“It was powerful and inspiring to see women involved in the Mass in such an active way. Simply seeing and hearing women during the liturgy is meaningful. Most people had not heard of St. Phoebe before this, and they were excited to learn about her ministry and witness. This celebration excites us—this is truly the time for us to rethink women’s participation in the Church. We are grateful to have celebrated the ministry and witness of St. Phoebe and are excited to continue on this journey of discernment together.”

“We pray that the infinite and intimate service of St. Phoebe will be acknowledged and accepted by all. St. Phoebe is a sign of hope today that the gifts of women will be more fully realized and utilized within the Church…We are blessed to have celebrated St. Phoebe in our community and to continue to learn from her example and witness.”

“Students were moved and inspired by learning more about St. Phoebe. As a part of a student-led prayer assignment for her theology class, one sophomore student decided to focus her prayer on St. Phoebe. In her prayer assignment she states: ‘We pray to you to give not only those at the Synod blessing and advice on how to enlarge one’s tent, and also to possibly open up more role opportunities for women in the church–just like St. Phoebe–as well as blessing all of us with advice on how to enlarge our own tents.'”

“Our community’s celebration of St. Phoebe Day reminded us to look around at countless women who respond generously with their time, talent, and treasure instead of exclusively looking at the “usual suspects” of more high profile church leaders.”