THE UNITED CATHOLIC CHURCH
Ecumenical, Inclusive, Non-Judgmental, and Independent;
An Old Catholic Heritage Church for the Church's Homeless
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THE UNITED CATHOLIC CHURCH Ecumenical, Inclusive, Non-Judgmental, and Independent; An Old Catholic Heritage Church for the Church's Homeless |
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2009 News ArchiveAugust 2009. The Alban Institute has opened a podcast series on clergy self-care, led by Rev. Dr. Linda Jones, see http://www.congregationalresources. org and click on the podcast icon. Linda's new Clergy Self-Care Resource for Congregations publication is also available on the website under http://www.congregationalresources.org/Self-Care/Introduction.asp. June 1, 2009. Over the last several months, the United Catholic Church has worked to raise funds to build a welding training institute for the Assisi House, a mission for abandoned children in Peru started by Bishop Peter Orlando twenty-four years ago. This money, along with other raised and grant-procured funds will go with Bishop Orlando to Peru this month, to bring the institute to life and through it, to help create a better and more meaningful future for the children that the Assisi House supports. May 16, 2009. Fr. John Stygles has been awarded the Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) degree, cum laude, from the Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis TN. His dissertation, The Contextual Theology and Christian Ethics of the Irish Travelers in the United States of America, centered on the Irish Travelers, a community that he has ministered to for many years. January 30, 2009. Fr. Albert Pike, OSB has published a book of poetry and prose that chronicles Fr. Al's ten-year journey to the priesthood and emotional healing. Searching for Salvation: From Brokenness to Wholeness is available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon Booksellers. January 21, 2009. Bishop Hollis Dodge has been awarded dual ministry status with the United Church of Christ. He has been the licensed pastor of St. Michael's United Church of Christ in Bridgewater, Virginia through the United Catholic Church since 2005. Dodge was ordained to the priesthood in 1974 and previously served parishes in the Virginia area as well as being a missioner to the deaf in both the United States and in Canada. He incardinated into the United Catholic Church in 2004. January 15, 2009. The Rev. Linda Jones has published Approaches to Senior Ministry and Approaches to Christian Liturgy through the Alban Institute. Both are available on the Institute's Online Congregational Resource Guide. Jones is a senior ministries pastor in Bethesda Md., and holds a MAT from Yale University, a MDiv from Wesley Seminary in Washington DC and a DSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University in New York. She was ordained to the priesthood by the United Catholic Church in 2004. January 10, 2009. Fr. (Major) Joe Moldon received a commendation award for his contributions and successes as a Civil Air Patrol chaplain in 2008. The honorary title of monsignor was also conferred on him by the John XXIII Community of Melbourne Fl. January 1, 2009. Fr. Peter Aduba has been appointed as an on-call chaplain at the Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington, Connecticut. Fr. Aduba was ordained in 1979 and completed his clinical chaplaincy training at Hartford Hospital. He holds a MA in Theology from Saints Peter and Paul Senior Seminary in Ibadan, Nigeria, a MA in Pastoral Theology from Loyola University in New Orleans, and a JCL (MA) and JCD (PhD) in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urban University in Rome. In additional to his hospital chaplaincy work, Aduba is also a halfway house counselor serving the adult male prison population in Connecticut.
