Affiliate Leaders
Use a discernment process to determine who should fill which role in the affiliate, especially the leadership positions. Having a clear understanding of each person’s strengths and gifts and applying those assets appropriately is important. One affiliate applying the process of discernment chose leaders by lot after they identified pool of appropriate candidates. We suggest prayer prior to choosing names from the pool of candidates.
The strongest affiliate leaders have had experience organizing groups of people.
Target older religious, who are retired, to help in leadership roles.
Grouping, or clustering, parishes can build an affiliate more quickly.
Model the behavior we would like to see in the hierarchy. Keep communications open within the affiliate, as well as with other affiliates. Aim to build real friendship and community within the affiliate. Decisions should be made as democratically as possible.
Until they are well understood by members, state VOTF objectives clearly at the start of each meeting. Members should take ownership of VOTF positions then be prepared to defend/explain them to others.
Always have an agenda for meetings. Do not rely on speakers alone.
Keep membership informed about what is going on at VOTF national, at the VOTF Representative Council and in other affiliates.
Keep meetings interesting. Vary the meeting content to include in-depth working group reports, business meetings, etc.
Have frequent meetings. Successful affiliates seem to meet more often, even weekly.
Allocate time for listening sessions in every meeting to keep track of membership feelings
Bring back survivor speakers for newer members. Become familiar with guidelines for hosting survivors, presented under Survivor Support at votf.org.
Collaborate with the pastoral council of host parishes.
Conduct meetings with a focus on a specific VOTF topic such as VOTF goals, elections, “who we are,” actions, etc.
Form working groups. This will demonstrate the different ways in which we work towards VOTF goals, and keep membership involved.
Consider establishing a Voice of Compassion fund to support the charities in your Diocese. Materials on Voice of Compassion can be found in Parish Voice Startup Package 3, at
Bannings and “Resistant” Pastors
Avoid confrontation is the consensus of VOTF affiliates. Confrontations alienate pastors and laity, are unlikely to succeed and make our supporters lives more difficult. Pastors who ban VOTF affiliates have many motives: pressure from their bishop/vicar, unfounded fear of VOTF motives, and fear of causing friction within the parish.
If VOTF is banned in your parish,join a VOTF Affiliate in a parish in your region. Give financially to a parish that supports VOTF. Consider attending Mass at a parish that nourishes you. Inform your pastor and pastoral council of what you are doing and why you are doing it so that he recognizes that by being negative to VOTF, his parish will lose the vitality and energy of the involved laity. This is also a way of communicating that the parish is losing both the monetary support & services that the parishioner was willing to provide.
Slip information about VOTF into missallettes of banned parishes.
Write letters to church officials about bans and financial issues.
Write a letter thanking a non-banning bishop for his decision, with a courtesy copy to a banning bishop who bans affiliates from meeting on church property.
Meet anyway. Affiliates conduct these meetings in the spirit of quiet non-observance of their pastor.
Meet weekly after mass to recite the Rosary (one affiliate chooses Saturday for this).
Have a full page ad opposing bans with VOTF goals and mission statements in local newspapers
Have a member of the affiliate participate in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Conduct a candlelight procession from the church where VOTF is banned to the meeting site (e.g., the Episcopal church, library, senior center).
Attend a Parish Council Meeting to understand the personalities and dynamics of the group and the mission, goals and activities they foster.
Ask to be on a Parish Council Agenda. Give a 5-10 minute presentation on VOTF Missions/Goals. Prepare to answer questions. Address how VOTF can support the mission and goals of the Parish Council and parish. Have at least two on the presentation team.
Prepare for each parish council member a packet of materials, including:
-Welcome to VOTF (PV Startup Package 1, available at
-Statement on Who We Are (
-Voice of the Faithful Has the Right to Exist (
Meet informally with your pastor to exchange ideas. Write your pastor/vicar/ bishop. Express your concerns about our Church and how VOTF can help. Send articles from periodicals with a note. Invite your pastor to VOTF meetings. Send agendas and minutes.
Try listening sessions after Masses. Offer educational meetings about who we are. Engage the apathetic and address the concerns of those who disagree with or fear us.
Initiate a prayer service after Mass dedicated to healing. Find opportunities to discuss VOTF missions and goals and how they apply in your parish. Give information about VOTF events.
One affiliate in a “banned” diocese gave a questionnaire to parishioners. It asked whether parishioners approved of the banning of VOTF from the parish, and whether they thought it right for practicing Catholics to meet to discuss their faith and the church.
Bishop Accountability Working Group
When you give to your bishop’s appeal or weekly collection, is it clear where the money will be spent? Call for very detailed financial audits from the bishop or diocese.
