California MM Affiliate Trip Report (September 10-18, 2009)

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We set out to visit with the contact persons and members of five northern and Central California Affiliate Groups. Our agenda:

Get to know the chapters, and their activities in the light of the four pillars;
Share info on the affiliate movement and see how we can be useful to the members;
Update forms and info;
Invite candidates for board and regional coordinators;
Encourage participation in Western Regional Conference.

The 1669 mile journey’s events began in San Francisco with gatherings of current and former Maryknoll Sisters – some who were celebrating 50^th anniversaries. Our first affiliate chapter meeting was in Sacramento.

Sacramento Affiliates led by Patty and Deacon Joe Symkowick hosted us and held a gathering of about 10 affiliates and other candidates at the Sacramento State U. Newman Center. They introduced us as “their bosses” – a title we gracefully declined! Besides sharing our agenda, we heard the experience of Tony, an affiliate and youth minister who had just completed an exciting summer internship working “the Hill” on immigration, debt relief, and “vulture funds” with the Maryknoll Global Concerns Office. We were also introduced to the “Just Faith” movement – a strong reinforcing experience for some of their affiliates. Among many initiatives of members were fundraising and short term mission work with the Casa Materna in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, an upcoming short term mission trip to Esquipulas Guatemala, and sharing of recent interesting publications by Orbis press. In anticipation of International Peace Day, Sept. 21, Patty led the group in a a reflective prayer that had been delivered at the Isaiah Wall opposite the UN in 2003.

San Francisco Affiliates were represented by long-term lay missioner Bob McFarland in a joint meeting with San Leandro affiliates at the new Maryknoll promotion headquarters in San Lorenzo. Contact person, Richard Younkin, was not present as he is still recovering from surgery. We were warmly welcomed to the joint meeting by MM Mission coordinator Kris East (Matt Dulka and Marie Wren were travelling). Bob’s wife is recovering from her injury suffered in Thailand. He reported on activities of the seven core members of the San Francisco group, as well as on their six members currently on mission overseas. They are looking to recruit new folks. Bob mentioned that there is some potential for a new affiliate grouping the North Bay, Petaluma area. Ray Knowles there has some ties to the local bishop.

The East Bay/San Leandro group (Mary Ellen Waite, Lisa Kosiewicz, Rosalie and Greg Rienzo and Kris East) explained some of their activities and the Bay area supportive context represented by a monthly Mission Forum, and a relatively progressive interfaith environment. Lisa had just completed an exciting short term mission trip to Piura, Peru in a dynamic diocesan priest’s parish. The members appreciated Matt Dulka’s regular newsletter and expressed interest in continued formation. We said we would try to get them DVD’s on Father John Walsh MM’s excellent talk to the Affiliate meeting at Maryknoll last summer. Here and in other meetings we discussed the possibilities of “affiliate twinning” with mission groups.

Los Altos. Next stop was a warm welcome by Father Bob Carleton and the hospitality of the padres and brothers at Los Altos. We met with six members of the Affiliate group, plus Bob Carleton and another MM priest. Contact person Jim McCavitt explained that he has been substituting as contact person and hopes to recruit new members and a new contact person. Charles Merdinger and his wife explained that they, like other folks in the adjacent retirement community appreciate their proximity to the Maryknoll community, attend Mass there, have access to many speakers but most cannot be involved in missionary activity. On the other hand, another affiliate member, Spencer (last name not available) has frequently travelled to Southeast Asia, seeks short term mission possibilities and the two nurse affiliates, Rose Gregovich and Marie (last name not available) seemed interested in revitalizing the group. Most of those attending were not receiving the newsletter and were not aware of the Maryknoll Affiliates web site. Hopefully, with Bob Carleton’s help, we can identify a new contact person and new recruits for the chapter. Like the Maryknoll sisters’ contemplatives, we can surely enlist at least some of the retirees for their prayer power and others for a more active social mission. And we greatly appreciate Jim’s generosity and hard work in sustaining the Los Altos Chapter.

Our final stop was to the California Central Coast Affiliate Chapter in Arroyo Grande (near San Luis Obispo). There we were welcomed by Paula and Dave Schaffner and were privileged to join in a beautiful Covenant Ceremony of commitment and welcome to the newest Affiliate chapter. The chapter meets every two months, where they share prayer and the rich menu of activities its members are already engaged in. They have a home-building project with Habitat for Humanity, respond to the needs of prisoner families through the “Get on the Bus” project uniting parents and kids, and work on the challenges of the homeless – especially the very vulnerable children. Most group members belong to two socially active parishes and engage people in broader projects through parish bulletins and other communication strategies. Tom Clough leads the prison and homeless initiatives and agreed to participate in our Regional Conference next July.

On this journey, we did not stop at the Los Angeles chapter (sorry guys), since we had visited with them previously, and a delegation from their chapter has visited us and taken an active role in planning the Western Regional Conference. We do plan to visit them again in the near future, and thanks to Cordelia Oliveros, we receive frequent updates on their activities.

The San Diego chapter has successfully recruited several new members to join us and fill the huge gap left by Peg and Joe Santos (on mission in central Mexico), Nancy and Dick Bureson who have completed their many years as Maryknoll Lay Associates, are attending sick family members and relocating to Texas. Father Pete Ruggere MM now serves on the El Paso / Ciudad Juarez border. We continue involvements via local parishes, Catholic Charities and the School of Peace Studies, USD in migrant issues, refugee resettlement, and Palestine / Israel peacebuilding. A core group of the San Diego chapter meets frequently to plan the Western conference, with valued input from the LA chapter.

Regarding our California trip agenda, we are pleased and grateful for the opportunity to have met many Affiliates “up close and personal”. We enjoyed extraordinary Maryknoll hospitality everywhere we went (it is central to the MM charism!). We learned a great deal: about “Just Peace”, the benefits of short-term mission, ways to engage and energize parishes and use their infrastructure; potential for overseas twinning via person-to-person contacts, and that we have to keep affiliate chapters continually in the loop via more effective communications. We were pleased to learn that Cal Central Coast contact person David Schaffner has already submitted his name to volunteer for the Affiliate Board, and we most heartily endorse his candidacy. We have not yet received any volunteers for new state coordinators - sigh.

Joe and Patty Symkowick, Charlie Reilly in their home