Hollywood Project Update

Hello all,

Yes. The Hollywood Project is still alive and still on its timeline.

Some may have wondered, "Just what is the Hollywood Project doing? What is it exactly all about? It doesn't seem to be making progress."

Significant concrete results will probably not be seen until there is more of a "concrete" structural presence in "Hollywood." Yes, the boring "bricks and mortar" stuff needs to happen first before real progress can be made. While the early missionaries made an impact in the remote regions of the world, real progress was not made until roads and avenues were built.

The Hollywood Project has been all along a project to establish those "concrete" structures (i.e., roads and avenues). There has been talk for at least a decade about how the church needs to establish more of a ministerial presence in "Hollywood" in order to effect better collaboration within the entertainment industry. A "ministry and cultural center" have been one of the main features that have been involved in these talks. And to date, this is what it has always come to be, "talk." The problem has always been $$$$ to get things going, and to do it right, $ millions. The Hollywood Project began to help make this vision a reality through establishing more structure so benefactors and investors can have more confidence in where their money is going.

What has been the progress of the Hollywood Project? The Hollywood Project has so far made historic inroads in realizing the goal of establishing the "concrete" structure within an 8 Phase, 10 year implementation timetable. Here is a glimpse of the progress :

• A Comprehensive and Practical Pastoral Plan has been written (first ever) [Phase I - complete].
• The plan has been presented for initial conceptual support to church leadership within the Archdiocese of LA, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), The President and Committee of Bishops on Communication. This support has been obtained to date [Phase II]
• Pilot projects to demonstrate the need for a chaplaincy center to the entertainment community (3 Hollywood Project Masses, Ash Wednesday Outreach Project, RCIA programs for entertainment community in development, spiritual direction program in development - and other ministerial activity from organizations to be affiliated with the Hollywood Project). [Phase II].
• Final approval sought from LA church leadership before initiating plans to launch first ever Chaplaincy/Mission Control Center in "Hollywood" - [Completion of Phase II - pending final approval].
• [Phase III - Establish a Moderate Sized Chaplaincy/Mission Control Center]: Hire a moderate size staff for a July 2010 launch.

A missing "structure" [A dedicated, unified, and resourceful ministry of presence] has been a major reason why the church has not made significant progress over the past decades to assist artists, the audience, and the entertainment industry in where they really hunger for such assistance. The Hollywood Project is setting out to change that, but it will take a "church" not an individual or even a group of individuals (or organizations) to achieve what needs to be done. The vision we look to realize is not any one person's vision, rather a "shared vision." Any other less unified approach is borderline egotistic, if not imprudent. So, the old cliche applies here, "Rome wasn't built in a day (or even a year, or even two), and definitely not by just a few individuals.

Please continue to keep our progress in your prayers. We are close to breaking through for the benefit of the church and "Hollywood!"

Fr. Don Woznicki, Project Leader

Enter The Hollywood Project Network

All are welcome to be part of the Hollywood Project.

1 - If you are an entertainment professional interested in bringing truth, beauty, and goodness to the human race through entertainment - YOU ARE WELCOME to be part of this movement.

2 - If you are anybody who loves entertainment but would like to see more truth, beauty, and goodness in entertainment - YOU ARE WELCOME too to be part of this movement.

Go to facebook page: The Hollywood Project and become part of the network (receive updates of project and announcements of events, etc.).

Hollywood Project "Plan" Feedback

The Hollywood Project is a 5 Phase (5-8yr. implementation) plan to establish the Universal Church's dedicated and committed ministerial presence in Los Angeles to support entertainment professionals in their special vocation.

The first Phase is developing a plan that will be presented to the Bishops of LA, the United States Bishops, and ultimately to the Vatican. We need your input as to what your practical and spiritual needs are as entertainment professionals so this plan may best reflect the strategies to support those needs.

The plan is proposing to provide spiritual, intellectual, practical, and "faith in action" support to entertainment professionals.  Help us identify any specific needs from your personal experience or observations.

