This is the 1st time I've weighed in on the topic of the suppression of the former "Intercessors of the Lamb", but today I received an important email from the Omaha Archdiocese and those who are obedient to the Bishop and taking steps to discern where God is calling them.
They're in a difficult place and I felt it would be worth sharing this information for the former Intercessors are indeed in need of assistance. Please read the text provided below (I omitted the old news of the suppression, etc, all of which can be found on the Diocesan website).
My Dear Friends,
Many of you have been emailing and phoning over the past several days with questions and concerns for the 56 former Intercessors of the Lamb, who under the guidance of Archbishop George J. Lucas, are beginning a time of community discernment as they look to the future. I thank you for all of the prayerful support you have offered to them in this challenging time.
Attached to this email is a letter and a photo of the former community members and a letter from Archbishop George J. Lucas which will help answer your many questions about these faithful individuals as well as address questions you have regarding the teachings of Nadine Brown and the status of the BellwetherOmaha website.
Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support for these devoted and obedient men and women of God.
In Christ,
Rev. Gregory P. Baxter
Archbishop’s Delegate
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Dear Companions and Friends,
May the grace and peace of the Risen Lamb be with you. We would like to thank all of you for your love, prayers and intercession. As you can understand, this has been a difficult time for all of us. Questions and concerns have been pouring in from all over, so we wanted to update you at this time.
Due to the tremendous compassion and generosity of Archbishop Lucas and the Archdiocese of Omaha, we are currently being cared for in a retreat center outside of Omaha. It has been a time to pray, to grieve, to reflect and to rest as we try to come to terms with this great loss. We are deeply moved by the love and support that has been pouring in from all of you and we know that this is what is carrying us right now. The Lord promises us in Jeremiah 29:11 a future full of hope. The weeks and months ahead will be a time to heal and discern the future that the Lord intends for us. Please continue to lift us up in prayer. Pray that we will receive the grace to understand His vision and move forward in His will for us.
Many of you are writing to ask if there is anything that we need. Other than your love and prayers, we need your financial support right now. The cost of finding a home for 50+ people is monumental. Like the Israelites in the Exodus, we left with very little. The Archdiocese is helping us to look for a place which would house our community, so that we can continue to live and work and pray together, and from which we can, once again, begin to communicate with all of you on a regular basis. Our monthly expenses will be approximately $25,000 which includes housing, utilities, food and basic living expenses such as gas and phone service.
VERY IMPORTANT: Checks should be made payable to “Archdiocese of Omaha” with a notation in the memo field for “Intercessor Relief,” and mailed to:
Intercessor Relief
c/o Archdiocese of Omaha
100 N. 62nd Street
Omaha, NE 68132
An urgent reminder: Any donations to “The Intercessors of the Lamb, Inc,” will not be used to support a Catholic organization. If you choose to donate to anyone, personally, whose name does not appear on the list at the end of this letter, you may be running the risk of supporting Intercessors of the Lamb, Inc.
A financial report of donations and expenses will be posted on our website at appropriate times. It is our desire to have full transparency and accountability for all of the generous funds contributed for our support.
Statement from Fr Baxter...with given permission to pass on to former Companions)
The bellwetheromaha web site (www.bellwetheromaha.org) is no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church and should be avoided by all Catholics.
I am working with 48 former Intercessors and will continue to do so as they discern the possibilities of forming a new community. If any one wants to make an “authentic” donation to help the former community members you can let them know that only those checks payable to the “Archdiocese of Omaha” with a notation made in the memo field for "Intercessor Relief" will go to support these former Intercessor members. They can send a donation to:
Intercessor Relief
c/o Archdiocese of Omaha
100 North 62nd Street
Omaha, NE 68132
These would be tax-deductable gifts.
Please feel free to forward this to those who may interceded in helping.
Thank you and God bless you.
Fr. Baxter
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Once we settle in, we will need the following items:
Computers
Printers
Cars, trucks, vans
Possibly some furniture
Phone cards to assist with long distance calling
Gift cards so that we can purchase household items
Please understand that we need some space and privacy to grieve and work through all that has happened. We realize that we are all grieving together, and we carry you in our hearts. We realize that many of you have questions and do not understand what has happened. Even to us, this is quite a shock, but we are all in agreement with the Archbishop and support him 100% in his decision.
