ESBVM

Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary – USA

Meeting October 2, 2010

My Sister’s Place Women’s Center
17 W Franklin St
Baltimore, MD
410.727.3523
www.catholiccharities-md.org/my-sisters-place/msp

9 am Registration, coffee and tea [Those wishing lunch will be given a lunch card
for $10.00 donation (for My Sister’s Place).
Lunchtime shared with women at the center.
Lunch also available at area restaurants. ]

9:15 am Rev. Joshua D. Genig, St. John Lutheran Church, Wheaton, Illinois
“Virgin Mary in the Lutheran Tradition”

10:15 am Report, ESBVM 17th International Congress, Garstang, Lancashire, UK
Other news.

10:30 am “She knew trouble: loneliness, hatred, fear and sorrow; and
Mary was her name.”
Dedicated to the mothers at “My Sister’s Place Women’s Center”
Dr. Virginia Kimball, ESBVM-USA President

11:30 am Break for lunch, to be shared at My Sister’s Place

1 pm [SHARP] Tour of the Basilica of the Assumption, 409 Cathedral Street,
Baltimore, MD [Right next door]

[Tour and day’s events will be concluded at 2 pm.]

The Mariological Society of America invites proposals for its May 17-20, 2011 conference in Scottsdale, Arizona on the Marian dimensions of the evangelization, settlement and development of the territories that are now the USA and Canada. Proposals can cover any period of history from the 16th through the 19th centuries. Issues and questions may be approached from the viewpoint of systematic theology, art, literature, Scripture, popular religiosity, ecclesiastical and/or cultural history.

Some possible topics might include:

• Marian doctrine and devotion among the early missionaries who evangelized and contributed to the establishment and growth of the Catholic Church in the United States and Canada.
• The Marian charisms of particular religious congregations (e.g. The Society of Mary, Sister Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate) and their contributions to Catholic life in the USA and Canada.
• The Marian dimensions of the faith and culture of various ethnic groups in what is now the USA and Canada (e.g. Native Americans, Hispanics, French Canadians, Germans, Irish, Poles, and Italians).
• The Mariology and/or Marian devotion in the life and preaching of notable Catholic figures–especially canonized Saints, those recognized as “Blessed” and those whose causes for beatification have been introduced.
• Marian shrines and basilicas in the USA and Canada (e.g. the Spanish Missions, Cap de la Madeleine, Sainte Anne de Beaupre, the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore, MD, etc.).
• The Mariology and/or Marian devotion of the early Catholic Church in the USA or Canada (e.g. the 1846 petition of the Sixth Provincial Council of Baltimore to the Holy See to place the Catholic Church in the USA under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception).
• Mariology and Marian devotion in Catholic education in the USA and Canada from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries.

*Deadline: October 31, 2010

Please send title and precis of your contribution by email to: Father John Phalen, CSC at jphalen@hcfm.org or to

Dr. Robert Fastiggi at Fastiggi.Robert@shms.edu.
For more information call or write:
Mariological Society of America
MSA Secretariat

Father Thomas A. Thompson, S.M. at Thomas.Thompson@notes.udayton.edu
The Marian Library
The University of Dayton
Dayton, OH 45469-1390
Phone: 937-229-4294
FAX: 937-229-4258

The Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary [often referred to as ESBVM] has been saddened to learn of the death of the Right Rev’d Bishop Mervyn Alexander, Bishop Emeritus of Clifton who was a founder member of the society and one of its patrons since becoming a Bishop.

When he celebrated his own Diamond Jubilee of priestly ordination on 28th Oct 2008 at a celebratory meal held in his honour at Clifton Cathedral to which the Hon Gen Sec was invited he spoke of his certainty that the Blessed Virgin Mary was a needed presence in all ecumenical exchange since she has been at the heart of the church ever since its beginning.. Father Bill, OSM presented Bishop Mervyn with a gift and congratulatory card from the ESBVM on that occasion and expressed the society’s continuing deep regard for their patron who was one of the three founding co-chairmen of the ESBVM.  This deep esteem for Bishop Mervyn continues as we reflect at this moment of his passing on the eve of the Assumption on a life rich in example and inspiration to so many.

The feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a great moment when we remember that the point of following Jesus is one day ourselves to enter into his glory with Him. Our Lady, The Blessed Virgin Mary is a sure sign that this can be done when one faithfully follows Her Son. From the moment she said “let it be done to me” she was on the way and she got there and encourages us to ‘Do whatever he tells you’ to achieve the same goal. Bishop Mervyn addressed the society on more than one occasion and we especially remember his encouragement of the society when it held in Bristol its 11^th International Congress in 1996. Sometimes among Christians, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been regarded as a source of division and misunderstanding. Bishop Mervyn didn’t think that should be so and his engagement in ecumenical work with the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary showed his belief and conviction that reconciliation among Christians needed a sound understanding of the Virgin and her place in the church and a truly ecumenical devotion to the Mother of the Lord. The society has been strengthened in this area of Ecumenism by the part Bishop Mervyn played in such a significant way and we give thanks for his having been among us.