Four Ways to Provide Feedback [Deadline for Feedback - November 15, 2008]:

1 - Here at this blog (comments).

2 - E-mail the leader of project (Fr. Don Woznicki) [frdon@new-ethos.org].

3 - On The Hollywood-Project facebook

4 - Feel free to call Fr. Don (1-310-892-5778)

5 - Tell your story: Write a personal Letter to the bishops.

Fr. Don will compile these letters and hand them to the bishops as an appendix to the plan to be presented to the United States in November 2009.  HAVE YOUR VOICE BE HISTORICALLY HEARD IN WASHINGTON D.C. in making a plea to the Universal Church for supporting efforts of the church to be present to entertainment professionals as they struggle to create.

• Address letter to "Your Excellencies and Eminences"
• Tell your story: Indicate who you are, what you do, and why you answered the call to use your special gifts in the entertainment industry.
• No longer than 2 pages.
• E-mail to frdon@new-ethos.org], or send to Fr. Don Woznicki, 7201 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA., 90046.
  

Hollywood Project The "Kick-Off" Event

Thanks to all of you who had taken the time to attend the Hollywood Project Kick-off event.

It was a blessed and beautiful evening marking the "Kick-off' of the initial phase (Phase I - Pastoral Plan Development) of the "Hollywood Project" (HP).

Hollywood Project? = A 5 Phase (5-8 year Implementation strategy) to establish a committed ministerial presence of the Universal Church in Los Angeles to support the practical and spiritual needs of entertainment professionals and share a common mission of "Hope" with Hollywood).

The night was blessed with Holy Mass (Fr. Darrin Merlino) against a stunning backdrop on the 16th floor of Doug Brown's condo in W. Hollywood.  We were warmed up to hear Fr. Don Woznicki's presentation of the HP by musical recording artist, Caitlin Crosby and Dr. Peter Kreeft ("Can Hollywood Save the World?").  The goal for the night was basically to create "buzz" among the largely individual and group ministry leaders in Hollywood, and to alert them that they will be contacted in the near future for their valuable input during the Pastoral Plan's development.

Individually we have made some progress in bringing truth, beauty, and goodness to our entertainment culture.  Together we can do volumes more, but we need the Universal Church's support.  The main obstacle to this support?  The Universal Church does not see Hollywood as an official ministerial priority of evangelization to lend some serious support, or She does not have anybody coming to her, to lay it out,  saying, "This is exactly what we need to do."  Fellow "Hollywood pilgrims, the Universal Church needs to hear not from a few, but from a community of Catholics working and ministering in Hollywood.  It will start with the LA Bishops, work through the US bishops committee on Social Communications, and with these blessings, onto the USCCB Larger body (Washington D.C.) and the Vatican.

Our own obstacles?  Many of us have certain visions and ideas of how to effect Hollywood, but they are either unorganized and/or random, with no specific written plans that show a unified "community of Catholics in Hollywood" strategy.  Couple this with all our time constraints to devote any real effort to the mission in "Hollywood" and usually what results is similar to either a chicken flapping its wings but never gets off the ground, or an eagle ready to soar but constantly has its wings clipped because of missing resources.  EVEN IF THE CHURCH HAS SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES FOR US, WOULD IT BE PRUDENT TO OFFER IT TO WHAT APPEARS TO BE THESE FRAGMENTED AND UNORGANIZED EFFORTS?

This is why the Hollywood Project is needed.  I am confident the Bishops will recognize and support "Hollywood as a mission field" with a completed pastoral plan that shows a strategy to unify Catholic efforts in Hollywood (while they retain their autonomous missions) under a common mission, representative of the Universal Church, and sustain it.

LET'S DO IT TOGETHER AND MAKE HISTORY!

Check out the profile section of this blog for more details of HP.

I would very much like to hear your feedback from this event so that any recommendations, concerns, or affirmations can be accounted for as we begin the defining initial phase (Plan Development) of this project.

Pope John Paul II - Pray for Us!

Blessings,

Fr. Don Woznicki, Lead

Hollywood Project

frdon@new-ethos.org