It is very important that you know that the canonical visitation with Fr. James Conn was not the reason for the suppression of the public association of the Intercessors of the Lamb, nor was it due to problems with the charism itself. After the canonical visitation, the majority of the community was excited about Archbishop Lucas’ desire to help us grow in various areas of our community life. With the help of Fr. Gregory Baxter, that process was underway and things were actually going well…we began to feel excitement about the future. There are 56 brothers, sisters and priests who, along with the vast majority of our local lay community, remained obedient to the Archbishop throughout that entire process. The suppression came because of the unwillingness of Nadine Brown to cooperate with Fr. Baxter, the Archbishop’s trustee, and the unwillingness of the majority of the “Intercessors of the Lamb, Inc.” civil board to comply with Archbishop Lucas’ directives that would put the civil board in conformity with the Canon Law of the Catholic Church and allow us to move forward as a community within the Catholic Church. We thank those on that board who did comply with the Archbishop.
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The best sources for accurate updates during this time can be found on the Archdiocese of Omaha’s website on the following link, called “Intercessor Update”: http://www.archomaha.org/newsevents/intercessors.html.
Our mailing address is:
Name
P.O. Box 31457
Omaha, NE 68131
Our email is:
intercessorrelief@gmail.com
We are so very grateful to all of you who have expressed your concern for us and who have sent in donations to assist us so far. Your kindness and generosity to us at this time of great need will not be forgotten!
It is very important for all of us here to let you know that all of the former Intercessor of the Lamb priests have remained faithful to the Archbishop, along with the vast majority of former sisters and brothers. We have listed below the names of all of us who are standing in firm obedience to our Archbishop and to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. We are:
Name - Former Religious Name
Father Mark Nolte Father John Mark
Father Kevin Joyce Father John Paul
Father Walter Jong-A-Kiem Father Paschal
Father Christopher Onuoha Father Christopher
Father Michael Voithofer Father John Michael
Father Les Valerio Father Francis
David Hennessy Brother David Marie
Charles Beck Brother Paul Marie
Ryan Waddell Brother Francesco Diego
Sean Tobin Brother Simon Mary
David Simon Brother Noah Michael
Michael Nolte Brother Michael
Edward Wamala Brother John Marie
Deacon Gregory Lies Brother Jerome
Anthony Kote-Witah Brother Anthony of the Lamb
Matthew Bomm Brother Matthew Thomas Mary
Thomas Todt Brother Jeremiah
Bob Newell Brother Raphael
Bill O’Connor Brother Peter
Agnes Bitature Sr. Cecilia Marie
Angelina Pang Sr. Angelina
Angela Lee Sr. Angela Mary
AntoninaForteza Sr. Mary Antonina
Barbara Lund Sr. Barbara
BenedictaQuainoo Sr. Benedicta Therese
Carmen Ramos Sr. Pia Therese
Catherine Mackid Sr. Agnes Anawim
Cecilia Becker Sr. Maria Rosa
Chris Gerien Sr. Catherine Marie
Cindy Iglesias Sr. Carmela
Cristina Guevara Sr. Mary Cristina
Danielle Tayabas Sr. Mary Angelus
DanikaBoever Sr. Mary Danika
Elisabeth Ng Sr. Mary Natalia
Gloria Erickson Sr. Gloria
Holly Dow Sr. Holly
Jacqueline Bocklett Sr. Anna Marie
Janice McGrew Sr. Mary Hope
Jean Felber Sr. Jean Michelle
Jenny Mansingh Sr. Rosalinda Marie
JuliannaKoh Sr. Therese Marie
Kate Casale Sr. Mary Rose
Kathy Hawkins Sr. Miriam Agnes
Lily Ogbulafor Sr. Mary Uchenna
Linda Roach Sr. Gabriella
Linda Marie Neuhoff Sr. Elizabeth Marie
Lindsay Brennan Sr. Lucia Therese
LouellaColburn Sr. Louise Marie
Louise Edwards Sr. Louise
Lynne Keating Sr. Judith Marie
Rebecca Wunderlick Sr. Rebecca
Rose-Mary Roy Sr. Rose Virginie
Rita Gatt Sr. Rita Therese
Rita Bazzi Sr. Mary Rita
Sherraline Lewis Sr. Petra
Vilma Gomez Sr. Evangeline
Those who have decided to return to their homes and to their lives in the world are:
Donna Fleming Sr. Mary Magdalene
Marianne Bell Sr. Margaret Mary
Mavis Stowers Sr. Mary Faustina
Wade Marsh Br. Francis Ambrose
Once again, we thank all of you who have been so kind and supportive to us during this time of trial. We repeat our promise to pray for you, for your needs and for all the intentions of your hearts.
