PROCLAIM: A Reflection on the First Fruits of Formation

Dear Discerning Deacons Community,

What a profound joy it is to share with you the flourishing of PROCLAIM—a dream that began in our community and has now taken root in the lives of 27 remarkable women across North America.

From Hope to Reality

When Discerning Deacons discerned the call to apply for the Lilly Endowment Compelling Preaching Initiative, we were responding to something we saw and felt deeply: Catholic women across this country are already proclaiming God’s Word in countless contexts—in faith formation programs, OCIA gatherings, hospital chaplaincy, prison ministry, retreat centers, and parish halls. Women are hungry for deeper formation in Scripture and the craft of preaching. They are eager to serve the Church as it grows toward the synodal vision of communion, participation, and mission.

PROCLAIM is a powerful response to that discernment—born from your hope and your prayer for the future of our faith communities.  

The Journey Begins

This September, we witnessed something sacred unfold. On the Feast of St. Phoebe—September 3, 2025—our Discerning Deacons community gathered virtually alongside PROCLAIM Cohort 1 for a commissioning celebration that brought tears and joy. Twenty-seven women from places as diverse as Boston and Cheyenne, Toronto and Los Angeles, Montreal and South Bend, raised their voices in prayer and commitment. Together, we blessed them. Together, we sent them forth.

Throughout September, these pioneering women participated in orientation sessions, establishing the communal foundations for their 22-month journey together. They learned about the liturgical rhythm that will guide their formation—times for coursework and prayer, reflection and encounter, virtual gathering and in-person residency. They crafted a community covenant. In October and November they began developing their individual formation plans and met their spiritual companions for the journey. 

And now they have just completed their first course: Fundamentals of Preaching. Each week they gathered in small groups via Zoom, wrestling with questions like “What is preaching?” and “How do we proclaim to our particular congregations?” They explored how to get into the text, to arrive at a focus and function, to consider form and performance. Most importantly, they shared the fruits of their contemplation—to let the Word that has taken root in their own hearts bear fruit for each other by sharing out a preaching they each developed through the course experience.

What We’re Witnessing

The energy emanating from this cohort is electric—in their weekly discussions, in their assignments, and in the vulnerability they bring to their learning communities. We see women who are taking seriously this invitation to PROCLAIM.

They are not hesitating. They are not reluctant. They are not afraid.

They are, instead, leaning into this formation with courage and humility, with intellectual rigor and spiritual openness. They are discovering their voices. They are claiming their calling. 

An Invitation to Our Community

As we watch Cohort 1 flourish, we are also preparing to welcome Cohort 2. The application period will open on February 2, 2026, and we will host three virtual information sessions in January and February:

• Monday, January 12, 2026, 12-12:45 pm ET / 9-9:45 am PT
• Wednesday, January 28, 7-7:45 pm ET / 4-4:45 pm PT
• Tuesday, February 10, 4-4:45 pm ET / 1-1:45 pm PT
  
  

This is an invitation to our entire Discerning Deacons community. Perhaps you have been following this project with interest and wondering if PROCLAIM might be the next step in your own formation journey. Perhaps you have been praying about how to deepen your capacity to serve the Church in this time of renewal and missionary discipleship. Perhaps you know someone—a sister in ministry, a colleague, a friend—who loves the Word of God and longs to break it open with others. 

If any of this resonates, we invite you into discernment. Visit www.proclaiming.org to learn more. Join us for an information session. Ask questions. Pray. Listen for the Spirit’s movement in your heart.

What PROCLAIM Offers

PROCLAIM is a comprehensive, integrative formation program spanning 22 months. It includes online courses, preaching circles, two week-long summer residencies at Saint Mary’s College, one-on-one spiritual accompaniment, and the development of a personal formation plan. The weekly commitment is approximately 5 hours a week.

A Word of Gratitude

To this entire Discerning Deacons community: thank you. Thank you for expressing the yearning to hear women’s voices proclaim Good News. Thank you for your longing that Catholic women have access to formation for preaching. Thank you for your prayers as we’ve launched this inaugural cohort.

PROCLAIM exists because together we have dared to dream about what lay women could become if given the formation, the tools, the community, and the support to step fully into their calling as Ministers of the Word. What we’re witnessing now—the transformation unfolding in Cohort 1, the anticipation building for Cohort 2—is God’s dream taking flesh.

If PROCLAIM inspires your hope for the future of our faith communities, we invite you to make an Advent gift today. Help us ensure that the next generation of Catholic women has access to formation as ministers of the Word and preachers. Click here to give, and write PROCLAIM in the comment box. 

May we all continue to listen for the Spirit’s voice, calling us deeper into the Word and sending us forth to proclaim the Gospel with confidence, with skill, and with love.