Monitor the diocesan home page for survivor support – is there a button on the home page directing survivors to available resources? Is the bishop meeting with survivors?
One affiliate created a simple postcard with “What Would Jesus Do?” on the reverse side, addressed to the bishop. These were shared with VOTF members, who signed their names and their parish names, and mailed them to the chancery.
Write a letter to the bishop either as individuals or as a membership.
Use a letter-writing campaign to demand that secret files be revealed.
When writing a letter to your Bishop, send a copy to the priests in the diocese explaining what VOTF is all about.
Voice of the Faithful Maine commissioned a "Best Practice" committee chaired by Deborah Butterfield, Director of Community Services at CommunityCounselingCenter in Portland. Other committee members include Cyndi Amato, Director of Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine, Lucky Hollander, Director of Cumberland County Child Abuse and Neglect Council, Connie Ostis, former Director of Community Counseling Center Sexual Abuse Treatment team, author, and presently professor of social work at the University of Southern Maine, Steven Roy, LICSW and Co-Founder of Voice of the Faithful Maine, other area professionals and family members of those who have been abused. The committee has been reviewing the practices and policies of the Diocese of Portland regarding the reporting of sexual abuse, counseling services and treatment for sexual offenders. In early 2004, the Best Practice Committee will report its findings and recommendations to Maine’s Bishop Joseph Gerry.
Refer to
Bishop Meetings
Set up a dialog team.
Invite the bishop and all the priests in the city/town to a parish VOTF-sponsored dinner. Affiliate leaders can circulate by changing tables to meet the priests as well as the bishop.
It is sometimes more useful to have an intermediary introduce VOTF to the Bishop than VOTF members meeting with him personally.
Have VOTF members take a participatory role in any mass said locally by a bishop (eucharistic ministers, musicians, ushers, etc). This emphasizes our “people from the pews” identity. Wear VOTF buttons and attend the reception that may be held before or after the mass.
Be persistent when seeking a meeting with a bishop. Encourage a dialogue. Enter the meeting extremely well prepared. Refer to the materials in the Parish Voice Toolkit (held by each affiliate’s contact person).
Be in contact with VOTF National.
Collaboration
Coordinate with other PV’s in your geography for event planning, speakers and resource sharing. Regional meetings with groups of affiliates are very valuable for “cross-fertilization.”
Develop collaborative efforts with other parishes.
Work collaboratively and build bridges with parishes in the inner-city (e.g., adopt a sister parish).
Cluster with other parishes on initiatives and major events.
If your affiliate is in a suburban location, find ways to collaborate and outreach to ethnic groups in urban settings.
Contact the Parish Voice Office at VOTF National if your affiliate would be willing to partner (electronically) with another affiliate, in the US or abroad. This partnering can benefit each affiliate and the entire movement.
Communications
Have a communications team in your affiliate. Their responsibility would be writing up announcements, press releases, maintenance of the data base, dealing with the press, etc.
Author frequent letters to the editor and letters to church officials, especially about banning and financial issues. Write to reporters who have authored good articles on the church crisis.
For each affiliate meeting, send a notice at least two weeks in advance to . Your meeting will appear at
Use careful consideration of language so that words do not become a barrier to our attempt to communicate with bishops and pastors.
Everyone who receives an informative e-mail from a VOTF source should pass it on to friends and affiliate members.
Create a Web site for your affiliate, with a link back to the national site at votf.org. Be sure to create a link to the online registration at votf.org.
Submit news and best practices about your affiliate to .
Any regional coordinator receiving the emailed news digest currently composed by Goz Gosselin () should pass it on to affiliate leaders and they in turn should pass it on to their membership.
Encourage members to get online. Electronic communications is easiest and most cost-effective. Meeting notices, news sharing and other administrative matters are best communicated online. Don’t forget your “offline” members, however – keep a clear list of those without email access and create phone trees or other methods to accommodate their needs.
Respect members’ wishes for privacy and access to email accounts.
Refer to your affiliate’s listing on the VOTF site to ensure its accuracy.
Conference calls among affiliates in a region provide an opportunity to share best practices and strategies.
Community relations
Build bridges and establish (or improve) communication with local seminaries.
Affiliates are starting “community relations” working groups, focused on methods and ideas for dispelling the “dissident” label that’s often given to VOTF.
Partner with local Catholic schools and universities.
Conferences
Regional conferences are a great way to build membership, educate the laity and give VOTF a stronger presence in the region. While there might be a national conference every other year, smaller regional conferences covering several states or dioceses can be very effective. Contact your regional coordinator for assistance with publicizing your conference to members in your region.
An invitation brochure and fundraising letter are available from the samples section of PV Best Practices.
