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Weekend Bulletin
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| August 31 & September 1, 2024 | Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time |
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Over the past year working at FutureChurch, I’ve come to realize that our staff has swiftly moved beyond the label of “colleagues” and has truly become a pocket of joyful friendship.
This week, we are hoping to share a little glimpse of that friendship with all of you, and help you get to see the faces behind the organization. You’ve read our Blessings of the Week, you've seen us leading prayer services and facilitating events, but in those settings we rarely get the chance to just share our true selves.
On Tuesday night, we’ll host our first Meet and Greet event with our small but mighty staff. Russ, Martha, Ann Marie, and I will offer our stories on how we came to FutureChurch, our hopes and dreams for the organization, and some other fun facts so that our beloved community can get to know us for who we are outside of emails and events.
We also look forward to answering your questions - about FutureChurch, the Synod, or life in general.
We hope you will join us on Tuesday, September 3 at 7 pm for this casual conversation!
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September 3, 2024 | 7:00pm ET
FutureChurch Team Meet and Greet
What’s Russ’ favorite church hymn? Olivia’s most-used expression? Martha’s favorite book? Ann Marie's favorite recipe? Learn the answers to these questions and more when you join the FutureChurch community for a “meet-and-greet” with the FutureChurch team! This will be a great chance to get to know the staff, learn what led them to FutureChurch, and hear some of their hopes and dreams for the season ahead. So grab your favorite beverage, bring your burning questions, and join us for this informal gathering of friends and partners in mission!
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September 4, 2024 | 8:00pm ET
Sr. Theresa Kane, RSM: A Celebration of Life
Join other members of the church reform and renewal community as we remember, honor, and give thanks for Sister Theresa Kane, an extraordinary woman, leader, friend, and visionary.
During our celebration we will hear tributes and remembrances from:
- Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D.: Co-founder and co-director of Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
- Jamie Manson: President, Catholics for Choice, and a 2015 recipient of the Theresa Kane Woman of Vision and Courage Awards presented by Women’s Ordination Conference
- Kate McElwee: Executive Director of Women's Ordination Conference
- Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ: Founding Executive Director of FutureChurch and author of To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Theresa Kane.
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Just Word
Today Matt Kappadakunnel invites us to explore our readings’ calls to be doers, and not just hearers of the Word; to engage Catholic Social Teaching’s tenets, and the relationship between the preferential option for the poor and those who are racially marginalized; and embody these goals with the help of Devasahayam Pillai, the first lay saint from India, and a contemplative exercise.
"The Spirit calls us to ask, who are the marginalized in our midst, what are the obstacles that keep these people marginalized, and how can we work to remove these obstacles so that the ones who experience injustice can live with the full rights and abilities due to them?"
Matt Kappadakunnel has a background in investment management and investment banking. He spent multiple years studying to be a Catholic priest and graduated from Creighton University. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. Matt is the author of The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice: A Prophetic Call (Paulist Press, 2024).
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Catholic Women Preach
Preaching for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Susana Réfega, offers a reflection to begin the Season of Creation:
"We are first fruits, we are the coming promise of a greater promise and hope. Only when we work together and are united with God and Creation can the first fruits of hope be born. As my children approached the first fruits on my in-laws table with eagerness, let us also begin this Season of Creation with joy!"
Susana Réfega serves currently as the Executive Director of the Laudato Si’ Movement. Susana has dedicated most of her professional life to international development and solidarity serving in different roles and organisations. She holds a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from René Descartes University, Paris and Master's Degree in Development, International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid from Sorbonne University. She lives in a Colares – a small village near the coast in Portugal with her husband, her three children, a dog and two cats.
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| Mary Magdalene is Going to the Synod! Whom will you send with her? |
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This October, FutureChurch will be traveling to the Synod to continue our advocacy to expand the Lectionary to include Mary Magdalene and some 30 other biblical women on Sundays. While in Rome we will:
- Deliver our open letter asking that all of John 20:1-18 be proclaimed on Easter Sunday to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
- Host a Mary Magdalene celebration in honor of all women hidden by the lectionary
- Bring the art of Mary Magdalene of scripture to Synod delegates and the people of Rome through prayer cards, postcards, banners
- Engage in direct service with vulnerable women and members of the LGBTQ+ community
- Collaborate with friends and partners in the church reform movement
And we need your help! Please support this important work with a donation today!
