Mode of Program Participation
Community Organizing and Educational Programming
Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
The Telling Takes Us Home: A Panel Responding to the Appalachian “People’s Pastoral”
Session Abstract or Summary
The groundbreaking 1975 pastoral letter of the Roman Catholic bishops of Appalachia, “This Land is Home to Me,” had a profound impact within the Catholic community and beyond. Unlike most church documents, the pastoral was written “from below,” organized by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA), a grassroots network of lay people, religious sisters, and activists influenced by liberation theology and the Catholic Worker Movement. The power of the document’s rendering of the Appalachian narrative and its vision of faith and justice was recognized in the Appalachian Studies community, especially in the way it honored the dignity of everyday people by listening to their stories and their hopes for change before daring to suggest possibilities for action. Twenty years later, CCA organized an anniversary bishops’ pastoral on sustainable communities in Appalachia called “At Home in the Web of Life” which anticipated, by two decades, themes present in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. In late 2015, CCA published a third pastoral, “The Telling Takes Us Home: Taking Our Place in the Stories that Shape Us.” As a “People’s Pastoral,” this document continues the method of listening first to the stories of the people, but unlike the original documents, CCA did not seek authoritative signatures from the region’s bishops. Instead, the document lifts up the authority of the “magisterium of the poor and of Earth” and urges people of faith to respond. In this session, a diverse panel of academics, ministers, and activists will discuss the new document's message and potential regional impact among religious activists, and the document’s lead author will also offer a response.
Presentation #1 Title
The Telling Takes Us Home: A Panel Responding to the Appalachian “People’s Pastoral”
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The groundbreaking 1975 pastoral letter of the Roman Catholic bishops of Appalachia, “This Land is Home to Me,” had a profound impact within the Catholic community and beyond. Unlike most church documents, the pastoral was written “from below,” organized by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA), a grassroots network of lay people, religious sisters, and activists influenced by liberation theology and the Catholic Worker Movement. The power of the document’s rendering of the Appalachian narrative and its vision of faith and justice was recognized in the Appalachian Studies community, especially in the way it honored the dignity of everyday people by listening to their stories and their hopes for change before daring to suggest possibilities for action. Twenty years later, CCA organized an anniversary bishops’ pastoral on sustainable communities in Appalachia called “At Home in the Web of Life” which anticipated, by two decades, themes present in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. In late 2015, CCA published a third pastoral, “The Telling Takes Us Home: Taking Our Place in the Stories that Shape Us.” As a “People’s Pastoral,” this document continues the method of listening first to the stories of the people, but unlike the original documents, CCA did not seek authoritative signatures from the region’s bishops. Instead, the document lifts up the authority of the “magisterium of the poor and of Earth” and urges people of faith to respond. In this session, a diverse panel of academics, ministers, and activists will discuss the new document's message and potential regional impact among religious activists, and the document’s lead author will also offer a response.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Dwight B. Billings, a professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky, is a past president of the Appalachian Studies Association and past editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Allen Johnson lives in rural West Virginia. He coordinates the advocacy organization Christians for the Mountains.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Karan Ireland is Program Director with West Virginia Solar United Neighborhoods (WV SUN) where she works with residents to develop solar co-ops across the state. She previously served as Development Director with West Virginia Citizen Action Group, working for access to safe drinking water and taking a lead role in response to the 2014 Elk River Chemical Leak. Karan is also a councilwoman for the City of Charleston, West Virginia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Michael Iafrate is Co-Coordinator of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia and served as the lead author of The Telling Takes Us Home: Taking Our Place in the Stories that Shape Us. He is a West Virginia native and is completing a dissertation in theology for the University of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. His writing has appeared in National Catholic Reporter and Religion Dispatches and in the collections Secular Music and Sacred Theology, edited by Tom Beaudoin (Liturgical Press, 2013) and the forthcoming Music, Theology, and Justice, edited by Michael O’Connor, Christina Labriola, and Hyun-Ah Kim (Lexington Books, 2017).
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #5
Edward Sloane is a native of Wheeling, WV and a doctoral candidate at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in an interdisciplinary Theology and Education program. He received his Master's degree in Theology at Xavier University and has worked in the field of youth ministry for a decade. Edward's research focuses on the legacy of discourses about Appalachia and the interests served by their maintenance.
The Telling Takes Us Home: A Panel Responding to the Appalachian “People’s Pastoral”
The groundbreaking 1975 pastoral letter of the Roman Catholic bishops of Appalachia, “This Land is Home to Me,” had a profound impact within the Catholic community and beyond. Unlike most church documents, the pastoral was written “from below,” organized by the Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA), a grassroots network of lay people, religious sisters, and activists influenced by liberation theology and the Catholic Worker Movement. The power of the document’s rendering of the Appalachian narrative and its vision of faith and justice was recognized in the Appalachian Studies community, especially in the way it honored the dignity of everyday people by listening to their stories and their hopes for change before daring to suggest possibilities for action. Twenty years later, CCA organized an anniversary bishops’ pastoral on sustainable communities in Appalachia called “At Home in the Web of Life” which anticipated, by two decades, themes present in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. In late 2015, CCA published a third pastoral, “The Telling Takes Us Home: Taking Our Place in the Stories that Shape Us.” As a “People’s Pastoral,” this document continues the method of listening first to the stories of the people, but unlike the original documents, CCA did not seek authoritative signatures from the region’s bishops. Instead, the document lifts up the authority of the “magisterium of the poor and of Earth” and urges people of faith to respond. In this session, a diverse panel of academics, ministers, and activists will discuss the new document's message and potential regional impact among religious activists, and the document’s lead author will also offer a response.