Consensus
Rules of Consensus Agreement: Consensus is not assuming there is agreement just because everyone is silent. Ask, "Who cannot agree with the decision?"
Consensus is not deciding by majority vote. Voting makes winners and losers. Ask, "What can we do to modify this so you can agree?"
Consensus is working to understand all points of view.
Consensus is a sense that even if everyone is not in perfect agreement, there is 100% commitment to the solution from 100% of the group.
Consensus is hearing everyone state, "I can live with and will totally support our decision."
Decision Making
Observe a balance between consensus and getting things done. If a consensus can’t be reached, use 2/3 majority vote on a particular subject.
Empower officers to make decisions on smaller matters.
Respect the opinions of others and allow the “other” voice to be heard in all cases.
Diocesan Affiliate Steering Committee
In areas with several affiliates in a particular diocese, it’s effective to form a diocesan affiliate steering committee. With representation from the affiliates, this group can make decisions that affect all affiliates in the diocese, such as determining how to respond to a bishop in a particular situation, or naming the participants in a meeting with a bishop. The diocesan affiliate steering committee can also create diocese-wide programs and events.
Education
Organize an Adult Education Program, particularly around the teachings of Vatican II.
Video Series: The Vision of Vatican II For Today by Rev. Michael Himes series of 5 tapes 20-25 minutes with discussion questions. Can be purchased through the St. Anthony Messenger (approximately $120)
View VHS Video Tape of Fr. Richard McBrien's Memorable Oct. 2003 talk at St. Patrick's Church, Portland . Make out check and mail to: VOTF-Maine, Box 522, Portland, ME04112-
Prepare a Book List for adult Catholics. Purchase books for the church library that advocate lay involvement and openness within the Church. Form a book club to read and discuss these titles. Online resources: and
Host a dinner for local priests. Invite a survivor to share his or her story. Review “Hearing our Stories” at and be sure to inform the survivor that priests will be in attendance.
Designate a volunteer to investigate educational opportunities for laity in your area. Post them to your Web site if possible.
Work with local Catholic educational institutions to offer programs for educating the laity. For an example, see The Church in the 21st Century at BostonCollege. (
Invite the legislative liaison from your diocese to present on mandated reporting and statutes of limitations for sexual predators.
Send suggestions of recommended readings, with title, author and publisher, to . Designate a resource person in your affiliate to be responsible for this. (We are preparing a renewed reading list to be shared with all members.)
Join Voice of Renewal List Serv
Listserv:
If you would like to participate directly in the Voice of Renewal working group, you are welcome to join our “virtual community’—an Internet discussion group (and it’s free!). The list is a way for us to share ideas about concerns of contemporary Catholics.
Joining the list brings you these opportunities:
--You may communicate directly with everyone else on the list, no matter where you reside.
--You may see what others are doing, thinking about (or wishing for) in the area of Adult Faith Formation.
--You may review archives of messages to quickly catch up on any discussion topic.
--Through the Group Web Page, you have access to files, speaker lists, bibliographies, book reviews, and other information posted for group members to use.
The list is free. We use Yahoo as a host, which means that you need a Yahoo ID (easily created) to access the Group Page features. However, even without an ID, you may still participate in the email option of the list.
To Join the VOR Discussion List:
Send a request to with your name and a short note about why you would like to join the group. The list moderator will respond and answer any questions you may have before you join.
Elections
Review the extensive materials on elections in the PV Startup materials. (
Finances
Stipulate that weekly donations made by affiliate members are for “parish use only,” freeing the money from going to pay the diocesan tax levied on each parish. A sample brochure for this campaign is available.
If your affiliate has a Voice of Compassion fund, respond to each donation with a note of thanks to the donor, and, with the donor’s permission, send copies to the bishop and the donor’s pastor.
Listening sessions
Hold listening sessions, especially at the beginning of affiliate formation. Allow a certain amount of time for respectful listening at the beginning of subsequent meetings.
Refer to in-depth information on listening sessions in our startup materials. (See Startup Package 2 at
Meetings
Review the extensive materials on affiliate meetings in the PV Startup Package 1, available at
Have homebound members pray during the time of the meeting for the success of VOTF.
Extend an open invitation to clergy to affiliate meetings.
Post minutes of meetings to affiliate Website.
Screen and discuss a video, such as the 2002 VOTF conference speakers (available from the VOTF national office) or the “PBS” Vatican II series.
Always pray!
Host a speaker on an announced topic with question period to follow.
Conduct a meeting around a particular topic. Introduce the topic to the all attendees and then divide up into smaller discussion groups for a particular time period. Leave time at the end for each group to present the key points of their discussion to all attendees.