Gratefully, in the Heart of Jesus and Mary,
(signed by the former Intercessors)
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Please note that I was not a "Companion" and do not share the charismatic spirituality, however I do support these good men and women who had a community one day and didn't the next. We are all edified by their obedience as they pass through this trial, and they do certainly deserve our support and prayers.
Other than that, I really don't think I have anything else to say about it. Please keep the former Intercessors in your prayers as they discern their future.
8 comments:
Sr. Laurel at Stillsong Hermitage, http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com/, has recently written several excellent blog posts about the situation with the Intercessors of the Lamb. These posts are well worth reading because they clearly and objectively state the Church's position on situations such as these. Many of the men and women who joined this group were sadly misled and are understandably having a tough time reconciling themselves to the truth. By all means, let us hold them in our hearts and prayers along with all of those associated with this group.
Alice Claire Mansfield
Consecrated Virgin
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Thank you, Adoro, for making this "official statement" more widely known.
We, do, indeed, need to pray for those involved in this "mess".
Hello Alice! I am just having difficulty understanding your comment. With the 56 obeying the Bishop, how is it that many of the former members are "having a tough time reconciling themselves to the truth". I hope this is not offending, and I do not mean to 'brush off' your prayerful support for them. :)
Peace be with you!
Mary
Mary ~ Maybe you should check out the link that she provided - maybe your answer is there.
You could also try this:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1123.snc4/148498_1664588177241_1313358752_1749115_151956_n.jpg
She has a lot on this.
But I think the short answer is this: some people were misled by bad theology and bad teachings but they believed those things. Their lay board is disobedient (most of them), and they have chosen to make themselves enemies of the Church instead of submit in holy obedience, preferring what is wrong to what is right.
Yet look how many members ARE obedient and gratefully are working with the Archbishop.
So...short answer: sin. Humanity is fallen and constantly in need of conversion. Some people more than others!
And there, but for the grace of God, go the rest of us!
Thank you, Adoro, for your response to Mary's question. Mary, I am not at all offended by your question, which is a good one. Adoro, your answer is what i would have said, too. It can be hard to accept that one has been misled by bad theology and bad teachings, especially when one has given up everything to follow our Lord in a specific way of life. But this can also be a marvelous experience of growth and healing for the individual who was misled. Adoro, you are so right -- we are fallen creatures, all of us tainted with original sin, and only God's grace can and does redeem us. Deo gratias!
Alice Claire Mansfield
I'd like to remind all commenters to sign a name to your post.
Further, if you're going to say something adversely to what the Bishop's canonical investigation has found regarding the very questionable teachings of the Intercessors, be prepared to defend your position.
Otherwise your comment goes away.
See the commenting policy on my sidebar, and regarding this particular topic, the Bishop has spoken, with care and after investigation and in fact, there ARE huge issues with Nadine's teachings. That's a fact.
If you can't see them, then either defend your case or stand down, for "anonymous" comments won't be accepted especially without qualification.
I am one of the former intercessors that is with the Archbishop. We are VERY thankful for Archbishop Lucas. He truely has a Shepherd heart and tho it was hard to do, he did what he needed to do and for that we are thankful. We are still in the process of discerning Gods' will for us now, but we continue to work very close to the Archbishop. Thanks to all of you for your love and prayers. We really appreciate them. May the Father pay you back one hundred fold. God Bless!
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