VOTF BEST Practice, March 2005
Louisville, KY – Vince Grenough

VOTF president Jim Post sent a congratulatory video to VOTF Louisville, KY on the occasion of their second anniversary celebration. The affiliate is finding itself so energized that they have kicked off a membership challenge in their area, but they are not stopping with Louisville. Read their message below and think about joining this bandwagon.

Dear Members of the Louisville area VOTF,

Yesterday I e-mailed the message below, with some personal adaptations, to a group of people who are on my e-mail address list. I sent them to all whose last names begin with "A" or "B". 20 people in all. They are people to whom I have been forwarding some of the e-mails I send to you, our members. I plan to send this e-mail to all the others on my list in the coming days inclusive of women religious, priests and Archbishop Kelly. Lately, a number of these people have (finally) started asking me more about VOTF so I decided that this might be the right "season" to do what I am doing.

I am challenging the VOTF National Office to set a goal of having ONE MILLION members by the end of 2006. This is doable! They say we have 30,000+ members now. If only half (15,000 members) recruited just one new member each month we would have at least 180,000 by the end of 2005. BUT if each new member recruits another member each month the total at the end of 2006 would TOP one million members quite easily. Then Voice would really be VOICE!! Here is what I sent out today:

I want to invite and encourage you to become a member of Voice of the Faithful. I have been a member for almost two years and I have come to believe that Voice is truly a work of the Holy Spirit. VOTF's Mission is "to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit through which the faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church." We have three goals: to support those who have been abused; to support priests of integrity; and to shape structural change within the Catholic Church.

All that is required to join is that you support and believe in Voice of the Faithful's mission and goals. There are no membership dues; no requirement to attend meetings (even though we would warmly welcome your active involvement.) Your name and personal information will be kept confidential.

Voice of the Faithful, as you probably know, began in Boston in early 2002 in response to the shocking revelations of widespread clergy sexual abuse of minors, and the cover-ups by our bishops. There are now about 40,000 members who live in all 50 States and in many other countries. Our members are active Catholics in all walks of life, including Sisters and priests.

One of the things I like about Voice of the Faithful is that we are a centrist organization, yet we are made up of "moderates," "conservatives," and "liberals." Most of our members have strong opinions, one way or the other, about a variety of issues but we stay focused on our three goals.

To learn more and/or to join go to the Voice of the Faithful web site. I will be happy to respond to any questions by e-mail or by phone (812) 282-6395. Feel free to pass this information on to anyone who is interested. Thanks for all you do, and let's keep one another in prayer.