By Julie Godfrey Miller
Catholic Herald

SDCCW told that good will come from scandal

SIREN -- In this time of trouble and humiliation for the church, women from all over the diocese gathered with their theme of "Jubilee Women" Re-creating a Circle of Love." The occasion was the 52nd annual convention of the Superior Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. About 275 women attended the event held June 4.

The location of this year's convention was significant. In June of 2001, a devastating tornado ripped through the area, killing three people and destroying numerous homes and businesses. Lory Terbilcox and Rosie Larson, co-presidents for the Northwest Deanery CCW which hosted the convention, said SDCCW organizations gave generous financial and spiritual support during the recovery and rebuilding. They felt it would be inspiring and uplifting for members to see what their "faith in action" achieved. The convention was held at the Lodge at Crooked Lake, one of the fortunate business to remain unharmed by the storm.

Finding the good that can come out of the troubles and serious challenges to the church was the theme of Bishop Raphael M. Fliss' homily at the Mass he concelebrated with several priests from the diocese.

Fliss said,"But today our church is being seriously challenged as never before. In my 46 years as a priest I have not faced anything like we face today. But here we are. There are many terrible things that have happened to our church in the last few months, with reports of sexual abuse of children by priests, reports of cover ups, money paid out -- not just for the needed treatment of victims and perpetrators as well, but for silence"

Everyone in the church was looking for a sense of direction, Fliss said, and he found one in remarks retired San Francisco Archbishop John R. Quinn made in Iowa City, Iowa recently.

Quinn had told the group this is the best time in the history of the church to be a priest and to be a Catholic, Fliss said, and added that he found that idea very hard to accept at first.

Fliss said Quinn's message was that the church has been humiliated like Christ on the cross. Members of the church are feeling powerless like Christ on the cross and are thought to be failures just like him. The church has come face to face with Christ in his poverty, in his humiliation, in his weakness.

Echoing Quinn's words Fliss said, "The ultimate call is not the successful Christ but the poor and humble and rejected Christ, who shows us the realities of evangelization, the realities of our Christian life, the realities of what our mission is all about. It's true the church is walking the path of humiliation but it's a providential path, an opportunity for us, a providential path in which the Holy spirit is calling the Church -- that's you and me -- each and every one of us to a more authentic embrace of the Gospel -- to take it to heart, to understand it to live it and be Christian."

The keynote speaker for the gathering was Christopher Ruff, director of the Office of Ministries in the Diocese of La Crosse. He was formerly an adjunct professor for the Institute of Pastoral Theology Theology of Ave Maria University, Ypsilanti, Mich., and holds a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Pope Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family, Rome, Italy.

Before he joined the staff in La Crosse, he served as director of adult faith formation at the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Minneapolis. While there he formed a system of faith-sharing groups. This work formed the basis of his talk, "Faith Sharing Groups: A Key to Vitality."

He said that large groups were good and it is important to gather the community together for Sunday liturgy, but the dynamics are different for a small group. He said they form around a common denominator and offer a shared experience of the faith.

He gave the group hints on how to form a successful group and suggested possible study materials to use.

The speaker for the afternoon session was Sr. Jovita Winkel, CSA, director of religious education and pastoral associate for the Ladysmith-Hawkins-Tony parish cluster. She has been a teacher, catechist and school principal and served as a leader of her community, the Congregation of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wis.

Her topic was "Women: Moving Beyond a Traditional Role in the church."

Winkel sees being a woman almost as a ministry. Winkel said, "I believe that as women we need to take that on as a ministry, so to speak, so that we enjoy being women."

Winkel talked about areas of influence in which she thought women might be involved.

The first is prayer, bringing prayer and a contemplative spirit to meetings and other daily activities. Winkel said that means being quiet and aware of the presence of God.

Leadership is another area of influence. "I believe it needs to be through mutuality, collaboration, being a visionary -- the blend of then practicality and to be assertive and not necessarily confrontational," Winkel said. She further described it as "head in the clouds, feet on the ground."

Women can also have influence in theology. That influence includes using inclusive language in talking about God -- both masculine and feminine.

Winkel said another area where she is influenced more than influencing others is by authors in literature, such as Dorothy Day and Mary Higgins Clark -- through the themes they write about and what they thought. She said it influences "how we approach things that happen in our lives? Who had influenced you? Whom do you influence?"

Women also can bear a message from Scripture. Women must "go and tell" on social justice issues, Winkle said, and that includes Mary's message of compassion and steadfastness. Winkel looks at Mary, not as a women on a pedestal, but as the woman who rode on a donkey all the way to Egypt with her husband and baby.

Other highlights of the convention included:

* Presentation of the Pax Christi award (See separate story)

* Installation of officers

* Awarding of SDCCW scholarships. This year's winners were Patricia L. Obermueller, daughter of Robert and Theresa Obermueller of Glenwood City, and Aimee Franken, daughter of Mary and Steve Franken of Minocqua. Obermueller is working toward a degree in business administration at UW-Eau Claire. Franken is studying nursing at Marion College in Fond du Lac.

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2002