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For our next "Profile in Holy Courage," FutureChurch recognizes Cardinal Blase Cupich for his bold and courageous witness to truth in a time when integrity and pastoral clarity are more essential than ever. In his recent statement, Cardinal Cupich addresses concerns surrounding the Church’s mission and leadership with honesty and fidelity to the Gospel. His clear message calls all people to rise above division, misinformation, and fear to walk a path rooted in justice, unity, compassion, and love.
Through his unwavering commitment to dialogue, respect, and the authentic message of Christ, Cardinal Cupich embodies the spiritual bravery needed to shepherd a Church striving to remain a voice of hope and healing in the world.
Read his powerful statement here: Setting the Record Straight.
Have another person or community you’d like to highlight? Let us know!
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| In hope, |
| on behalf of the FutureChurch staff |
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February 9, 2025 | Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today Katherine Tarrant invites us to explore transformation and forgiveness in this week’s readings, in light of ecological crisis and collapse in our time; engage our own guilt and despair as we confront injustice, with the help of Óscar Romero; and embody these ideas with the help of the Ignatian Solidarity Network’s “Ecological Examen” and the Catholic Climate Covenant.
"The overlapping crises of climate change, pollution, and ecosystemic destruction are unlike any other moral challenge humankind has had to face in the past. It’s a truly global problem, too big for any one person or community to tackle alone. At the same time, we in so-called 'developed' nations all share varying degrees of responsibility for the crisis – our patterns of consumption and civic participation have a significant part to play in how our environmental future unfolds. Given the scale of this challenge, it can be tempting to give in to despair and write ourselves off as a lost cause, incapable of change and unworthy of redemption. Today’s readings present us with several figures facing this kind of moral challenge, grappling with overwhelming feelings of guilt and powerlessness in the face of something bigger than themselves."
Katherine Tarrant is a PhD candidate in the University of Virginia’s Department of Religious Studies. Her research interests emerge at the intersection between ecological ethics and the Catholic Social Teaching tradition, where she explores contemporary ecotheologies, traditional constructions of humanity vs. animality, and moral theologies of interspecies relationality. Her thesis work traces the historical and theological roots of contemporary eco-ethical debate in the Catholic Church.
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February 9, 2025
Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Leah Sealey offers a reflection on how story telling can help enhance our lives of faith and discipleship:
"What does this gospel reading about 'being called' or even the Greek translation of 'netting people' enliven in you? Perhaps you can spend some time alone or with a partner, journaling or reflecting together. Tell a story about a time when you had a change of heart or had an experience of being 'won over', or about your ongoing commitment to serving others in order to heal the fractures in our broken world."
Leah Sealey convenes MKE Spiritual Directors, a peer development group for spiritual directors and a resource for those seeking spiritual direction in the Milwaukee area. In the spring of 2020, she graduated from Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology’s Cor Unum program with a MA in systematic theology.
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| Pentecost Project |
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| Mature, Humble, and Generous: Ignatians West Leaves its Mark on Los Angeles and Beyond |
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With the fire of Pentecost and emboldened by the Holy Spirit, we at FutureChurch are engaging in a new project to recognize and celebrate communities that are embodying the mission of Pentecost. Over the next several months, we will be highlighting communities that have been emboldened to live the Gospel in new and creative ways. Today we introduce you to Ignatians West.
Excerpt:
“It’s not rocket science,” Anne joked about the mission of Ignatians West. “It’s very simple. It’s bringing together mature adults (we don’t use the word retire anymore, we use the word mature!) who have life experience they’re willing to share, invite them to share those experiences with others who are in need, and then encourage them to honestly examine their faith.”
Read More...
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| Upcoming FutureChurch Events |
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| February 12, 2025 | 7:00pm ET |
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“Catholics for the Common Good” with Daryl Grigsby
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Join FutureChurch as we welcome Daryl Grigsby for a conversation on living for the Common Good.
“Why am I still Catholic in light of the clergy abuse crisis, the Church’s teachings about and practices toward women and members of the LGTBQ+ community, the Church’s own complicity in and inadequate response to societal racism, and other scandals and issues?”
Author and commentator Daryl Grigsby set out to answer this question for himself by writing his newest book, Catholics for the Common Good: An Eternal Offering (Paulist Press, 2024). In it, he profiles 36 contemporary Catholics who have worked for justice and human dignity. He features Catholics from diverse national and racial backgrounds; religious, lay, and ordained.
This event will take place on February 12th at 7:00pm ET. Then, on February 26th at 7:00pm ET, FutureChurch will host a follow-up group discussion on the text.
