Dear Parishioners,

Each Spring I join fellow priests from my seminary days for a class reunion. In 1963 we were ordained as Diocesan priests full of youthful energy, dreams and hope. It was just the beginning of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) that would so dramatically change and shape the future Church. We were very much a committed part of an amazing concern for justice in the world and what the Pope called "aggiornamento" (updating and change). Eight of us were ordained for the Diocese of Oakland and another fourteen for San Francisco, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Hawaii and Nevada. Death and resignations from the priesthood have left us with eleven still in active ministry.

We spent the first decade of our ministry struggling to implement much of the dreams and vision of the Church that were very much our vision and dreams as well. It meant revision of the liturgy at parish level from the very first introduction of English and altars turned toward the congregation to lectors, communion in the hand and much greater participation; it meant helping to develop parish councils, school boards, liturgy and justice committees, lay ministry, adult education and ecumenical dialogue and celebrations; it meant becoming part of parish staffs and teams rather than "lone rangers", arguments over civil rights and contraception, and considerable controversy with older priests (and later on with younger priests) as well as some polarization in parish communities. In more recent years, I think the same hope and dreams continue, but where in the past there was both support and even mandate from the upper management level of the Church, today there is a hard push for retrenchment and reversal rather than for renewal. Today we continue to have the same faith and the same vision but perhaps a bit less energy. We now live in a Church that does not always support our best dreams and (much to our surprise) we are a lot older and perhaps just a half step slower. It is good for us to get together and to spend a good deal of time sharing how it's going for us personally and what gives us hope.

What gives me hope first of all is the local parish where we actually experience what it is to be church; yes, you here at Christ the King. What gives me hope is so many of you sharing gifts and talents generously, the welcome you offer one another, and the spiritual journeys you allow me to be part of. What gives me hope are strong celebrations of liturgy, caring ministries and compassionate service. The skill and commitment of non ordained leaders, dedicated staff and committed parishioners give me hope. The example of women religious is another source of inspiration. Religious sisters took the mandates of Vatican II seriously, gave far more than others in dedications, ended up paying a higher price in the face of opposition and with generous sacrifice in a time of transition.

Another thing that gives me hope is the willingness of parishioners to discuss hard issues realistically and with common sense; "forbidden topics" like divorce, intercommunion, celibacy, women priests, vocations and "Aggiornamento"! Finally what gives me hope is when we are patient and caring with each other, generous with collaboration and support both when things go well and when we make mistakes. One theologian has written that the Church has not experienced a springtime since the early 70's, that we are in a deep winter. It's great to see you blossom even in winter time.

There are a lot of unresolved and difficult issues today; the practical working out of collaboration, the exercise of leadership and dissent in the Church, the slow pace of ecumenism, polarization and distrust in the Church, the role of women in the Church, celibacy for priests and contraception in married life, the relations between bishops and the Vatican, the shift from a pedestal theology of priesthood to a service theology and much more. Although at first blush we might think otherwise, I believe we are in a Golden Age of the Church because of today's exceptional pressures and challenges. Golden Ages are golden only to historians looking back at them. They are not golden living through them, because anything that is valuable and golden demands a price. I think it is a price well worth paying and because of you I continue to dream and to hope.

Your Pastor,

Brian T. Joyce