LOS ANGELES RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CONGRESS

2017 DATES: February 23, 2017 (Youth Day) & February 24-26, 2017
2017 RECongress Theme: “Embrace Trust”
Held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California

TransCatholic members will be at the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons

Booth #464

And as featured panelist in:

6-09  Transgender in the Family: One Bread, One Body   

Saturday February 25th – 3:00 -4:30

Gender identity and transgender issues have become hot topics in media, politics, schools and other religious and social Arenas. In this session, a panel moderated by Dr. Arthur Fitzmaurice will speak from lived experience to help us be sensitive, loving and supportive of transgender Catholics and their families in the midst of transition. Fr. Bryan Massingale will offer theological reflection and respond to the witnesses of transgender Catholics and family members on the panel. Attention will be given to exploring best practices for integrating gender-diverse families in our parishes, schools and health-care systems.

Arthur Fitzmaurice, PhD

Freelance speaker and minister Dr. Arthur Fitzmaurice has served a decade in ministry with LGBT Catholics. He has spoken at various gatherings, including the Religious Education Congress, the Faith Formation Conference, the Catholic Association for Lesbian and Gay Ministry, and the Gay Christian Network. Dr. Fitzmaurice appears in several YouTube episodes produced by the Ignatian News Network. He has also received the Archdiocese’s Lumen Christi and the Cardinal’s Young Adult in Ministry awards.

Fr. Bryan N. Massingale, STD

Fr. Bryan Massingale, a priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese, is Professor of Theology at Fordham University in New York. A noted authority on Catholic moral theology and social ethics, he has lectured extensively on ethical and racial justice issues throughout the United States and internationally. A previous Religious Education Congress Keynoter, Fr. Massingale is a former President of the Catholic Theological Society of America and has been a leader of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium.

Let us know if you are going to be there.

THE LOS ANGELES RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CONGRESS

RECongress is the largest annual gathering of its kind in the world. The four-day event is held at the Anaheim (Calif.) Convention Center and is sponsored by the Los Angeles Office of Religious Education. Begun in 1968 as an “institute” for religious education (CCD) teachers, RECongress has grown to include people of all vocations and different faiths.
Youth Day (February 23, 2017) – Congress opens on Thursday with a day-long event for high school youth. This is an opportunity for students – not only from the Los Angeles Archdiocese but throughout California and the western states – to come together and share in Liturgy, workshops, entertainment and to experience the energy of a Youth Day Rally. See our Youth Day page.
Congress days (February 24-26) – The remaining three-day weekend is open to adults and young adults and offers more than 200 speakers presenting over 300 workshops, in addition to lunchtime entertainment, evening concerts, 16 Liturgies in a variety of characters, the Exhibit Hall and much more.
Free Exhibits (open to Registrants only) – One of the perks of Congress is the Exhibit Hall – held Friday through Sunday – showcasing over 200 companies ranging from religious art to music, and from publishing houses to educational institutions, in addition to our own represented Archdiocesan ministries. See our 2017 Exhibitor Listing.

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A Response to a Catholic Teacher and Parent

Source: A Response to a Catholic Teacher and Parent

This Catholic School board members response to a transphobic letter is a beautiful message of just why we, as catholics need to support transgender students and people in their medically indicated best approach to living life. “When we are seen to be following in the footsteps of the Pharisees rather than those of our Lord, we create great scandal. “

Transgender Catholic Godparent Now Welcomed

Transgender Catholic Initially Rejected as Godparent Now Welcomed–And Other Positive Developments.

This is great news that Bishop Rafael Zornoza has changed perhaps due to social media pressure or just by listening to the growing number of faithful transgender catholics available on the web. Whatever the reason it is another sign of institutional change catching up with the conscience of the faithful.

Transgender Trinity

We Catholics celebrate Trinity Sunday today and it is Fathers Day. The trinity is the concept that God is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It has a parallel in pagan worship in the Mother, Maiden, and Crone. Avoiding gender we could say Creator, Being, and Wisdom. In this world where people want everything to be diametrically opposed: red or blue state, black or white race, good or bad decision, boy or girl baby – I think having our concept of deity challenged to think beyond simple binary is a very good idea.
I didn’t have an understanding of God when I was challenged with my own black and white thinking back in 1995. I became clear to me at 40 that I was a woman, it was my identity and there was no way to avoid facing that any longer. But I had two other identities and they were very strongly entrenched at that time. I had been a husband for 18 years and a father for 13. I slipped in to a deep depression trying to understand how in this world I could be a woman, a father and a husband.
A single mother friend opened the door to an answer when she said “I have to be a dad to my son sometimes as well as being a mom so I don’t see why a woman can’t be a dad” So with her pragmatic approach to a common problem we as a family just started to work on it.
We found a therapist who could see the love we had for each other beyond ‘normal’ family roles. She showed us how actually it was important for me to be a good spouse and parent to the people I love. Being honest with them and being a whole person to them was the most basic of a truly deep and loving relationship regardless of gender. Ultimately it was their unconditional love for me that made it possible for us to live as an authentic (if a bit unconventional) family.
So while I am a sister to my brothers, a daughter to my mother, a wife to my wife, and a woman to my church, community, work and world I am (at times) still a father to my daughter. It doesn’t challenge my identity as a woman because I am proud of my role in creating the wonder that is my daughter. Proud that she is strong enough in her own identity to wish me a Happy Father’s Day.