Dear Friends, 
We only reach out to our friends for support once a year. In doing so this year, I want to begin with a summary of our mission: "Drawing on the anthropological work of René Girard, and the theology of Benedict XVI, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, John Paul II, and others in order to foster a better understanding of the challenges that confront the Christian vocation in our time."
That remains the purpose of the Cornerstone Forum. The means we use in trying to carry out this mission vary, depending on circumstances, resources, material constraints, the emergence of useful technologies, and so on. As many know, Randy Coleman-Riese, without whose friendship and support the Cornerstone Forum would not survive, now balances his work on behalf of Cornerstone with his full-time job as a legal and administrative assistant to our mutual friend, Bill Shea (the chairman of the Cornerstone Forum board of directors). Meanwhile, I spend much of my time researching my longstanding writing project and preparing the manuscript for publication. There are daily Cornerstone tasks to which I attend as well. Here is a brief report.
THE ARCHIVES
As many of you know, Randy has been doing an incredible job of making the archival material - most of it in audio form - available to our friends and supporters. The task of transferring audio recordings from cassettes to CDs or digital audio files is tedious enough, but there are editing issues involved as well that are even more time-consuming. Alas, the technological changes continue. Mindful that CDs will soon go the way of the cassette tape, Randy is in the process of putting the entire audio library online. We hope to be able to make access to these recordings open to all and free of charge. That will mean the loss of a small revenue stream, but there are good reasons for going in that direction, and we hope to be able to do so in the months ahead.
THE WRITING PROJECT
It is almost a cliché to say that books surprise their authors. The one I'm writing certainly has. Happily, "the Spirit blows where it will" (John 3:8), or, as the poet, Theodore Roethke said, "I learn by going where I have to go." The book on which I'm working has a life of its own. The more excited I am about it, the less worried I am about the extra time and energy that it is costing. Enclosed is a brief excerpt. I remain grateful for the patience and prayers of my friends.
COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS
The Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
As a member of the Dominican School College of Fellows, I remain involved with my DSPT colleagues. Several of the Fellows traveled to Mazatlán last March for a dialogue with a number Mexican intellectuals and journalists about cultural issues surrounding the immigration issue. Other projects are in the offing. We are currently in discussion about how best the Fellows might further the school's commitment to preparing the laity for the role that is theirs in the life of the Church and our larger culture. As one might expect from a Dominican institution, the discussions are extraordinarily thoughtful, deepening our friendships and bearing fruit in the life of the school.
The Colloquium on Violence and Religion
Last summer I reluctantly chose not to interrupt my research and writing to attend the annual meeting of COV&R. As much as I enjoy renewing old friendships, I had no wisdom to offer on the topics the conference addressed - agricultural industrialization, soil erosion, climate change, and pesticide use, etc. Resources permitting, however, I will attend the 2014 conference in Germany. The conference theme: "Battling to the End: 1914-2014" is most timely, and the conference organizer is my friend, Richard Schenk, OP, one of the finest scholars I know. Standing as we do on the threshold of new crises, a retrospective look at the catastrophes of the last hundred years is surely in order.
The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars
Again this fall, I attended the Fellowship conference, held this year in Philadelphia. The topic was "Freedom and the Moral Law," attracted very interesting scholarly papers on questions such as natural law, religious freedom, and moral theology. Like the COV&R conference, the FCS gathering is especially helpful to someone like myself who operates outside the usual academic setting. I look forward to continued participation in the Fellowship.
Facebook and the Social Media
I continue to regularly monitor the Cornerstone Forum Facebook page, usually posting to it once or twice a day. The Facebook posts automatically appear as Twitter feeds on our Twitter account. Randy posts to our weblog several times a week, and these appear on our Facebook page as well. The effectiveness of these efforts are difficult to measure, but the feedback we receive convinces us that they continue to justify the modest effort and expense they require. I encourage you to "Like" us on the Cornerstone Forum Facebook Page.
This Thanksgiving, as in so many earlier ones, we remember the generosity of our friends, many of whom have been part of our Cornerstone Forum family for many years and with whom we have shared a real theological and intellectual journey, one that we pray continues. We pray for our donors daily by name, reminded as we do of a debt of gratitude that we cannot hope to repay.
Thank you once again for your many kindnesses.
Affectionately,
Gil Bailie,
CF President
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P.S. from Randy Coleman-Riese 
In expressing my gratitude and asking for your continuing prayers and support, I want to repeat what I said in last year's annual appeal letter: Since the beginning of my association with Gil Bailie over twenty years ago it has always been my goal to be a help to him in his work. Whether by making donations, serving on the board or as co-worker, I have only wanted to be of service in whatever capacity seemed fitting at the time. Over the past couple of years we, along with many others, have engaged in significant 'belt tightening' due in large part to constraints from the economic downturn. Last year an opportunity arose for me to help meet my responsibilities to my family and to continue to serve the Cornerstone Forum by taking a full time position in the office of our fellow board member and friend Bill Shea. Last summer we moved both the law offices and the Cornerstone Forum offices to a new location. We now share office space with two of Gil's old friends, both Sonoma lawyers. Working in the same office, I am able to squeeze in some of my Cornerstone duties during the week and come into the office as needed on weekends. Gil and I have made some adjustments in our regular monthly duties and we hope from your end the transition has been seamless.
It remains the case that I am not available during normal working hours (Pacific Time) to respond to emails or take calls from our friends and supporters. I miss the opportunity to stay in touch more regularly with you. Yet I continue to hold you and this work close to my heart. I am grateful to all of our donors and supporters for making this work possible.
If you are able to make a tax-deductible donation in response to this Fall Appeal letter please take a look at the enclosed response card for our thank you gifts you may receive in return for your support as well as the various levels of benefits for supporting our work on an ongoing basis.
Thanksgiving blessings,
Randy Coleman-Riese,
CF Executive Director
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