Spiritus Christi sect

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Spiritus Christi is the name of a faith community based in Rochester, New York, founded by former members of Corpus Christi Church. Spiritus Christi was founded with the intention of being "a Christ-centered Catholic Community reaching beyond the institutional church to be inclusive of all." The church's goal is to embrace the challenge of the scriptures and celebrates the opportunity to follow Jesus’ radical message of unconditional love.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Outreach to the Poor 1.2 Inclusivity 1.3 Other important parts of Corpus Christi history 2 Controversy 3 Supporters and Critics 4 External links

[edit] History

Father James Callan was appointed as the pastor of Corpus Christi parish, a poor, dying inner city parish in Rochester, New York. He started implementing personal interpretations of documents of the Second Vatican Council and gained great success in rejuvenating the parish community.

[edit] Outreach to the Poor

• 1977 - Fr. Jim Callan is appointed parish administrator and hires Sr. Margie Henninger, who begins walking the streets to discover neighborhood needs.
• 1977 - Corpus Christi Center begins as a drop-in center and outreach to the neighborhood. It soon becomes a health center serving thousands of uninsured patients.
• 1978 - Parish begins tithing 10% of weekend collection and giving it to the poor.
• 1979 - Money first collected for Haiti and sent to Sr. Isabel Lumpuy in Port-au-Prince.
• 1980 - Supper program for the homeless begins in church kitchen.
• 1980 - Corpus Christi Child Care Center opens to serve the working poor.
• 1980 - Rogers House, a home for male ex-offenders, opens after two years of parishioners visiting Monroe County Jail and Attica Prison.
• 1982 - Winter shelter for homeless begins in church basement; later moved to Dimitri House, which opens in 1986.
• 1984 - Sanctuary is provided to undocumented Salvadoran refugees in collaboration with the Downtown United Presbyterian Church and other faith communities. Parishioners later travel to El Salvador to connect with two sister cities.
• 1986 - Dimitri Recovery House opens for men in recovery.
• 1987 - Isaiah House, a home for the dying, opens.
• 1987 - Rogers House Restaurant opens to employ people coming from prison.
• 1988 - Parish raises tithing amount from 10% to 12%.
• 1990 - Mary’s House, a home for women with AIDS, opens and is run by the Diocese.
• 1991 - Matthew’s Closet opens to sell “gently used clothes” and give away clothes to the poor.
• 1992 - Mission Possible Youth Retreats begin for parish teens to participate in a week of outreach.
• 1994 - Retreats in Chiapas, Mexico begin.
• 1995 - Trip to Borgne, Haiti plants seeds which result in the H.O.P.E. health clinic, grain mill, water purification projects and education initiatives.
• 1998 - Pearl House opens to house female ex-offenders.

[edit] Inclusivity

• 1975 - Spanish Mass begins.
• 1975 - Altar girls first serve on the altar.
• 1977 - Women begin preaching on Sunday.
• 1978 - Induction loop installed to help people with hearing disabilities. Later, interpreters for the deaf begin signing at mass.
• 1982 - Parish Community Forum is established to broaden decision-making.
• 1983 - Family Ministry is formed to welcome and serve families.
• 1983 - Gender-neutral language is used at all liturgies.
• 1984 - Everyone is invited to Communion on a regular basis.
• 1985 - Three Hispanic ministers, including Fr. Enrique Cadena, are hired.
• 1988 - Mary Ramerman and Julie Rinella lift the cup during the Eucharist, revolutionizing women’s roles at the altar.
• 1988 - Church is renovated to provide more space for people in wheelchairs and residents from group homes.
• 1990 - Gospel choir begins in order to welcome more African Americans.
• 1992 - Hospitality Ministry position is created on parish staff and Myra Humphrey (Brown) is hired.
• 1992 - City Colors Youth Group starts to reach neighborhood youth.
• 1992 - Gay and lesbian ministry starts.
• 1992 - Grape juice is consecrated for those who cannot take wine in Communion.
• 1993 - Liturgy Committee presents Mary Ramerman with an alb and half-stole.
• 1993 - First gay union is celebrated (in a couple’s home).
• 1994 - Downtown Workers Mass is started to affirm people in their work environment.
• 1996 - Parishioners gather at Hall of Justice as Fr. Jim Callan is brought to trial for demanding that a tape be returned from a man who recorded it while spying on a gay and lesbian meeting.
• 1996 - Mary Ramerman begins hearing confessions during Reconciliation Services at the request of women who are uncomfortable confessing to men.
• 1997 - Church renovations include wheelchair ramp, accessible rest room, and chair lift.

