Assembly of Hope: A Diaconal Church on Mission
I am excited to share with you about our recent Assembly of Hope, which I believe to be a turning point for growing the mission of Discerning Deacons.
We gathered in Indianapolis May 1-3 from 28 dioceses across the country – 120 women in ministry, religious, clergy, and lay men – committed to implementing our synodal mandate to renew a prophetic diaconate for mission.
Keynoting our assembly was Joanna Arellano-Gonzalez, of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership in Chicago, who rallied us to become defiantly hopeful in the face of forces that seek to destroy Gospel values and violently separate families. “Let your defiant hope be bigger than their ‘no’,” said Joanna. “Let the ‘nos’ embolden you.” The heart of the work is the trusting relationships we steadily build with one another, she added. Later that afternoon during this Season of Faithful Witness, we joined hundreds of Catholics for an outdoor Catholic Mass outside the ICE office in Indianapolis. (Read about it here.)
Throughout the weekend, we reflected on the historic opportunity before us to contribute to the Synod’s Implementation Phase as our local churches incarnate the renewal of a prophetic diaconate. Throughout the country, discerning deacons are championing the ongoing discernment about women’s inclusion in the diaconate as a permanent vocation. First, we continue to educate Catholics about what is hidden in plain sight – that women, including St. Paul’s collaborator, St. Phoebe, served as deacons for over 1,100 years during early Christianity.
Secondly, we are witnessing in Word and deed. Women called to diaconal ministry already are serving our bishops and local faith communities during these turbulent times. We are organizing with others to be Catholic in PUBLIC. We are witnessing what it means to be missionary disciples – to go out from our churches and to proclaim good news to the poor and liberty to the captives. We are preaching the Gospel — that our communion as one body in Christ — is more powerful than all the forces that try to divide us. The Gospel of life overcomes the powers of death and despair.
On Sunday morning, Dermis de Jesús of the Philadelphia Phoebe Circle, preached a message of trust in our baptism and believing the diaconal call which God has put in our hearts. Synod Mother Cynthia Bailey Manns then led us in a profound Conversation in the Spirit. We reflected on the following core question: “How have you experienced your anointing to image Christ?” At round tables, each of us connected to our baptism and took a turn answering how we have experienced the call to image Christ in our families, our communities, and our world.
The Synod’s Implementation Phase needs our protagonism, and so in Indianapolis we made real commitments! Discerning deacons across the country are preparing to organize 81 Phoebe Forums in 28 dioceses to reach 6,360 people!
We know that some of you who wanted to be with us were not able to make it. We lifted you in prayer and could feel your prayers accompanying us. YOU are invited to join us as we launch St. Phoebe Fall – a campaign this autumn to bring good news to many more people; the Catholic Church is poised to remove more obstacles from women in ministry as we live into the call to become a synodal, listening, co-responsible Church, able to call forth the gifts of all the baptized for prophetic mission.
Join us for one of two virtual kickoff calls — Tuesday, May 19 or Thursday, May 21— to bring the energy and momentum of the Assembly to a wider circle of leaders. On this call, you’ll receive the full picture of St. Phoebe Fall: what we’re building toward this fall, why it matters for the Church’s discernment about women and the diaconate, and what your role is in making it happen.
Discerning Deacons belongs to all of us as we go on this journey to educate, witness, and be the deacons our communities need. I love our movement, our prophetic mission, the dynamic and dedicated teams emerging from scores of cities. I love that people are taking seriously their call to leadership in a global, synodal Church determined to resist the forces trying to divide us; defiantly hopeful that the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped.
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