Would you give towards CTA Chicago stipending a member to grow the chapter?

Dec. 1, 2020

Members and friends,

Call To Action Chicago re-started 18 months ago and now enjoys monthly gatherings, as well as actions like June’s ordination-justice panel. The “new” chapter is a rare mix of twenty-somethings and seniors, CTA newcomers and old-timers, with usually 10 but up to 50 members and friends at our events. Hear about chapter gatherings, this campaign’s progress, and December campaign event to introduce our current work to CTA’s longstanding Chicago network by subscribing to our emails via the bottom of ctachi.org!

Yet this trajectory and generation call for so much more. For decades, of course, CTA chapters have connected progressive Catholics across parishes and cities; indeed chapters have become a second home for those leaving traditional churches, even ex-priests/nuns. Now we believe our CTA chapter must become a first home for progressive Catholics -- for more and more generations who have not even felt at home in a church in the first place, and as a home base from which to amass enough Catholics to take on the church hierarchy. We believe that to reform the Church, CTA must today organize itself as a church -- as a faith community and community organization with resources.

Would you donate towards this -- specifically, towards the chapter stipending an organizer? Mac is a seminary student who’s helped re-start the chapter; he would put in more hours in the first half of 2021 organizing our chapter. Through this we believe we can almost double our regular participation, which can grow anew since we this fall started organizing our chapter through three circles -- for facilitation, administration, and initiatives. Mac would organize the third circle, especially for actions, to move our chapter towards taking action on issues such as all genders’ ordination. Through this we moreover look to test our capacity to grow from a volunteer community into a staffed organization. After all, statistics and experience remind us that today’s young people are having to get more education, work, and debt -- and that was before the pandemic; chapters will need more robust structures to sustain themselves.

Finally, THANK YOU! This challenge comes directly from preceding generations’ challenge -- the decades of CTA work we build with and on, that has pushed our churches in fits and starts, and that has pushed our communities radically.

Blessings,

Call To Action Chicago

PS If you’d like to hear more about this campaign or simply connect with a member active in the new chapter, email info@ctachi.org! And remember, hear about chapter gatherings, this campaign’s progress, and a Dec. campaign event for you by subscribing to our emails via the bottom of ctachi.org.