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The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.
Howard Thurman
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December 29, 2024 | Feast of the Holy Family
Today Benjamin Randolph invites us to expand the meaning and idea of family, with the help of Mary and Joseph’s mission, and Marxist philosophy; engage 20th century philosophers’ critiques and hopes for the idea of the family; and embody the meaning of family with the help of a contemplative exercise, and SAGE.
"The family’s adherence to tradition – the simple intent to have their son lawfully belong to the Jewish people – will expand who belongs to the chosen people and revolutionize who will count as high and low, first and last, among the Israelites. These are difficult words. How should we understand that the extraordinary must come from the ordinary, the revolutionary from the traditional? For this, indeed, is one of the paradoxes at play in Luke’s gospel."
Ben lives in Philadelphia with his spouse, Mercer; two cats, Sigi and Penny; and dog, Teff. He teaches high school Spanish, and he’s also taught philosophy at the university level. He completed his PhD in Philosophy at Penn State and his research is in critical theory. You can find some of his published work in Radical Philosophy Review, Angelaki, and Political Theology Network.
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January 1, 2025 | Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Today Dr. Cristina Lledo Gomez invites us to explore the importance of women’s realities and perspectives in Jesus’s birth; engage mothering and maternal analogies of the Church; and embody the experiences of those who give birth and mother with an image of Mary giving birth, and contemplative questions.
"On this day that we celebrate the Mother of God as God-bearer, the theotokos, and as a mother scholar myself, I want to focus on the mother and how her experiences on the ground not only has relevance for other mothers but actually gives a number of insights for the entire Christian community. In this reflection I focus on discipleship and what it means to bear Jesus in our bodies and live with the memory of both loss, death and guilt (the realities of mortality) and overwhelming joy and unfailing hope (as God’s disciples)."
Cristina Lledo Gomez is Senior Lecturer in Theology and Presentation Sisters Chair at BBI-The Australian Institute of Theological Education. She is also Research Fellow for the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Charles Sturt University. Cristina is the author of The Church as Woman and Mother: Historical and Theological Foundations (2018), co-editor of 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines: Postcolonial Perspectives with Agnes Brazal and Ma. Marilou Ibita (2024), and Divine Interruptions: Maternal Theologies and Experiences with Julia Brumbaugh (2025). She is a mother of two and works and lives on the lands of the Dharrug and Guringai peoples.
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December 29, 2024
Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family. Ellen Romer Niemiec offers a reflection on mutuality:
"In a time when it may seem safest to preserve ourselves as individuals and avoid the risk of vulnerability, may we heed God’s radical invitation to love one another deeply and courageously. May we choose to trust that when we act out of love for one another, that love will be shared in return and enkindle in us the desire to only love more deeply."
Ellen Romer Niemiec currently serves in enrollment management at Catholic Theological Union, where she is also pursing a Doctor of Ministry. She has pastoral experience in retreats, international immersions, non-violence work in correctional facilities, program development, and spiritual direction. She has written prayers and other spiritual reflections for Wisdom’s Dwelling, Catholic Health Association, GIA publications, FemCatholic, and America Media.
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January 1, 2025
Preaching for The World Day of Peace (also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God), Marie Dennis offers a reflection on resetting and reimagining in this year of Jubilee:
"Sabbath, Sabbatical and Jubilee are rooted in right relationships. Neither people nor the earth were to be exhausted or exploited. The Jubilee year offers a time for the land and the people to rest, for forgiveness of debts, the return of land to its original owners, and the release of slaves. It is an economic, cultural, environmental, and communal reset that occurs every 50 years, signifying a time to renew nonviolent ways and to re-establish proper relationships with God, with one another, and with creation."
Marie Dennis is the senior program director of Pax Christi International’s Catholic Nonviolence Initiative. She was a member of the Pax Christi International board from 1999 to 2019 and co-president from 2007 to 2019. She is a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and was named a Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace in 2022.
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| January 8, 2025 | 7:00pm ET |
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“The Mystics Would Like a Word” with Shannon Evans
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Is there a Christian spirituality that embraces the entire reality of womanhood? In her new book, The Mystics Would Like a Word, Shannon K. Evans suggests the answer is an emphatic 'yes.'
