Cultural Orientation Program for International Ministers
The Cultural Orientation Program for International Ministers (COPIM) is a series of three 3-day workshops designed to support the ministry of priests and religious sisters and brothers whose native culture is not that of the United States. The program was started in 1990 in response to needs expressed by some international priests themselves, as well as diocesan bishops, vicars for clergy, continuing education directors, and offices of ethnic ministries. It was recently expanded to serve the needs of sisters and brothers as well.
COPIM gives priests and religious some opportunities for cultural dialogue in supportive, affirming contexts. They learn more about the church, society, and culture of the United States while also appreciating and affirming their own cultural heritage and values. The goal is to enable them to become more critically aware of both their own cultures and the U.S. culture(s) they serve. Understanding how to recognize and respect cross-cultural boundaries is crucial for ministry in today's multi-cultural situations. Theory and skills learned in this program prepare the participants for more effective ministry in the U.S. and for reentry in case they return to their country of origin.
General Information
COPIM is designed for priests and for religious sisters and brothers who have come from other countries to work in the United States within the past five years and are already engaged in pastoral ministry here. Invitation to participate in this program ordinarily comes through their bishop or religious superior. Ministers born in the United States who work in inter-cultural contexts or those from other countries who have been here for many years may also attend. Priests or religious from any culture will find the COPIM workshops informative, challenging, and helpful for ministry in today's Church.
COPIM workshops use adult education models with as much dialogue and interaction as possible. Most of the presentations are given in English, but are translated into other languages, as necessary. Small group discussions may take place in Spanish or other languages common to the group. Content presentations provide useful information in areas of culture, church history, theology, and pastoral ministry. Question and answer periods allow the participants to understand more fully the issues raised by the presenters. Small group sessions provide time for further dialogue among the participants, whose ministerial and personal experiences are honored as valuable resources for pastoral reflection. Guest speakers include leading experts on the cultural, social, pastoral, theological, and legal aspects of church life and ministry in the United States today.
Tuition is set at $410 per workshop. This includes registration, tuition, program materials, private room & board in a beautiful retreat house setting. Participation in COPIM is funded according to the arrangements for continuing education in most local dioceses or religious orders. A Cultural Orientation Certificate is given to those who complete all three workshops. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are also given through LMU Extension.
Registration
Submit an enrollment form for each workshop (three in total) via direct mail, or contact LMU Extension at 310.338.1971 to handle your enrollment over the phone. You can also register for courses individually online (below).
Successful completion of COPIM I is required for enrollment in COPIM II, which is required for enrollment in COPIM III. Registration for the next cohort beginning in Fall 2010 will open later in Spring of 2010.
SCHEDULE
Fall 2009
The first of three workshops is held in the Fall of 2009. Participants must register for each of the three workshops individually. Depending on location in the state of California, two locations are offered.
Northern California Program
Course: COPIM I: Northern California Priests & Religious (RELX 880.07)
Schedule: Wednesday, November 18 - Friday, November 20, 2009
Southern California Program
Course: COPIM I: Southern California Priests, Brothers and Sisters (RELX 880.06)
Schedule: Wednesday, November 4 - Friday, November 6, 2009
Spring 2010
The second and third workshops are held in the Spring of 2010. Again, participants must register for each of the three workshops individually. Depending on location in the state of California, two locations are offered.
Northern California Program
Course: COPIM II: Northern California Priests, Brothers and Sisters (RELX 881.03)
Schedule: Wednesday, March 17 - Friday, March 19, 2010
Course: COPIM III: Northern California Priests, Brothers and Sisters (RELX 882.03)
Schedule: Wednesday, April 21 - Friday, April 23, 2010
Southern California Program
Course: COPIM II: Southern California Priests, Brothers and Sisters (RELX 881.01)
Schedule: Wednesday, February 3 - Friday, February 5, 2010
Course: COPIM III: Southern California Priests, Brothers and Sisters (RELX 882.01)
Schedule: Wednesday, April 21 - Friday, April 23, 2010
FACULTY
Reverend Brett Hoover, C.S.P., PhD is a doctoral candidate in culture, mission, and theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Ordained for the Paulist Fathers, he has taught on the intersection of church and cultures in the United States at the seminary, parish, and diocesan levels. Fr. Brett was also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of BustedHalo.com, an award-winning spirituality web site for young adults. He has served as a parish priest in New York City, ministering in English and in Spanish to diverse cultural communities. He has written for magazines, journals, and the Web, and he is the author of
Losing Your Religion, Finding Your Faith: Spirituality for Young Adults (Paulist, 1998), and co-author of
Soundbyte Spirituality (Paulist, 2002).
Reverend Ken McGuire, C.S.P., PhD is an anthropologist and the director of the Paulist Foundation for Values in Ministry. He co-founded COPIM in 1992.
Reverend Ivan Tou, C.S.P., PhD is Associate Director of the University Catholic Center at UCLA. He holds degrees in computer science from UCLA and engineering from MIT. He received an M.Div. at Catholic University and was ordained May 25, 2002. After four years at St. Austin in Austin, Texas and ayear at Old St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, he returned to UCLA. Prior to his ordination, Fr. Tou worked with Hewlett-Packard in the area of artificial intelligence.
GUEST FACULTY
Cecilia González-Andrieu, PhD received her doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley in the areas of Art & Religion and Systematic Theology. Born in Cuba and raised in Southern California Gonzalez-Andrieu is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University where she studied Film, Spanish and Theology. She has been recognized with awards by the GTU, the Catholic Press Association for her regular column, "De Todo Un Poco" in The Tidings, and the Hispanic Theological Initiative in Princeton. Her book contributions include Presente! U.S. Latino Catholics from Colonial Origins to the Present (Orbis), Camino a Emaús (Liturgical Press), The Treasure of Guadalupe (Rowman and Littlefield), and The Sky is Crying: Race, Class and Natural Disaster (Ausburg).
Anne Hansen is a writer and columnist for The Tidings and is active in Bereavement Ministry Training the Ignatian Volunteer Corps. She holds an M.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Pastoral Theology from Loyola Marymount University.
Reverend Msgr. Terry Richey is the director of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. A Los Angeles native, he ministers full time to recovering alcoholics, addicts and their families, and has been leading recovery retreats since 1975.
Reverend Manuel Sanahuja, Sch.P. is the coordinator of Hispanic Liturgy Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Born in Spain, Fr. Sanahuja studied theology at Catholic University in Washington. He holds degrees in Theology and Social Sciences. For three decades he has been active in the L.A. Archdiocese as a parish priest and as instructor in the areas of bible, catechesis and liturgy. He is formerly Professor of Latin and Spanish and a Spiritual Director at St. John’s Seminary College.
Anderson Shaw is the Director of the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization in Los Angeles.
Louis Velasquez is with the Office of the Vicar for Clergy at the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.