We choose presenters from among pastors, pastoral leaders and academic leaders on both the local and diocesan level.  We ask them to address a variety of interesting and important social, political, moral and theological issues which shape the lives of Catholics in the Church today.

This year's Forum presentations will be live-streamed on this page
and archived on YouTube at:
https://bit.ly/summer-forum-archive

Our Summer and Winter Forum programs are made possible in part by a grant from the Archbishop Kucera Center for Catholic Intellectual and Spiritual Life at Loras College.

Audience
This program is appropriate for adults and young adults in all thresholds of faith formation.
> Click here to learn more about the thresholds of faith formation.

Take-Away
Adults and young adults who participate in this opportunity will:
• learn more about important issues which affect our lives as Catholic Christians.
• have an opportunity to dialog with distinguished pastoral leaders, theologians and
   academics.
• appreciate the challenges and opportunities of a changing Church in a changing world.

2020 Summer Forum

In their 2018 Pastoral Letter Against Racism, “Open Wide Our Hearts,” the U.S. bishops wrote:
“To work at ending racism we need to engage the world and encounter others—to see, maybe for the first time, those who are on the peripheries of our own limited view….  This demands that we go beyond ourselves, opening our minds and hearts to value and respect the experiences of those who have been harmed by the evil of racism.”
Our 2020 Summer Forum presentations will examine racism in America from a variety of perspectives in an effort, as the bishops urged, to help participants “fight the evil of racism by educating themselves, reflecting on their personal thoughts and actions, listening to the experience of those who have been affected by racism, and by developing and supporting programs that help repair the damages caused by racial discrimination.”

2020 Summer Schedule

Thursday, July 9. 7:00-8:30pm Via Live Streaming
“Why Black People Are So Angry--A Historical Perspective"

"To understand how racism works today," the American bishops wrote, "we must recognize that generations of African Americans were disadvantaged by slavery, wage theft, 'Jim Crow' laws, and by the systematic denial of access to numerous wealth-building opportunities reserved for others. This has left many African Americans without hope, discouraged, disheartened, and feeling unloved. While it is true that some individuals and families have thrived, significant numbers of African Americans are born into economic and social disparity."
In this presentation, Nikole Hannah-Jones will examine the historical roots of racism and the reasons why people of color are so angry.
> Read Ms Hannah-Jones award-winning 1619 essay here.
> Read a critical review of the essay here.
> Read the U.S. bishops' statement on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act here.

Presented by Rev. Abraham Funchess

"As a nation," the bishops wrote, "we have never sufficiently contended with the impact of overt racism. Nor have we spent the necessary time to examine where the racist attitudes of yesterday have become a permanent part of our perceptions, practices, and policies of today, or how they have been enshrined in our social, political, and economic structures. Much can be learned in hearing the stories of those who have lived through the effects of racism. In examining the generational effects of racism on families, communities, and our Church, each of us can begin to act in solidarity to change the prospects for future generations."
In this presentation, Rev. Funchess will explore the experiences of being a person of color in a predominately white society.
> Read "What Is Systemic Racism?" here.

Presented by Reginald Green

"The truth that we must face is straightforward," the bishops wrote. "When one culture meets another, lack of awareness and understanding often leads to grossly distorted value judgments and prejudice. This prejudice fuels attitudes of superiority that are embedded in, and reinforced by, social structures and laws....  Consistently, African Americans have been branded, by individuals, society, and even, at times, by members of the Church, with the message that they are inferior. Likewise, this message has been imprinted into the U.S . social subconscious."
In this presentation, Reginald Green will explain the meaning and identify the characteristics of what is called "white privilege".
> Read "The Assumptions of White Privilege" here.

Thursday, July 30. 7:00-8:30pm Via Live Streaming
“How People of Faith Must Respond to Racism"

Presented by Bishop Joseph Perry

"We realize the ways that racism has permeated the life of the Church and persists to a degree even today," the Catholic bishops wrote.  "...[W]e acknowledge the many times when the Church has failed to live as Christ taught—to love our brothers and sisters.  Acts of racism have been committed by leaders and members of the Catholic Church...and her institutions. We express deep sorrow and regret for them....  We call on the members of the Body of Christ to join others in advocating and promoting policies at all levels that will combat racism and its effects in our civic and social institutions...."
In this presentation Bishop Perry will examine the Christian call to work for racial justice and the church's commitment to justice and reconciliation in the church and in society.
> Read the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter "Open Wide Our Hearts" here.
> Watch a video about the bishops' letter here.
> Read the Final Report and Recommendations of the U.S. Bishops' Task Force to Promote Peace in Our Communities here.
> Read "The Catholic Church and the Black Lives Matter Movement" here.

•   •   •

2020 Summer Forum Presenters

Rev. Abraham Funchess is Pastor of Jubilee United Methodist Church in Waterloo and executive director of the Waterloo Commission on Human Rights.  He is a native of South Carolina and the recipient of many awards and recognitions, including the W.E.B. DuBois Award for Social Activism from Hampton University in Virginia and the Bishop James S. Thomas Leadership Award from the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  Rev. Funchess is the author of a children's book, Rise!, and founder of MLK New Jerusalem LLC.  He and his wife Veronica McGee are the parents of a young adult son. 

Reginald Green lives in Cedar Falls and is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church.  He is currently working to undo racism through an organization he founded, Hidden Heritage, a virtual museum, and is actively involved in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Northeast Iowa Synod's Racial Justice Network and the Synod's Transforming White Privilege leadership training program.  He is an experienced workshop facilitator and educator whose professional career consists of college and university students service, academic advising, standardized testing, and sociology instruction.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is a native of Waterloo and a graduate of West High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in History and African-American Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media.  Hannah-Jones is an investigative reporter who has specialized in civil rights.  She joined the staff of The New York Times in 2015 and wrote the first essay in the Times Magazine's 1619 Project, for which she won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.  The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative which aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the center of the national narrative.

Most Rev. Joseph Perry is auxiliary bishop of Chicago.  Bishop Perry is a native of Chicago who was ordained for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1975.  He has undergraduate degrees in philosophy and theology, a Master of Divinity degree from St. Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee, and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America.  He is currently adjunct professor of canon law Mundelein Seminary in Chicago and serves as Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on African American Catholics.  Bishop Perry is former Vice President of the Board of the Black Catholic Congress; and former National Chaplain for the Knights of St. Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary.
 

Important Information About the Summer Forum

Evaluations
Please evaluate any session which you attend.  The online evaluation for each session is here.
Comments or Questions. 
To make a comment or ask a question of the presenter, email your comment or question to: summerforum20@gmail.com.
You will be able to read the presenter's response to your comment or question here.
Summer Forum Archives
Past programs in the Summer Forum Series are available here.
 

[Last Update: 07.10.20]