Forum 2020 Postponed

By: Aly Tugaoen, Director of Forum

Our April Forum dates have been postponed. While it seemed inevitable, your MCCW board held out hope that we would still be able to come together in San Antonio as originally planned. I believe we made the right decision based on world events, guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and prayerful consideration, given our conversations with the Archdiocese for Military Services (AMS).

Unfortunately, we know all too well that life continues, even when we are surrounded by vast amounts of uncertainty regarding the Corona virus pandemic. My thoughts turn to our Mother Mary during the Passion. She must have wondered when they would stop the scourging of her son. I wonder if she recalled all of the conversations she had with Jesus as he tried to prepare her for the realities of what was to come. Did she think he might die while carrying his cross to Calvary instead of being crucified on it?

We’ve all experienced the anxious wait for orders letting us know where our next duty station will be, or for some of us, the anxious wait for the exact moment our body decides to go into labor when we are pregnant. Until then, we keep moving forward, we keep making plans, we keep “doing life,” as my friend often says. Our daily lives are changing, for some of us, more rapidly than others; but our Mother Mary holds us in her hands through all of it.

We are working closely with the AMS and the Riverwalk Marriott to bring you a new Forum 2020 date, hopefully in the fall. Many of you that have been with MCCW for a while will probably remember that Forum used to be held in the fall before it was officially moved to be closer to the feast day of our Patroness, Our Lady of Good Counsel.

We are still excited about the programs we plan to offer, the keynote and special speakers that are joining us, and the opportunity to come together once again as a Catholic family. These weekends are full of encounters led by the Holy Spirit, filled with God’s love for us, and present an opportunity to connect with other women, unite in our faith and be inspired to go forth, glorifying our Lord by our lives as members of a military community.

I am always available to answer any questions you have regarding all of the changes concerning Forum. You can email me at forum@mccw.org.