News from Sophia Christi

Make Your Voice Heard in Rome

November 21st, 2013

For the first time in history, as far as I know, the experiences of ordinary people are being solicited by a pope, a pope who seems genuinely interested in the everyday lives of individuals and families around the world.  As a result, we have an opportunity to voice some of the concerns we have discussed among ourselves for decades, and to share the experiences and insights born of Catholic family life in all its permutations and diversity.

Pope Francis has called an Extraordinary Synod of Bishops to be held in October of next year.  Its theme is the Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization.  In preparation for this global conversation, Pope Francis has asked that a questionnaire be circulated as widely as possible to gather input from Dioceses, deaneries and parishes so that local people can respond.  Bishops of England, Wales and others have posted the questionnaire online while Bishops in the U.S. seem disinclined to seek broad-based input from individuals and families themselves.  Lay groups, however, have been inspired to create and circulate surveys to solicit grassroots input in response to the Vatican request.

In a November 16 article in the National Catholic Reporter, Brian Roewe provided a link to two survey possibilities as well as the the original Vatican preparatory document with its extensive list of in-depth questions.  That document can be found at

A coalition of 15 church reform groups, most of them part of COR (Catholic Organizations for Renewal) created and posted a survey online for Catholics in the U.S.  It can be found at    (more…)

New Website

November 21st, 2013

Welcome to our new website!  As you explore this site you will notice  a number of new features, including stories from members, a method of donating online, archives of previous newsletters, access to the current newsletter with a click of a button on our welcome page, and a space (and invitation) for you to comment on the current homily as well as posts such as this one.  As you tour the site, enter your comments below.  Let us know what you think!  We are eager to hear from you and excited about opening this opportunity for the community to interact in a new way.

Since this is a new tool for many of us it will take time to learn its features and possibilities.  Your ideas are most welcome.  Enjoy!

Resurrection: Caterpillars Lead the Way

November 11th, 2013

In June of 1995 a young woman named Meredith was driving along a two-lane road late at night somewhere out in the desert.  As she rounded a curve in the road all she could see were the headlights of a huge tractor-trailer barreling down on her.  She swerved to the right to get out of the way, but when her wheels hit the soft sand on the side of the road her car skidded, then flipped end over end, until she was finally thrown 100 feet from the car into sagebrush and sand.

When paramedics arrived they tried to revive her, but couldn’t.  She was airlifted, with no vital signs, to the hospital, then lay in a coma for a week.  She wrote about her experience in a piece for the Resiliency Center in 2002.  “I remember nothing,” she said.  “I can only describe what happened because I read the police report.”

When Meredith emerged from the coma she had no short-term memory, couldn’t move her left arm and leg, could hear herself speak but didn’t know where the words were coming from, and was in excruciating pain when she tried to move.  She envisions her family watching her emerge from the coma and writes: “I imagine it was like witnessing a caterpillar coming out of its cocoon, changing from one life form to another.  I was transforming into a new form of myself.” (more…)

Article by Carol Zolkoske in Eugene Register-Guard

November 7th, 2013

The Eugene Register-Guard published an article written by Carol Zolkoske in its From Heart to Heart column, September 8, 2013.  The article is titled “Sophia Christi Mass steps forward in its inclusivity.”  The Lane County Interfaith Alliance hopes, through this regular Sunday feature in the Oregon Life section of the paper, to create a broader understanding of the range of faith perspectives among people in the region.  Carol’s article is a wonderful tribute to our community.  You can read it by clicking on the following link: http://www.registerguard.com/rg/life/lifestyles/30403008-74/church-sophia-catholic-christi-mass.html.csp