1. RESOURCES OF SPECIAL RELEVANCE TO WORD AND LIFE THEMES AND PRESENTERS:
- The Center for Action and Contemplation, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was founded in 1987 by Franciscan Father Richard Rohr. It serves a dual purpose as not only a radical voice for peaceful, non-violent social change but also as a forum for renewal and encouragement for those seeking ... understanding of God's will and love.
- The Beatitudes Society is a Christian educational organization consisting of students and faculty who meet in School Chapters. "We seek to support each other as we study, teach and practice the prophetic teachings of Jesus, captured in the Beatitudes and developed in the Sermon on the Mount." Rev. Anne Howard, a presenter at W & L, is the Executive Director of The Beatitudes Society.
2. RESOURCES FOR CATHOLICS IN THE SANTA BARBARA AREA AND BEYOND:
- Daily scripture readings, taken from the Lectionary shared by the major Western liturgical faith communities. Excellent reflections on these readings, by persons from all walks of life, are offered every day at Creighton University's "Online Ministries" site.
- The National Catholic Reporter, www.natcath.org, has weekly coverage of many issues of concern to the laity and the Church.
- Voice of the Faithful has a national site, www.votf.org, and a Santa Barbara Area chapter, www.votfsba.org. The latter has useful links to all the Catholic churches in the Santa Barbara area, an excellent calendar, newsletters on-line, and e-mail addresses for its leadership team and various committee members.
- The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, www.la-archdiocese.org, led by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, has a fine Web site in Spanish and English with numerous directories and links. Of special relevance to the American Catholic Community is the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops web site, www.nccbuscc.org, where many official documents are posted.
- Call to Action, www.cta-usa.org, is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. An independent national organization of over 25,000 people and 40 local organizations, CTA believes that the Spirit of God is at work in the whole church, not just in its appointed leaders.
3. SPIRITUALITY- AND RELIGION-RELATED METASITES - Sites which gather links to many similar sites, all concerning a particular topic:
- Sacred-spaces.info is an emerging Internet directory or metasite concerned with "spiritually nourishing environments, retreat centers, communities, and sacred structures around the world." It hosts a site describing and picturing Santa Barbara's spiritual riches called Santa Barbara Sacred Spaces.
- Iowa State University Library offers a metasite called Religions of the World: Internet sites for the major Religious systems. It has something for everyone.
- The Unbound Bible is a freely accessible online collection of word-searchable Bibles in many languages, sponsored by Biola University. The current bible offerings include:
- 10 English versions, including the NASB
- Greek and Hebrew editions (the original Bible languages)
- 4 ancient versions
- 42 versions in other languages- Readings and Psalms for the Month, in the popular New American Bible versions.
Links for the Laity