[edit] Other important parts of Corpus Christi history

• 1976 - Thursday Night Mass begins.
• 1977 - Silver Lake Retreats begin.
• 1978 - Parish divests itself of stocks and bonds and stops using income from Bingo.
• 1978 - First house donated to the church; sixteen more to follow. Over 100 cars donated to staff members (parish had over 70 paid employees by 1998).
• 1988 - Parishioners provide no-interest loans of $100,000 to fund interior church renovations.
• 1990 - Corpus Christi School moves to Oxford Street and continues to operate. Bingo departs permanently.
• 1991 - Services are held to denounce the Gulf War and pray for the people.
• 1992 - Heart of the City Retreats.

[edit] Controversy

Thirteen hundred people gathered at Salem United Church of Christ on December 24, 1998 to celebrate Christmas -- and the birth of their new community, which the Diocese of Rochester considered to be schimatic. All present were members of Corpus Christi Church on E. Main Street.

On August 13, 1998, Bishop Matthew Clark, under pressure from Rome, removed Fr. Jim Callan as administrator after 22 years at Corpus Christi Church. The Vatican had trouble with three practices introduced at Corpus Christi: the prominent role of women on the altar, the blessing of gay unions, and the offering of communion to those who were not Catholic. The Democrat and Chronicle carried the news on the front page the following Sunday, which brought an extra large crowd to Mass that day. Over 1200 people came back to church that Sunday night to organize a protest against the bishop's action. On many occasions that followed, the parishioners gathered in church to hear speeches from the staff and other leaders and to strategize about whether and how to respond to the bishop's actions.

The parishioners held weekly, police-escorted, candlelight marches from the church to Dimitri House, Corpus Christi Center, and Rogers House Restaurant. The youth group printed t-shirts and protested in front of the bishop’s office at the pastoral center. They requested a dialogue with diocesan officials. On October 15, Mary Ramerman was fired from her position as associate pastor after she refused the diocese's demand that she remove her alb and stole and not go near the altar during any church services. Her critics believed she had deliberately politicized the altar in an effort to undermine Catholic tradition. In protest of Mary’s firing, several women in the parish put on purple stoles, a symbol of women’s ordination, and continued to stand at the altar week after week. On October 22, Fr. Enrique Cadena, the other associate pastor, was granted a leave of absence by the bishop for “rest and reflection.” Cadena eventually married and joined the Episcopal Church.

The week after Mary’s firing, members of the Spring Committee organized a Tuesday night communion service for Corpus Christi parishioners who wanted to keep their vision of their parish alive. It was the first of many held weekly at the Downtown United Presbyterian Church, a congregation that soon became an important part of the new community’s future. Mary Ramerman led the services.

The crowd attending these services soon grew to about 1000 people, according to church leaders and members. Fr. Jim, who had been reassigned to Elmira, returned on December 1 to celebrate mass with the community, an action that brought about his suspension from the priesthood a few days later. Meanwhile the Corpus Christi staff continued to work in the outreaches and the parish ministries.

Six staff members were fired on December 14.

By Christmas Eve, many people had decided they wanted to form a new community. Disillusioned by the December 14 staff firings, parishioners wanted to move on and stop battling the diocese.

On January 30, 1999, 500 people met at the Gateway Banquet Center for a Visioning Day for the new community. By the end of the day, plans were made to form a “New Faith Community,” whose spiritual leaders would be Mary Ramerman, Fr. Jim Callan, and Enrique Cadena. Mary became the Pastoral Administrator of the parish. The new community would rehire the former staff of Corpus Christi, and they would rent space from Salem United Church of Christ on Bittner Street.

The New Faith Community held its first weekend masses on February 13-14, 1999. Over 1100 people attended. Ten days later, the diocese informed the members of the new community that they had excommunicated themselves. On Holy Thursday, April 1, the community celebrated its first Eucharist. It was held at Hochstein Performance Hall, the former church where the funerals of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass were held.

By August, the community had made three major decisions: to raise the tithing from 12% to 15%; to name the community Spiritus Christi Church; and to begin the first outreach, Grace of God Recovery House. Grace of God began with the purchase of the house on 120 Franklin Street. Over $80,000 was raised for the new ministry in just three months. The parish also voted to adopt a statement of identity: “We are a Christ-centered Catholic community reaching beyond the boundaries of the institutional church to be inclusive of all.”