There is a spirituality that meets us in every part of our lives, developed by the women who came before us. Six mystics—Teresa of Ávila, Margery Kempe, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux—revealed a faith big enough to hold the female experiences of sex and desire, the yearning for bodily autonomy, the challenges of motherhood and identity, as well as life with male authority and—sometimes—violence. These women, self-determining, stubborn, and unapologetically themselves, asked questions in their time that are startlingly prescient today, and fought for women’s experiences to be heard, understood, respected, and recognized as holy.
This event will be followed by a month-long weekly book club where participants can register to participate in discussion and reflection in community with one another. More information coming soon!
Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and the author of the books Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life and Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality.
With interest in ecofeminism, social change and contemplative practice, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion. She has partnered with the Jesuits of Canada and the U.S. and is a frequent contributor to Franciscan Media.
Having previously lived in Indonesia for two years, Shannon loves to travel, but is happiest at home on the Iowa prairie with her family and beloved chickens.
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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.
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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| Other Opportunities and Resources |
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| Resources for Ecumenical Spirituality | January 11-February 1 |10:30am- 12:00pm CT |
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| Weekly Mindfulness Meditation Class (free to FutureChurch members!) |
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Resources for Ecumenical Spirituality will offer a free mindfulness meditation class to FutureChurch members. The class will be led by Mary Jo Meadow, Ph.D. who has taught mindfulness in the USA, Canada, Europe, and Australia since 1987. Mindfulness is a wonderful spiritual practice bringing the deep self-knowledge and self-emptying that mystics say is necessary to know God. It is also widely use to manage pain, stress, and problem emotions. The class will meet weekly from 10:30 to noon central time USA on January 11 through February 1 and can take up to 24 people. Interested people can reply to resecum@msn.com to register or ask questions.
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| Benedictine Sisters of Erie | Erie, PA | June 2025-June 2026 |
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| Benedictine Peacemakers Monastic Immersion- Applications Open! |
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The Benedictine Sisters of Erie invite applicants to the 2025 – 2026 cohort of the Benedictine Peacemakers Monastic Immersion. As an evolution of monastic life, the Benedictine Peacemaker program is a model for approaching personal formation, spiritual community, and good work in the Benedictine spiritual and monastic tradition, with a particular focus on the practice of peacemaking. The monastic immersion year will be filled with spiritual exploration, growth in community, experiential learning, classes, and action within the Erie community. The program is open to women in their early 20s through early 30s. Housing, food, and a stipend are provided, as well as transportation and health insurance if needed. More information can be found at eriebenedictines.org/benedictine-peacemakers. contact Michelle Scully (mscully@eriebenedictines.org) with any questions.
Apply Here.
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| A New Publication by Nancy Sylvester, IHM |
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| Journey-Faith in an Entangled World |
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Do you desire to express your experience of God in ways that reflect your evolving understanding of self, others, and the world? Do you feel that the world is at an impasse yet desire to do something about our future? Journey-Faith in an Entangled World is a good place to start. Using the metaphor of an Art Exhibit, where your words are paint and paper is your canvas, Nancy Sylvester, IHM, invites you to become an active participant with her as she grapples with integrating her faith experience with contemporary insights from theology, philosophy, science, and psychology. Critical to this synthesis is contemplation and its capacity for transformation both of self and of one’s engagement with the world.
Nancy Sylvester, IHM, founded the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue in 2002. Prior to that she served in elected leadership positions both within her religious congregation, the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) of Monroe, MI., and in the Presidency of the national Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). She served on the staff of Network, a D.C. based Catholic Social Justice Lobby, for fifteen years, ten years as Executive Director. Nancy is a well-known speaker, writer and process facilitator.
Order Here.
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| A Study on Priestly Callings of Catholic Cisgender and Transgender Women and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals |
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Sullivan Oakley, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California, is currently recruiting participants for a qualitative study exploring experiences of cisgender and transgender women and gender non-conforming individuals who have experienced a calling to Roman Catholic Priesthood. The study aims to amplify the voices of individuals who experience this calling and promote wider visibility, understanding, and dialogue about this experience.
Eligible participants will: Identify as a cisgender or transgender woman or a gender non-conforming (gender queer, non-binary, agender, gender fluid) individual who has experienced a personal call to the Roman Catholic priesthood which they are not eligible to pursue in the institutional Church, be 18 years of age or older, live in the United States, and have fluency in English.
Interviews will last ~90 minutes and participants will receive a $40 gift certificate. If you or anyone you know might be interested, please contact Sullivan at soakley@wi.edu.
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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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