I Have a Job For You

If you're reading this email, I know you want to work for transformation and healing in our Church. Fair warning: I'm about to ask you to take a small action to move towards that goal. But first, a little context:

Awake's Courageous Conversation on January 21 will feature the voices of three strong women - Margaret Hillman, Laurie Delgatto-Whitten, and Stephanie Krehbiel - who have had an important role in bringing abuse by Catholic composer David Haas to light. I am so grateful and honored they have agreed to speak with us.

While many dioceses, parishes, and music ministries have made public statements expressing solidarity with survivors and discontinuing the use of Haas's music, others continue to play these songs, perhaps unaware of the painful effects this can have on abuse survivors. While many local music ministers have made survivor-sensitive decisions, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has chosen not to provide any guidance about the use of Haas's music. Awake's request for comment from the Archdiocese was met with this response: “It doesn’t appear to be of concern to parish staff or Catholics in the pew. I would guess the vast majority of Catholics have no idea who David Haas is. This is not his diocese.” 

I truly believe that most Catholics want to build a Church that is safe for survivors, but sometimes we don't take the time to consider how our choices can impact those who have been harmed.

It helps to begin with listening.

So, I have a job for you: I am asking you to help spread the word about January's Courageous Conversation. After you sign yourself up to attend, please pass the information along to others through social media, email, text, and personal conversations.

In particular, I invite you to send the flyer and website to your pastor, music minister, and anyone you know in music ministry (cantors, choir members, instrumentalists, etc). Tell them why you care about this issue and specifically ask that they sign up to attend the event or receive the recording via email. Then follow up with them in about a week to check in and see if they plan to attend. (I'm also going to ask you to follow up with them after the event to continue the conversation.)

Sometimes, it's easy to feel like like there is nothing the average Catholic can do to address the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Well, this is something we can all do. I hope you will take a few minutes and act.


Let's help our Church do the right thing, together.