The Open Tabernacle

Recently I was invited to join the editorial team of a new Catholic blog called The Open Tabernacle. Given the caliber of writers and theologians who initiated this collaborative venture, I not only felt honored to be invited but readily accepted.

Regular readers of The Wild Reed will no doubt recognize many of those who comprise the editorial team of The Open Tabernacle. A number of them are noted gay Catholic bloggers whose sites I link to and often highlight. They include William Lindsey of Bilgrimage, Terence Weldon of Queering the Church, Jayden Cameron of Gay Mystic, Colleen Kochivar-Baker of Enlightened Catholicism, and Obie Holmen of Spirit of a Liberal. In addition to these articulate and eloquent writers, The Open Tabernacle editorial team also includes Phillip Clark, Frank Cocozzelli, Obie Holmen, and a number of equally erudite guest writers.

So what is The Open Tabernacle? Well, the short answer is that it’s a collaborative progressive catholic blogging site. An addition response to this question – a response that’s both beautiful and evocative – can be found at the site’s “About Us” page:

The Open Tabernacle is a website dedicated to Catholic Christianity as a journey of exploration and not a map to a particular final destination. Everyone is welcome to help with the journey. There are no tolls, one-way highways, or preferred vehicles. There are no speed limits, license requirements, or assurances. There will be back roads, seldom used byways, and plenty of bumpy rutty roads. At times a shovel may be necessary and more often a personal compass, but hopefully Open Tabernacle will be a challenging journey worth the effort. May you cross our paths frequently.

Given that I’m currently in Australia, spending time with family and friends, and that I already have somewhat of a full plate with CPCSM, The Progressive Catholic Voice, The Catholic Coalition for Church Reform and The Wild Reed, I’m not sure how regularly I’ll be able to contribute to The Open Tabernacle. So far I’ve contributed one posting – a republication of my Wild Reed reflection on the Feast of the Holy Family. Still, I take inspiration and heart from my fellow Open Tabernacle contributors – each of whom have contributed well-written and thought-provoking articles.

These include: Phillip Clark’s What is the Pope’s Idea of Reform?, Colleen Kochivar-Baker’s Reason as the Source of Natural Law, Terence Weldon’s The Nostalgic Dream of a Mythical, Constant, Monarchical Papacy, William Lindsey’s John Paul II’s Penitential Practices and Competing Narratives About Sanctity in the Post-modern Church, Frank Cocozzelli’s The Road to Remonstrance, Obie Holmen’s Gun Sights for Jesus, and Regina Heater’s Mary Daly and the Invitation to Explore Wild Ideas About Inclusivity.

As you can see, just from this sampling, The Open Tabernacle offers a wealth of scholarly, thought-provoking, and topical articles and perspectives. It’s a rich collection that in its scope and inclusivity is truly catholic. It’s a collection, in other words, well worth investigating, and I hope you’ll do so on a regular basis. You won’t be disappointed.