Donations in honor of Kathrene Blish Houlihan and Sister Theresa Kane, RSM will double your donation until October 5, 2024 (up to $10,000 for a total of $20,000) to fund our vital work to expand the lectionary. We invite you to donate in honor of the ancestors you want to send to Rome in spirit! We will lift them up in prayer during our Mary Magdalene celebration and throughout our travels around Rome (unless directed to keep your honoree anonymous). Thank you for your support!
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| Introducing FutureChurch's Fall Event! |
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| Thursday, November 7th & Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00pm ET (via Zoom). |
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| Courage in the Spirit: Translating Synodal Talk into Action |
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Night One: Thursday, November 7 at 7pm ET
Bishop John Stowe, O.F.M. Conv.
Keynote Presenter
FutureChurch is honored to welcome Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., the Bishop of Lexington and the Bishop President of Pax Christi USA as our keynote presenter. Bishop Stowe has been a courageous and consistent ally to those marginalized and excluded by both Church and society, including women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Night Two: Tuesday, November 12 at 7:00pm ET
Deborah Rose
Louis J. Trivison Award
FutureChurch will present the 2024 Louis J. Trivison Award to Deborah Rose in gratitude for her decade of joyful and prophetic leadership at FutureChurch and in celebration of her innumerable contributions to the cause of Church reform and renewal.
Kayla August
CHRISTINE SCHENK AWARD
FutureChurch will present the 2024 Christine Schenk award to Kayla August in celebration and recognition of her powerful living witness to the importance of women’s preaching and for her efforts to uplift the voice of the laity and marginalized in every area of Church life, leadership, and ministry.
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| Pentecost Project |
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Catholic Women's Preaching Circle: Breaking the Cycle of Invisibility
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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 God Space.
Excerpt:
"While uncertain as to whether or not the invitation would garner interest, extending the invitation felt important to Rhonda [Miska]. 'Women often don’t see women preach,' she considered. 'Therefore, women don’t think of themselves as preachers. And so then, if a woman is given the opportunity, maybe she says no, or if she says yes, she doesn’t feel confident and has imposter syndrome. And so I think it’s about breaking the cycle of invisibility where women can try out preaching and gain some experience, gain some confidence, and be in a space of care and support.'"
READ MORE...
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| Other Opportunities and Resources |
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| September 18, 2024 | 1:00pm ET |
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| Women and Priests: A Conversation in the Spirit |
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Should She Stay or Should She Go Now? How Could the Church Walk More Closely with Young Women?
Join in an interactive webinar on September 18th at 1pm ET dedicated to St. Phoebe and hosted by the Women in the Church Working Group for Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP). This is the first of 3 upcoming Conversations in the Spirit between priests and women. This webinar in particular seeks input from young women, educators, mothers, and priests and others concerned about this subject. Julia Oseka, our keynote speaker, is a Polish native and young adult synod delegate and was chosen as one of ten non-bishop voting members from the United States and Canada. She will be at the upcoming Synod on Synodality in October. She is glad to be participating and listening on this call before she begins her travels. AUSCP priest, Father Tony Davis will also give testimony as will a young adult traveling with 100 other college students around the country to Rome in October.
Your input on this important subject matters! Following our webinar we will draft and submit to the USCCB Synod office and to the General Secretariat in Rome a summary of our Conversation in the Spirit. Register here.
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| A New Publication from New Ways Ministry |
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| CORNERSTONES Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions |
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Cornerstones: Sacred Stories of LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions is a new anthology of 12 stories of faith, sacrifice, joy, and pain by LGBTQ+ people who have been employed by Catholic parishes and schools.
The collection was edited by Ish Ruiz and Mark Guevarra, two gay Catholic men who themselves have been church employees, and is published by New Ways Ministry, a Catholic outreach that educates and advocates for equity, inclusion, and justice for LGBTQ+ persons.
The anthology’s stories are grouped in three categories: LGBTQ+ people fired from Catholic schools, LGBTQ+ people fired from Catholic parishes, and LGBTQ+ people who continue their employment in Catholic institutions with support from their employers.
Order Here.
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| Interested in Joining The Fireplace Community? |
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The Fireplace is seeking new members for its residential community! Applications will be reviewed and accepted on a rolling basis.
Founded in 2021, this May The Fireplace Community became an independent organization. As we build out our operations, we are especially looking for residents with experience or interest in co-ops, intentional community, faith leadership, or nonprofit boards.
Learn more about The Fireplace Community here.
Apply 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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