This year Amy Woolam-Echeverria (International Coordinator of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Missionary Society of St. Columban) will guide us through our conference and help us reflect together. Sister Nonie Gutzler, MM (President, Maryknoll Sisters) will explore the biblical roots of Mission Spirituality and the importance of Scripture in our missionary activity and prayer. Father John Markey, OP (Associate Professor of Theology, Director of PhD in Spirituality Program) will speak about how Mission Spirituality will help us to liberate our selves and live for God. Mission Spirituality calls us to seek justice for all creation, and Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF (Associate Director, Franciscan Action Network) will share her experiences in social justice advocacy and challenge us on how we can live in true solidarity with people on the peripheries.
Sr. Antoinette “Nonie” Gutzler, MM was born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in Queens. Sister Antoinette is a 2001 graduate of Fordham University, Bronx, NY, with a Ph.D. in systematic theology. She has taught in both Tanzania and Taiwan during her 50 years with Maryknoll. Her recent publications include: “Internalization and Globalization of Women’s Homelessness: A Taiwan Perspective” (2010) and “Navigating the Tradition: A Christian Feminist Perspective on the Power of Creedal Language to Shape the Lives of Women” (2008). She is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), The American Academy of Religion (AAR), and consultant to the Ecclesia of Women in Asia (EWA).
Sr. Marie Lucey, OSF has been with Franciscan Action Network (FAN) since 2011, advocating for immigrant rights, gun violence prevention, human trafficking and other social justice and peacemaking issues. She also coordinates and communicates with FAN's institutional members. From 2003-2011, Sr. Marie served as Associate Director for Social Mission of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Prior to working with LCWR, Sister Marie served for six years as her community's Congregational Minister (President), following many years as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, Justice and Peace Coordinator, and educator. She has participated in delegations to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mexico, and a CRS delegation of women religious to Syria and Lebanon to learn first-hand about the Iraqi refugee crisis in order to promote awareness, advocacy and assistance on their return.
Rev. John Markey, OP is a professor at the Oblate School of Theology. He teaches in areas of theology, spirituality and philosophy and specializes in foundational theology, systematic theology, ecclesiology and contemporary spirituality. He also works in the areas of the history of philosophy, medieval philosophy, 20th century European philosophy and American pragmatism, particularly the work of Josiah Royce. He is currently working in the area of contextual theology and spirituality focused on the US cultural context. Professsor Markey has written several including:
Karen Clifton (Catholic Mobilizing Network) - Restorative Justice
Karen is the Executive Director of the Catholic Mobilizing Network. She began her work against the death penalty in 1996 in Houston, Texas, when her social justice and advocacy projects intersected with those of Sr. Helen Prejean, CSJ. In 2008, Karen spearheaded the formation of the Catholic Mobilizing Network (CMN). Headquartered in Washington, DC, CMN seeks to apply the Church’s teaching on the dignity of human life in the areas of capital punishment and restorative justice. She has been an organizer and advocate since 1990. Her work has been associated with the Catholic Worker, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the San Jose Clinic, AIDS ministry and she is the DC Coordinator for the Ignatian Spirituality Project. Karen holds a Masters in Divinity from University of St. Thomas, St. Mary’s School of Theology, and has worked in spiritual direction since 1996, and is active in her parish in Washington, DC. She is the mother of five adult children and grandmother to seven grandchildren. Karen was awarded the 2011 Servitor Pacis Award by the Path to Peace Foundation, the Mission of the Vatican to the United Nations to promote peace.
Sr. Judy Gomila, MSC (Marionites of the Holy Cross) - Mission in Contemplation
Sr. Judy is a Marianite Sister of Holy Cross. She holds a Masters in Theology and Religious Studies from St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada. Sr. Judy began her service to the Church as a classroom teacher in the early 60’s. She has ministered as a DRE in the inner city, on the bayou, and in the Alaska bush. Her emphasis includes evangelization side by side with Catholic Social Teaching. Sr. Judy ministered for 10 years with the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Archdiocese of New Orleans and was a Mission Consultant for the Black and Indian Mission Office in Washington, DC. In her religious Congregation, she is the PR/Communications person. In her own on-going conversion of heart in this Year of Faith, Sr. Judy reminds us that Baptism initiates us in our common call to be missionary, to proclaim and witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Roger Keeler (Oblate School of Theology) - Missionary Church in Canon Law
Fr. Keeler is a priest of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta in Canada and is currently Assistant Professor at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, and Judicial Vicar for the Appellate Court for the Dioceses of Texas. He is a member of the Cannon Law Society of America, and of the Canadian Canon Law Society. Fr. Keeler has extensive background as a teacher, professor and practitioner of canon law. He also has wide experience in parish ministry, religious and liturgical education and parish and diocesan administration. Fr. Keeler is especially well-known for his pastoral style of leadership and creativity. Fr. Keeler was ordained in 1984 and has a M.Th. in systematic theology and a Ph.D., J.C.D. from the University of Ottawa and Saint Paul University.
Dr. Kim Lamberty (Catholic Relief Services) - Integral Development
Dr. Kim Lamberty is the Director of University and Mission Engagement for CRS US Operations, where she leads efforts to educate students, faculty, and administration about the work and mission of CRS, and engage them in action to support it. A specialist on US Church-based mission and development programs in Haiti, she began working with CRS after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. She frequently leads workshops and has written several articles on best practices in global short-term immersion for education and mission, and on parish twinning. She has taught theology at Marymount University in Arlington, VA, and at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Missiology, and she is an associate editor/peer reviewer for their journal, Missiology: An International Review. Kim’s first book, Eyes from the Outside: Christian Mission in Zones of Violent Conflict, was published in 2014. Kim is also co-founder and president of Just Haiti, Inc., a fair trade coffee development program that works in partnership with associations of subsistence coffee growers in Haiti and markets their coffee in the United States. Kim holds a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University in New York, an MA in theology from Washington Theological Union, and a Doctor of Ministry, in cross-cultural mission, from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Clare Acosta Matos and Valeria Denisse García (St. Mary's University) - Transformation in Mission: Quién Soy Verdaderamente Para Servir?
Dr. Hosffman Ospino, PhD (Boston College) - Mission Spirituality Through Joy of the Gospel and Aparecida Document
Hosffman Ospino, PhD is an Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, where he is also Director of Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry. He has written several books and essays on questions related to Hispanic ministry, Catholic education, evangelization, and catechesis. Dr. Ospino was the principal investigator for the National Study of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry (2014) and co-investigator for the National Survey of Catholic Schools Serving Hispanic Families (2015). Dr. Ospino presently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and is a member of the leadership team coordinating the process of the Fifth National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry. Click here to learn more about Hosffman.