org;

Mail at CPCSM, 2211 Clinton Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55404-3694

Please spread the word! Invite your friends and co-workers to these events.

To order tapes from past presentations from the
2001 -2002 Speakers' Series, click here.