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On Thursday evening the FutureChurch team joined members of our community, other Church reform and renewal organizations, members of the Caravita community, and others for a prayer service at Caravita in Rome to celebrate Mary Magdalene and other women "hidden" by the lectionary. Here is an excerpt from my homily during the service:
Our names matter. Do you know the origin story of your name? Has it been in your family for generations or were you the first to have a name? Is your birth name the name that feels like yours, or at some point did life gift you with a new one? When were you most proud to hear your name? How many times have you written it on a piece of paper, or typed it on a keyboard? Who’s your favorite person that says your name? How does it sound when they say it?
There is no doubt about it—our names matter. They represent who we are, and sometimes where we’re from. They can teach others about our heritage, our culture, our ancestors, our families. They are the first word of a beautiful and unique story. They are ours.
We’re gathered here this evening to bring the names of our foremothers in faith to light. To say and celebrate the names—and the stories—and the wisdom—of the women who so often go unnamed. Shiprah and Puah and Miriam and Phoebe and Priscilla and Junia. Mary of Magdala. Ministers. Preachers. Prophets. Women who for far too long have been hidden and gone unnamed. Saying their names matters. Because when we say their names, we call to mind the gifts and the ministries that they shared with the people of God. When we say their names, it opens up new space for our names– and our gifts– to also be an integral part of our Liturgies and of our Church. When we throw open the doors to let in the flock of women whose names and stories have been excluded, we make more space for our daughters to see themselves walking through those same doors.
This week so many of us are gathered to represent the very best of synodality. People of all genders both inside and outside the walls of the Vatican, called to play our own unique roles in increasing the visibility of the gifts that women bring to our Church. Just as Phoebe served as deacon and Miriam served as prophet, there are many different ways to use our gifts as children of God. But together we stand in hope and in faith that women everywhere and of all ages to come will feel empowered by the stories of our ancestors to live their callings loudly and with pride.
The recording of the full service will be available soon. Stay tuned!
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| The FutureChurch Team is On Its Way Home, But the Work Continues |
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Many thanks to all of you who have been holding us in prayer throughout this past week as we represent our FutureChurch community in Rome. To read of the graces of our journey, continue following along on our blog, Mary Magdalene Goes to the Synod, where we will share more insights, reflections, and hopes gleaned from our time at the Synod.
Thank you for your support!
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October 6, 2024
This week Jessie Hubert invites us to explore how people with diverse perspectives can help shape – and even interrupt – our Church’s obsession with debates about family life; engage how the realities of families and children can expand the Catholic Church’s teachings; and embody intergenerational encounters and children’s perspectives with the help of Little Hearts ministry and the artwork of Brother Mickey McGrath.
"The Church has a long way to go in building intentionally inclusive, diverse community re: gender and sexual identities, racial identity, ability diversity, and more. But today’s readings invite us also to consider that our God of intergenerational community calls us to age diversity in our experience of Church. In fact, perhaps being with young people may be an unexpected pathway to helping heal our trauma and divisions."
Jessie Hubert (she/her) lives in Erie, PA, her hometown, because she and her spouse knew they wanted to raise their family in an intergenerational context with their kids close to their grandparents. Jessie worked for the institutional Catholic Church for 14 years in a Catholic university, in diocesan administration, and in parish ministry. Now she is exploring ways to use her gifts as an intergenerational community-builder to serve all people of God outside of traditional structures. She has grown in closer intimacy with the Trinity through her spouse Matt and their three children. Jessie’s primary work these days is holding the tension between intellectually questioning what her life should look like next, and encountering Christ in the beautifully messy lived realities that reveal the sacred in front of her. Learn more about her ministry with Little Hearts here. She can be reached at badachj@gmail.com
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Catholic Women Preach
Preaching for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary M. Doyle Roche reflects on the the ways Church teaching and the lectionary relegates women to the recesses of life in the world and in the Church:
"Perhaps you too are trying to hold a place for the scriptures, for the lectionary, for the Church even as you face squarely the harms that they have perpetuated and given theological significance. I hope that we as Church can honor the reality of these experiences and all of the emotions that come with them, without looking away or glossing it all over. I hope we can allow ourselves to transform these recesses and shadows into spaces of resistance and solidarity from which we might emerge sure of our dignity, sure of the Spirit moving through us, and sure of God’s love."
Mary M. Doyle Roche is Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. She earned her PhD in theological ethics from Boston College and has pursued teaching and research interests in feminist ethics, health care ethics, and ethical issues that impact families, children, and young people. Most recently, she has co-edited with Jacob Kohlhaas, "Modern Catholic Family Teaching: Commentaries and Interpretations" (Georgetown University Press, 2024).
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| Pentecost Project |
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Benincasa Community: The Evolving Fruit of Strong Roots
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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 the Benincasa Community.
Excerpt:
"When Karen Gargamelli-McCreight discerned that vowed religious life wasn’t her calling, she set out to find another way to form a sacred community through which she could live out her ideals as an integrated Catholic person of faith. In the heart of New York City, Karen and her friends knocked on door after door in search of an unused rectory or convent that could become a home."
READ MORE...
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| Upcoming FutureChurch Events |
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| October 17th at 7:00pm ET |
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| Catholic Women Preach Year C Virtual Book Launch |
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This October, we celebrate the publication of the third and final volume in this ground-breaking and award-winning series from Orbis Books.
- Carmen M. Nanko-Fernández, D.Min., Professor of Hispanic Theology and Ministry and the director of the Hispanic Theology and Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, will offer the invocation.
- Kristin Heyer, Ph.D., Professor of Theological Ethics at Boston College and past President of the Theological Society of America, will offer remarks on the significance of Catholic Women Preach and the importance of women's voices.
- Natalia Imperatori-Lee, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies at Manhattan College in the Bronx, NY, will reprise her preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and offer reflections on preaching for Catholic Women Preach.
- Andrea Hattler Bramson, President of the Loyola Foundation, will offer a toast to all the women of Catholic Women Preach.
Come celebrate this historic moment with us! This virtual event is free and all are welcome, but registration is required.
Purchase your copy at Orbis Books Online.
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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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| January 8, 2025 | 6:00pm 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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| Other Opportunities and Resources |
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| 22nd Annual Pat Reif Memorial Lecture | Claremont University |
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| Moving a Mountain: One Woman’s Quest to Restore Women’s Ordination in the Roman Catholic Church |
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Bishop Jane Via is a Roman Catholic Woman Priest and Bishop. How could this be since women are not allowed to be ordained in the Roman Catholic Church? The answer is that since 2002, conscientiously defying Canon Law 1024, over 140 women have been ordained in the Catholic Church. It all began with seven courageous women ordained in “apostolic succession” on the Danube River in 2002. They have become known as the Danube 7.
Jane Via is one of those women. When she learned of the Roman Catholic Womenpriest (RCWP) movement in Europe, she recognized her call to become an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic rite. Rather than leave the church, her love and faith led her to call the church to change. Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Jane’s action honors his quote for the Church. Since that time, Jane has accomplished much as an ordained priest and now, as an elected bishop in the RCWP.
Come here Jane's story, either in-person or via zoom:
Monday, Oct. 21, 2024 | 7:00 PM—9:30 PM PDT—Harper Hall Board Room, 150 E. 10th St, Claremont, CA 91711—CGU Campus
Zoom link: https://cgu.zoom.us/j/87227512...
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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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