In 2003, an organization of Carmelite priests and lay members from seven Roman Catholic parishes in Bergen County, New Jersey, that are served by Carmelite Friars of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Province, established a corporation that became known as; The Carmelite Forum of New Jersey. There goal, to present a series of talks by nationally known Catholics on timely topics. All of the talks were held on Saturday mornings, one each month, at the Glenpointe Marriott, in downtown Teaneck, and featured a full breakfast with the lecture, for a price equal to the meal alone.

The first topic for the series was: The Church Today: Crisis and Courage.The series began in October with The Most Reverend John J. Meyers Archbishop of Newark, as the inaugural presenter, who spoke about, “Where we are Today.” He was followed by Peter Steinfels, a renowned columnist of the New York Times whose presentation centered on his book: “A people Adrift: The Crisis of the Roman Catholic Church in America.” Dr. Phyllis Zagano, from Fordham University was featured in February speaking on her argument for, “The Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church.”  In March, Father Donald Cozzens, a teacher at John Carroll University in Cleveland, and author of two books: “The Changing Face of the Priesthood,” and “Sacred Silence: Denial and Crisis in the Church,” continued the theme. And the last speaker of this inaugural season was by the Most Reverend Wilton Gregory, Bishop of Belleville, Illinois, and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

After a spirited first year, the 2004/2005 season kicked off with the theme: Catholic Voices in our Democracy. It featured, William Pascrell, Jr., a New Jersey U.S. House Representative and a member of the Committee on Homeland Security.  He was followed by, Reverend Robert Drinan, S.J., law professor at Georgetown University. The February conference featured, Dolores Leckey, a noted author, scholar, advisor and former Executive Director of the Secretariat at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The last presenter of this series was John McGreevy, chair of the department of History at the University of Notre Dame.

In the 2005/2006 series the Forum’s theme was: Carmelite Spirituality; A gift to our Church.This year the Forum featured Carmelite speakers. In 2005, Dianne Traflet, J.D.,S.T.D., Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, NJ, led the season with the first presentation. She was followed by Reverend Craig E. Morrison, O.Carm., Associate professor of biblical languages at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. And the last presenter of this third year was the Reverend John F. Russell, O.Carm., S.T.D., former Prior Provincial of the Province who is presently a full professor in pastoral theology at Seton Hall University.

In the past three years, twelve presenters have given illustrious and spirited talks that have brought to each person present something more than church on Sunday—it brought a time for a deeper understanding of ourselves as a Catholic within our church, a time to ask and a time to answer questions that are not very often asked or answered about our church today and its future. Not being from New Jersey I feel a little left out, but thankful that someone and especially a Carmelite someone felt the need to inspire us all by their actions.