2008 News ArchiveOctober4, 2008. The Most Reverend Peter C. Orlando was ordained and consecrated to the Sacred Order of Bishops in Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic Church by Bishops Boyer, Dodge, and Tressel at the Holy Family Church in Goodyear, Arizona. Bishop Orlando was ordained to the priesthood in 1966, and holds a MA and a MDiv from the University of the State of New York at Maryknoll Seminary. He also holds a MEd from the University of Detroit, and a PhD in Human Behavior from the United States International University. In recent years he has served as the pastor of St Francis of Assisi Church in Mesa, Arizona and previously, the Holy Angels Parish in Chandler, Arizona, along with his work with The Assisi House in Peru, a ministry he founded over twenty years ago to care for abandoned children. Bishop Orlando will serve the parishes in the Phoenix area and will expand the international ministries of the church. Click the attached link to read Bishop Tressel's homily from the service. July 11-13, 2008. The west-coast church gathering was held in Sacramento, California. Fr. Peter Orlando of Phoenix was elected to the episcopacy to serve the Phoenix churches and as bishop of missions. His consecration will be held in Phoenix on October 4, 2008. May 13, 2008. Bp. Rose Tressel was elected to a four-year term as Presiding Bishop by a vote of the laity, clergy and bishops of the church. April 4-5, 2008. The east-coast church gathering opened on Friday April 4 with a day-long retreat in Bethesda Maryland, followed by an Ecumenical Celebration of the Eucharist at the Concord-St. Andrews United Methodist Church, with members of both churches attending. Fellowship and a business meeting followed on Saturday in Washington D.C.; the west-coast churches were represented at the meeting by Fr. Tony Prandini of Sacramento. April 2008. The west-coast churches will gather in California on July 11-12 with Bishop Hollis Dodge attending as the representative for the east-coast churches. The Rev. Deacon Lana Engler will also be ordained to the priesthood as part of that gathering, on Sunday July 13, 2008. March 2008. The Good Shepherd parish in downtown Sacramento has launched a daughter congregation which meets at 9242 Kiefer Blvd. in the Rosemont area of Sacramento. The same pastoral team is supporting both locations, with Masses at 8:30 and 10:00 am on Sunday morning at the original 2331 K. Street location, and with Sunday evening services at 6pm in Spanish and at 7pm in English at the new Rosemont location. January 19, 2008. The Rev. Elizabeth English was ordained to the Sacred Order of Presbyters in Christ's One, Holy, Apostolic, Catholic Church at the hands of Bishop Terry Boyer, today at the Atonement Lutheran Church in Sacramento, California. The Reverend English will serve the growing Good Shepherd Parish in Sacramento, and will celebrate her first Mass at Good Shepherd on Sunday January 20. January 13, 2008. The Rev. Dr. Linda Jones served as a worship leader at the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington's Martin Luther King Service in Washington DC, giving the Prayer of Dedication after the Offering. Other worship leaders and speakers at the service included U.S. Senator Benjamin Cardin, Montgomery County (MD) Executive Isaiah Leggett, lay Scripture readers from ten diverse faith traditions, and the Rev. Barry Black, Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, who preached the sermon. Bishop Rose Tressel spoke at the 'Demanding Excellence in Pain and Symptom Management Challenges for 2008 and Beyond' Symposium held recently at Yale University's Anlyan Center for Medical Research and Education, presenting a session on Spiritual and Existential Pain in the terminally ill. Tressel, a chaplain, has worked with people with life-threatening illnesses for the last seven years, and frequently works with those in the medical profession to foster increased understanding of the role that spirituality and religion plays in the physical and emotional health dynamic, in overall life satisfaction levels, and in the assignment of life and circumstantial meaning. Bishop Hollis Dodge has taken up pen and paper and is now authoring a monthly column called "All People That On Earth Do Dwell" in the Shenandoah Journal, a newspaper with a readership of 35-40,000 in Western Virginia. Dodge contends that people naturally incline to the spiritual way, and encourages every seeker to bring as much of oneself as possible to as much of God as he or she understands, commencing the spiritual journey. In this new column Dodge seeks to provide assistance in that pilgrim walk to readers at a distance from a pastor, priest and bishop whose ministry has spanned four decades.
