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Over the past few months, the FutureChurch team meetings have made reference to the big trip to Rome to bring Mary Magdalene to the Synod and today as we hung up the call, we said, “See you Sunday at the airport!” It’s here!
Between packing our bags, finding and securing our passports, and planning the itinerary, it has been a busy few weeks for all of us. But as we hung up our call, I took a breath. What a treasured experience and journey to be setting out on - Mary Magdalene is going to the Synod, and WE (Russ, Martha, and myself) get to go with her.
I am praying that the spirit of Mary Magdalene walk beside us, guiding our steps with courage, compassion, and unwavering strength. I hope that we carry her boldness in our voices, her wisdom in our hearts, and her fearlessness in our actions as we advocate for her rightful place in the Sunday lectionary.
Like Mary Magdalene, I pray that through this last chapter of the Synod on Synodality, that everyone, no matter where they are, embodies Mary Magdalene’s commitment to stand firm in truth, even when the path feels uncertain. May her legacy inspire each of us to speak out, to uplift others, and to challenge traditions so that they more adequately reflect the love of God.
Follow along with us on social media this week. I promise to do my part to be the best Synod-influencer you’ve ever seen. And if you haven’t already, please consider making a donation to help support our work in Rome.
Please pray for us and we will pray for all of you. Arrivederci!
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| Mary Magdalene is Going to the Synod! Whom will you send with her? |
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Next week 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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| Just Word Commentary: 2 Entries! |
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September 29, 2024
This week we are pleased to offer two excellent entries for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time. This entry, by Jason Steidl Jack, invites us to explore who has spiritual authority with the help of fracasada theology, or theology through those the world considers failures; engage the light and truth in traditions outside Catholicism; and embody fracasada theology with the help of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Howard Finster’s Emages of Visions of Other Worlds Beyond.
"Who gets to exercise spiritual authority? Who has permission to minister and speak on God’s behalf? These questions are as important today as ever. Many claim to be God’s servants or messengers, and the ones we affirm say a great deal about who we are as Christ-followers. As religious people, we want our communities to be bounded, orderly, and safe. We want to be in control. For these reasons we might sympathize with the characters in today’s readings."
Jason Steidl Jack is a gay Catholic theologian and assistant teaching professor of religious studies at St. Joseph’s University New York. An advocate for queer Catholics, he is a member of Out @ St. Paul, the LGBTQ ministry of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Manhattan, and serves as a theological advisor to Fortunate Families. His first book, LGBTQ Catholic Ministry: Past and Present was published by Paulist Press in 2023. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband, Damian.
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September 29, 2024
Our second entry for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, by Ben Randolph, invites us to explore the fallacy of individualistic wellbeing through a comparison of today’s readings; engage the deficiencies of community within capitalism, with the help of Catholic philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre; and embody a renewed sense of community with the help of St. Augustine’s Holy Spirit Prayer and The Abolitionist Law Center.
"In the readings from Numbers and Mark’s Gospel, we observe a resonance between Moses’s and Jesus’s prophetic missions. Both accounts describe scenes where a religious elite is perturbed by people blessed with spiritual powers who, the elites fear, do not deserve those powers. Moses and Jesus rebuke their closest followers’ responses and warn them against the errors of jealousy and pride. These stories communicate the first theme of this Sunday’s readings: the Holy Spirit is neither a possession nor a reward; the holy cannot guard it for safekeeping or police who it visits."
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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Catholic Women Preach
Preaching for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Veronique Dorsey offers a reflection each person's calling to share the word of God:
"Would that all the people of God were prophets… oh what a time it would be! We gotta stop gate keeping and telling people who can and cannot proclaim the word of the Lord."
Veronique Dorsey is a New Orleans educator and musician. In 2013 she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree Cum Laude in English with a minor in Theology from Xavier University of New Orleans. She has spent the last ten years sharing her gifts as an English educator. In addition to being an educator, she has a passion for ministry and the people of God. She is drummer on Sundays at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church and a trumpeter as a member of the award winning Original Pinettes Brass Band.
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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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