Members of the society in the Bristol/Bath area may be helped to know that the Bishop’s mortal remains will be received in Clifton Cathedral by the Dean and Cathedral Chapter on Sunday 22^nd August at 17.30 and the Requiem Mass will take place on Tuesday 24^th August at 11.30am May he rest in Peace.

BEST WESTERN GARSTANG COUNTRY HOTEL & GOLF CLUB GARSTANG NR.PRESTON, LANCS PR3 1YE
Fully inclusive single occupancy for 4 nights £345.00p per person + £25 conference fee
Fully inclusive shared occupancy for 4 nights £255.00p person + £25 conference fee
Non-residential (including lunch) £30 per day [Dinner £18.95] + £10 conference fee

INTRODUCTION
The congress is timely in the anniversary year of the Centenary of the seminally ecumenically influential Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910 / the 50th anniversary of the inspirational foundation of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity Secretariat for Christian Unity and the challenging 60th or Diamond Anniversary Jubilee of the promulgation of Pius XII’s Apostolic Constitution ‘Munificentissimus Deus’ defining the Dogmatic teaching on the Assumption. These blending anniversaries prompt reflection on themes in which there will be an opportunity to explore and reflect on whether and how the Virgin Mary has been taken into different cultures around the world.

PROGRAMME
Monday 19th July 2010

Lecture I: Rev Dr David M Chapman (Methodist Faith and Order Committee) ‘Revisiting the Edinburgh Missionary Conference: Encounter, Inculturation and Mary

Tuesday 20th July

Lecture II: Dr.Virginia Kimball (Professor of Theology, Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA): ‘The Bible at the core of Marian ecumenical dialogue: What kind of exegesis has been helpful?’

Lecture III: Bishop Andrew Burnham (Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet): ‘The Re-enchantment of the Liturgy and other reflections’

Lecture IV: Fr John Jillions (Associate Professor of Theology at the Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Saint Paul University in Ottawa): Reconciling Her Quarrelsome Children: The Theotokos of Pochaiv Among Orthodox and Catholics in Ukraine and Canada

Wednesday 21st July

Lecture V: Dr.Jan Rhodes ‘”The rosarie, psalter, or croune of our Laidie” in sixteenth century England’

Lecture VI: ‘An overview of a small corner of Marian Liturgy – The Hereford Breviary and other uses’ M Bateson – the mediaeval breviary in Canterbury Cathedral archives / H
Nattrass/C Smith – A Marian Vespers from the Hereford Breviary background /H Nattrass/B Saul – A Marian Vespers from the Hereford Breviary – realising a modern performing version.

Thursday 22nd July

Lecture VII: ‘Popular Religiosity as an Instance of Catholicity and its bearing on the place of the Blessed Virgin Mary in ecumenical exchange: A Roman Catholic Perspective.’
Fr.Christopher O’Donnell, O.Carm. (emeritus at the Milltown Institute, Dublin)

Lecture VIII: ‘Where does the Society go from here? The future task and purpose of the ESBVM’

The program also includes visits to: Our Lady’s Well, Fernyhalgh; Blackburn Cathedral; and Stoneyhurst College.

Further details and booking arrangements from: Congress Secretary at ESBVM Headquarters, 11, Belmont Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 8TE : e-mail: membership@esbvm.org.uk

Spring meeting of the ESBVM usa

This meeting will be held in the Washington, DC area on May 1st, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, 8601 Wolftrap Road, Vienna, Virginia.

For directions & info go to: http://www.olgcva.org or email vkimball@assumption.edu

SCHEDULE:
Registration will begin at 9am and the program commences at 10am. A light lunch will be served (donations gratefully accepted), followed by a business meeting.

THE PROGRAM:
ESBVM is proud to welcome our primary speaker, Mr. Kenneth D. Whitehead, author of many books and articles dealing primarily with church history and liturgy. The title of his presentation is “The Catholic View on Ecumenism.” Among his numerous writings is his recently published book, The New Ecumenism. He has also translated some 20 books from foreign languages. Mr. Whitehead is a retired U.S. Government official who joined the administration of President Ronald Reagan as Director of International Education Programs in the Department of Education, eventually serving as Assistant Secretary for post-secondary education. He came to the Department of Education from the Foreign Service where had been an Arabic-language and Middle East Specialist. His tours of duty included Rome, Tripoli, Libya, Beirut, and Lebanon. He is fluent in French and Italian. Mr. Whitehead is a member of St. James Parish in Falls Church, Virginia, and he and his wife Margaret have four grown sons.

Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue: Next, Dr. Virginia Kimball, President of ESBVM usa, will lead an open discussion on the Evangelical-Roman Catholic report published in the November 2009 issue of First Things. The document may be found on www.esbvm.org. Bring questions and comments for discussion. Dr. Kimball is Eastern Orthodox and an adjunct professor at Assumption College in Worcester, MA.

The business meeting will follow lunch. All are welcome to attend. ESBVM Vice-President Frank Romance will make a presentation on the demographics of ESBVM usa and the status of our membership. In addition, the board will review the galley of the new publication of the ESBVM International Congress 2008 papers, Mary for God’s Love and Glory. A brief discussion will be held concerning a possible future pilgrimage to Guadalupe, Mexico, sponsored by ESBVM USA.

Ecumenical Prospects of Mary is the third volume to come out of the biennial pilgrimages to Walsingham, organised by the Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage Trust. Papers given at the pilgrimage on a wide range of subjects and from a wide range of traditions have been brought together in an attractive and well-produced volume.

An eclectic list of contributors cover the whole range of Christian scholarship and thinking on Mary, her role, her example and her relevance to the Church today, looking both at scriptural and wider historical sources, as well as current reflections and analysis. Contributors range from the well-known in this field to some less prominent but no less worthy writers. Metropolitan Kallistos writes, as does Bishop Peter Forster, on vocation, both of Mary and our own. Dr Colin Thompson, URC minister, the Revd Sandy Williams from the Methodist tradition and Fr Phillip Swingler, a Roman Catholic priest, each provide extended scriptural meditations. Lesser-known traditions are represented by, among others, Fr Athanasius McVay writing on the history of Eastern Catholic Uniate churches, while for the Oriental Orthodox tradition, Fr Shnork Baghadassarian describes beliefs and traditions of the Armenian Church with reference to Mary. New research into the work of Fr Lambert Beauduin, the 19th-century Belgian priest, is contained in an important paper by Fr Mark Woodruff.

A scholarly and thoughtful collection, Ecumenical Prospects of Mary, along with its sister volumes, Prospects of Mary (2005) and Further Prospects of Mary (2007), is a key addition to the bookshelf of any Marian scholar.

Ecumenical Prospects of Mary is published by the Ecumenical Marian Pilgrimage Trust, price £8.95 plus £1.10 p & p

ISBN 978 0 955 11 512 7

For further information on Ecumenical Prospects of Mary or to purchase contact EMPT, 31 Kingsley Road, Plymouth, PL4 6QP pbmarr@dircon.co.uk

Dr. Virginia Kimball, president of the American ESBVM chapter, has just published her doctoral thesis in paperback and electronic form. Liturgical Illuminations, Discovering Received Tradition in the Eastern Orthros of the Feasts of the Theotokos examines ancient liturgical and iconographic traditions that provide new understanding for Marian mediation and devotion having origins in the 5th to the 11th century, common history to all Christian denominations. Available from www.authorhouse.com and www.amazon.com .

Because of the transport difficulties caused by heavy snow across England in the past 24 hours, the meeting of the Council of ESBVM which was to have taken place tomorrow, January 7th, at the University Catholic Chaplaincy at Oxford has been postponed to Thursday February 18th. It will take place at Oxford and replaces the meeting of the Executive that was to have taken place on that day in London.

The lunch at Christ Church College which was to have preceded tomorrow’s meeting is also postponed to February 18th. Please could members of the Council inform Fr Bill Mcloughlin at their earliest convenience whether they will be able to attend the rescheduled meeting, whether they will be attending lunch at Christ Church Colllege and whether they will need a parking space at the college.

The Executive of the ESBVM notes the publication on November 9th 2009 of the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus which provides a means by which groups of Anglicans may enter into the communion of the Catholic Church while preserving those aspects of the Anglican tradition that are compatible with the teaching of the Catholic Church. In respecting the conscience of those who freely wish to take up this offer of the Holy See the ESBVM remains committed to the wider unity that all Christians involved in the ecumenical movement continue to seek. The Executive will place this matter for further discussion on the agenda of the January 2010 meeting of the ESBVM Council.

ESBVM does not comment upon the internal life of particular churches and ecclesial communities, and notes that this Apostolic Constitution is similarly published not as a commentary on difficulties within the Anglican Communion in recent times but as a pastoral response by the Holy See to requests from bishops and groups of the Anglican tradition over a number of years.

Conscious that the Anglican tradition originated in England, known across the centuries as ‘Our Lady’s Dowry’, it is the sincere prayer of ESBVM that under the patronage of Our Lady, and building upon the work of many, including the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity & Mission (IARCCUM), the response by groups of Anglicans to Anglicanorum coetibus will make a significant contribution to the reconciliation of all Christians in one flock with one shepherd, that ‘they may all be one’.

Patriarch Bartholomew delivered an interesting address at Fordham University this month in his visit to the USA.

Click on this link for his addresss at a convocation held on October 27, 29.   http://www.patriarchate.org/documents/discerning-gods-presence-in-the-world