December 20, 2007. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Fr. Rick Lyddon, the Assistant Pastor of Guardian Angels parish in Tempe. Fr. Lyddon came to our church through his association with the Gray Robe Monks of St. Benedict after serving United Methodist Church congregations for many years, and blessed us all with his deep spirituality and encompassing, lived-out love of God and humanity, his keen sense of social justice, and his tremendous gifts as a pastor. He will be sorely missed by us all. Your prayers for his wife, children, and church family are appreciated. December 3, 2007. Major Fr. Joseph Moldon, Chaplain, US Air Force Auxiliary, was recently named Chaplain of the Year by Civil Air Patrol Group 7 Headquarters in Miami for his work. He was also given an award for his work with staff and cadets by his squadron, Search and Rescue, Florida 355, Tamiami Composite, and a commendation and ribbon medal for outstanding duty performance, leadership, and spiritual and counseling excellence, by the Commanding General for the United States Civil Air Patrol, US Air Force Auxiliary. Congratulations Fr. Joe! November 10, 2007. The Code of Canons were revised and adopted by consensus of the laity, clergy and bishops. The adopted change replaces the diocese structure with its single bishop authority and leadership within a geography, with a shared oversight structure that involves the entire House of Bishops working as a team. Each bishop takes on a set of daily ministry oversight duties that best fits his/her expertise, availability, and interests, and these are match-aligned to the needs, time demands, and desires of each ministry in the church. The formal oversight of all ministries is held by the HOB as a whole, thereby enabling assignments to be changed as conditions warrant, while also providing for an ongoing peer review. This change was the subject of a trial experiment for over one year prior to introducing the canon change resolutions, and was found to promote an enhanced sense of unity throughout the church, and to foster more openness and a more active voice throughout the church. October 8, 2007. The spring gathering of the Church will take place in Washington DC on April 4-6 (date change). September 16, 2007. Judy Rodriquez, Lana Engler and Elizabeth English of the Good Shepherd parish in Sacramento, California were ordained to the Deaconate. All have extensive backgrounds in ministry and will be a tremendous asset to this fast growing parish as it continues to reach deeper in service to the local community. June 24,2007. The Reverend Deacons Sue Ringler and Kate Lehman from our Associate Church, the Independent Catholic Church of the West, were ordained to the priesthood at the Guardian Angels Church in Tempe Arizona. Reverend Ringler served the Guardian Angels community in Tempe, Arizona as Deacon and will now serve there as Pastor. Reverend Lehman will continue to serve the community at Holy Family in Goodyear, Arizona, through the summer as Associate Pastor, and then move to the Spirit of Life Parish in Scottsdale in August. June 23, 2007. Bishop Rose Tressel participated in the Pheonix synod meeting of the ICCW and also met with Bishop Terry Boyer to discuss ecumenical outreach to other churches. February 19, 2007. Congratulations to Fr. Joseph Moldon who was promoted from the rank of Captain to the rank of Major this month in the Civil Air Patrol Chaplain Service. He was also recently given the General Benjamin Davis award in recognition of his service. February 10, 2007. Congratulations to Bishop Terry Boyer on his February 10, 2007 consecration to the episcopacy and to his election as bishop of our Associate Church, the Independent Catholic Church of the West. He replaces Bishop Bill Christen who has retired and hopes to finally find some time to stay home, relax, and play some serious rounds of golf. Our very best wishes to Bishop Bill as he enters this new season of his life, along with our many thanks for all the leadership contributions he gave to this church over the years as a sitting member of the United Catholic Church House of Bishops. January 31, 2007. Bishops Rose Tressel and Hollis Dodge are back in the States after a several day meeting with Christ the Servant Church in Ontario to assist them with their strategy and associated missioning development work, which is ongoing.
