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An excerpt from "Lemons to Lemonade: The Story of Voice of the Faithful," a talk given by VOTF president Jim Post at the Annual Meeting of the MA Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals on December 9, 2003. The full text is available on the VOTF Web site.

Apart from fundraising, there are some larger themes in our (VOTF) story.

  1. Conscience matters. Sometimes, you simply have to stand up and be counted! Conscience is the essence of "voice of the faithful" - the name itself derives from Vatican II and the sensus fidelium, or sense of the people, that is vital to the work of the Church. We have never had to explain what Voice of the Faithful means or what it is about. That's a great brand name!

  2. Media matters. Name recognition is invaluable. My favorite words are "Voice of the Faithful, the Catholic lay reform group, said today …" We have seen thousands of stories about VOTF, and have worked to shape a public image that is consistent with our actual work.

  3. The Internet matters. Internet - web site visitors are measured in the millions of hits. We can track the pages, content, and frequency of visitors. This is an invaluable source of information about what people seek from VOTF.

  4. Catholics want accountability. Laurie Goodstein, religion writer for the New York Times, in an article entitled "Catholics in Survey Seek Accountability" wrote, "Three of every four Roman Catholics who regularly attend Mass say they want their church to be more financially accountable in the wake of its sexual-abuse crisis." (New York Times, November 7, 2003)

In conclusion, we have tried to respond to a crisis that we did not seek, that was caused by others, and that cried out for a response. My closing thought is simply this: A Catholic activist of another era rightly said: "Know where you stand … then stand there!" That is what we have tried to do with Voice of the Faithful.

 

 

Voice of the Faithful, VOTF, "Keep the Faith, Change the Church,"
Voice of Compassion, VOTF logo(s), Parish Voice, and
Prayerful Voice are trademarks of Voice of the Faithful, Inc.

Voice of the Faithful is a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization.

 

In the Vineyard
January 2004
Volume 3, Issue 1

Page One

VOTF Election Results

Council Updates

Jim Post - VOTF's history and mission

Parish Closing Statement - Steve Krueger, VOTF Executive Director

Letters to the Editor

Working Group Reports

Parish Voice News

Events, Opportunities & News

What Do You Think?

Prayer of the Month

Reader Recommendations

Suggested Reading

Printer Friendly Version

In the Vineyard Archives

Our postal address is VOTF,
Box 423,
Newton, MA
02464-0002

Donations can be sent to this address or through our Web site

For an overview of press coverage of VOTF, click here.

REMINDER: To contact an affiliate in your area, just go to the VOTF Web site at www.votf.org and click on Parish Voices for a menu. Choose "Directory," identify your state by region, click appropriately and you're there.