By September 1999, Spiritus Christi was a “full service” church offering religious education, funerals, baptisms, weddings, unions, weekend masses, and daily masses. The new congregation was now able to celebrate its gay unions in a church building, whereas before the union ceremonies had been held offsite in homes, parks, and restaurants.

Relationships with the ecumenical community flourished. The Tuesday Noon Mass began at Immanuel Baptist Church with Rev. Dick Myers on February 2, 1999. The Monday Noon Mass at Downtown United Presbyterian Church started in March 1999. Later that year, Fr. Jim began a mass in Buffalo, which is currently held at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension. With the start of 2000, Rev. Don Hoff in Elmira invited Spiritus Christi to join him for a monthly service at the Riverside United Methodist Church. Currently a mass is celebrated there each Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM.

Two of the issues that had prompted the formation of Spiritus Christi Church were quickly resolved: the celebration of gay unions in church and the offering of communion to non-Catholics. One issue remained: how to ordain women. A group of twenty-five people met for two years to study the issue. This group sponsored an international women’s ordination conference in July 2000. The following year, Mary Ramerman was ordained on November 17, 2001 at the Eastman Theatre by Bishop Peter Hickman, a bishop of the Old Catholic Church whose apostolic succession is questioned by critics, representatives of Spiritus Christi, and other interfaith clergy from around the world. According to organizers, nearly 3,000 people attended, traveling from distant states and other countries to witness the ordination. Hundreds of parishioners, old and young, participated in the ceremony. Rev. Mary’s first mass was held the following day at Hochstein.

In the spring of 2002, Denise Donato was ordained a deacon. After a year of preparation, she was ordained a priest on February 22, 2003 at Hochstein, again by Bishop Peter Hickman, the Spiritus Christi community, and interfaith clergy. That same spring, Enrique Cadena left his position at Spiritus Christi and eventually became an Episcopal priest in the Buffalo diocese. He also married and became the stepfather of two children.

Spiritus Christi continued its tradition of ministry to the poor. Beside the Grace of God Recovery House mentioned above, two new ministries were born. In 2000, Eileen Hurley gathered volunteer psychiatrists and therapists and formed Spiritus Christi Mental Health Center. Lynne Hamilton was hired as administrator two years later. Today, over fifty volunteer caregivers offer their time to provide mental health care to those without insurance.

In 2002, Jim Smith and Judy Simser welcomed women from prison and their children to the newly formed Jennifer House. Dozens of volunteers continue to visit area jails and prisons each week.

Spiritus Christi carried over two international ministries begun at Corpus Christi. First, they kept their longstanding relationship with the people of Borgne, Haiti, and helped them start a grain mill, new water purification projects, and a credit union for small business loans. Second, the ministry in Chiapas, Mexico, was expanded to include a cooperative coffee venture and a credit union.

In 2003, the parish headquarters moved to the Downtown United Presbyterian Church at 121 N. Fitzhugh Street to accommodate the needs of the congregation for space for 250 children in religious education. Dave Foster and Patty Fallon were hired as youth ministers to serve 60 teenagers. Ralph Kuitems headed a team of volunteers to remodel the space. A special meeting room was dedicated to Maureen Nielsen, who died in Haiti in 2001.

In the fall of 2003, the first Visioning Board was elected to maintain the vision of the church and to provide an accountability structure for the pastors. Ched Myers and Joanna Manning joined the board as spiritual consultants.

In 2004, Myra Brown gathered a group of racially diverse parishioners to meet weekly, sharing life stories and prejudices. Myra was appointed to serve on the Racial Diversity Board of Call to Action National and began attending a three year training program. The Mental Health Center opened the Living Room two days a week as a drop-in center for their clients. Amy Durkee-Pollock was hired as part-time administrator. The Mother Earth Community was formed and began leading Spiritus Christi parishioners to better care for the earth.

On January 8, 2005, the Visioning Board conducted the second Visioning Day for Spiritus Christi in the hopes of harvesting the vision for the future and deepening the values already held. The Prison Ministry began to dream of opening a residence for male ex-offenders and wrote their first grants for that project.

[edit] Supporters and Critics

Supporters of Spiritus Christi consider the church to be pioneers of a more progressive Catholicism that will eventually emerge in the future.

To their critics, however, Spiritus Christi a fringe sect of schismatics.

[edit] External links

• Webpage of the Spiritus Christi movement
• Positive view from findarticles
• Mixed view, but slightly mocking