Daryl Grigsby is an author and commentator on contemporary Catholic issues. A retired public works director, he also holds a Master’s Degree in Theology and Pastoral Studies from Seattle University and is a graduate of the Sabbatical Renewal Program at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. He is a board member for Leadership Foundations, which resolves critical urban challenges around the world, and for FutureChurch. Grigsby is the author of In Their Footsteps: Inspirational Reflections on Black History for Every Day of the Year and is a frequent contributor to National Catholic Reporter and Black Catholic Messenger.
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| March 27, 2025 | 8:00pm ET |
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“Bending Toward Justice: Sr. Kate Kuenstler and the Struggle for Parish Rights” with Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ.
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Join FutureChurch as we welcome Sr. Christine Schenk for a conversation about her newest book!
Bending Toward Justice (Rowman Littlefield, 2024) tells the story of the rampant closings of Catholic parishes across the United States and documents the courageous advocacy of Sr. Kate Kuenstler and hundreds—indeed thousands—of ordinary Catholics whose persistence charted a new course in canon law. Sr. Kuenstler's expertise eventually gave increased leverage to the laity—and their parishes—in the struggle to preserve their parish homes, especially in ethnically diverse and poor neighborhoods.
Christine Schenk, CSJ has worked as a nurse midwife to low-income families, a community organizer, an award-winning writer-researcher, and the founding director of an international church reform organization, FutureChurch. Her first book Crispina and Her Sisters: Women and Authority in Early Christianity (Fortress Press, 2017) received a first place in history from the Catholic Press Association and her most recent work, To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Sr. Theresa Kane RSM (Orbis Books 2019) received first place awards from The Association of Catholic Publishers and the Catholic Press Association.
Schenk also writes a regular column for the National Catholic Reporter and is one of three nuns featured in the award-winning documentary Radical Grace. Schenk graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgetown University and holds two masters’ degrees, one in science from Boston College and an MA in Theology "with distinction" from St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland.
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| Wednesday, Feb 12th | 12:00pm ET via Zoom | Association of Pittsburgh Priests |
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| The Synod: Hope for a Disintegrating World, or Just Another Document? with Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, OP |
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Timothy Radcliffe gave the opening retreats to the Synod Delegates in both sessions, setting a positive tone for the proceedings. Shortly after accepting the APP offer to speak, Pope Francis named him a Cardinal! Among his books is the collection of his first Synod conferences: Listening Together: Meditations on Synodality. If his presentation to us is anything like these talks, we will be overwhelmingly grateful. An example: “Renewing the Church, then, is like making bread. One gathers edges of the dough into the center, and spreads the centre into the margins, filling it all with oxygen. One makes the love overthrowing the distinction between edges and the centre, making God’s loaf, whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere, finding us.”.
Timothy Radcliffe, a member of the Dominican community at Blackfriars, Oxford. He has been a retreat master and was master general of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001. He has traveled extensively in visiting Dominican communities around the world, gathering poignant experiences that he weaves throughout his preaching and writing.
Register Here.
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| Saturday, Feb 22nd | 10:00AM CT | Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Motherhouse |
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| Art for the People: Laura James and The Book of the Gospels |
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Artist Laura James is a self-taught painter and illustrator whose work transcends boundaries between the sacred and the everyday. Inspired by the richly symbolic and narrative tradition of Ethiopian Christian art, while inviting new, contemporary perspectives, Laura reimagines traditional Christian iconography, infusing it with diverse representations that resonate with people across cultures.
Join the Sisters of St. Joseph Carondelet as Laura shares about her illustrations in The Book of the Gospels, one of her most well-known contributions. In it, she cultivated this visual dialogue that speaks to the timeless desire for spiritual expression and belonging, blending history with modern identity.
Learn more about the artist and view her artwork at laurajamesart.com.
Register here to attend in-person or via livestream.
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| March 9th - April 3rd | 12 sessions: 9 asynchronous forum discussions and 3 live zooms |
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| Getting Saintly and Subversive this Lent |
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What do we learn from the stories of Brigid of Kildare, Hildegard of Bingen, and Teresa of Avila, whose commitments to God inspired a subversion of oppression and patriarchy, and a oneness with creation? From these foundresses and abbesses, we can draw inspiration, courage, and instruction for our own resistance and resilience today. Join Monasteries of the Heart in this four-week series!
Register Here.
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| We seek changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life and leadership. |
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FutureChurch is a national 501(c)(3) organization and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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