December 3, 2006. Rev. Deacon Bruce Cory, the pastor of a house church in Cleveland, was ordained to the transitional deaconate at St. Michael's United Church of Christ Church in Staunton, Virginia by Bishops Tressel and Dodge. On the same day, the Rev. Joseph Molden, Chaplain for the Disabled Veterans Support Ministry of Miami was ordained to the priesthood at Sanctuario del Nino Jesus in St. Cloud, Florida, by Bishops Bowman and Morales. Cory holds a MA in Theological Studies and a BA in Chemistry and Religious Studies, both from the University of Dayton, and is specializing in the development of alternative eucharistic communities and spiritual direction programming. Molden holds a BA from Temple University in Literature and has two years of graduate education in Ecclesiology and Ministry. He trained for the deaconate and priesthood under an equivalency program under the mentorship of Archbishop Bowman, and was ordained as a transitional deacon in December 2005. He has a vibrant ministry working with disabled veterans, and focuses his work especially on the needs of those from the Spanish-speaking community. November 2006. Rev. Luis Gomez and Rev. Jeff Graves were ordained into our Associate Church, the Independent Catholic Church of the West, for service in the Good Shepherd Parish of Sacramento, California on November 12, 2006. On October 12, the Holy Family Parish of Goodyear, Arizona, ordained Kate Lehman to the diaconate and both Rev. Judith Loftus and Rev. Tim Ward, transitional deacons, to the priesthood for service in that community. August 13, 2006. Rev. Tony Prandini of the Good Shepherd Parish in Sacramento, California was ordained to the priesthood. August 10, 2006. The House of Bishops announce the creation of a covenant level inter-jurisdiction relationship model using the Associate Church provision of the UCC canons. Announcement Attached. (See also, the About Us Section homepage and Code of Canons in the Document section for more information about Associate Churches). June 19 - 21, 2006. The House of Bishops met in Florida during the week of June 19 and released clarified ordination and incardination requirements. They also made significant progress on a communications plan for enhanced intra and inter-church communications and relationships. June 20, 2006. The Reverend Hollis Dodge was consecrated as the Bishop for the Diocese of St. Oscar Romero, and the Reverend Rose Tressel as the Presiding Bishop of the United Catholic Church, at Sts. Felicity and Perpetua Church (Sanctuario del Nino Jesus) in St. Cloud, Florida. Archbishop Robert Bowman was the primary consecrator and was supported by Bishop Morales of the Diocese of St Mary Magdala, and Bishop Christen of the Diocese of the South West. May 9, 2006. The Diocese of the Great Lakes led by Bishop Lawrence Cameron, elected to leave the United Catholic Church, and has become affiliated with the American Anglican Council. Fathers Brian Brown and Francis Sahuque also resigned. March 27, 2006. The houses of governance of the United Catholic Church elected the Reverend Rose Tressel as the Presiding Bishop of the church, and the Reverend Hollis Dodge as the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Oscar Romero. Bishop-elect Tressel was ordained a priest by the United Catholic Church in 2001 and has since served as the pastor of Bethany Church, a cell church network with parishioners in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Tressel holds a MDiv from the Trinity Theological Seminary with the University of Liverpool, and a MBA from the University of New Haven in Connecticut. A certified clinical healthcare chaplain, Tressel is employed as a hospice chaplain supporting at home and nursing home based patients in the central Connecticut region. Prior to turning to the ministry, Tressel was a successful business executive and business strategy consultant serving companies in the global 200. Bishop-elect Dodge was ordained a priest in 1974 and was subsequently active in pastoral ministry for 18 years in the Virginia region. Dodge incardinated into the United Catholic Church in 2004, and is currently pastoring St. Michael's Church, a United Church of Christ congregation located in Bridgewater, Virginia. A certified rehabilitation counselor, Dodge is an active consultant in this field as well. Bishop-Elect Dodge holds BA in Philosophy from St. Mary's College in Baltimore Maryland, a MDiv from St. Mary's University in Baltimore, a MA in American History from James Madison University in Harrison, Virginia, and a MS in Rehabilitation Counseling from the Virginia Commonwealth University. January 2006. The clergy and laity begin the year continuing the discernment process that the church began with Archbishop Bob Bowman's retirement plans announcement in the Fall of 2005. Archbishop Bowman will be stepping back from his active leadership roles at both the national and diocesan levels when a succession plan is put in place.
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