St. Phoebe Prayer for a Synodal Church ‖ Monthly Prayer Service

We will continue our monthly prayer services in 2024!

Everyone is invited to join together as the Discerning Deacons community on the 3rd of every month at 7 pm* ET.

We will gather to pray for a synodal Church, receive the gifts of women for preaching, and challenge one another to go out to love and serve our neighbor. 

On January 3rd, 2024, the DD team led the first prayer service of the year as we celebrate our baptismal call to be protagonists and creators of God’s kin-dom on earth. 

In February, the Miami Discerning Deacons hosted a prayer for a synodal Church that welcomes, accompanies and is enriched by the presence of migrants and refugees in our midst – people made in God’s image and beloved by God. Many discerning deacons around the U.S. have been called to listen to and accompany migrants and refugees arriving in their local dioceses. The synthesis report of the General Synod Assembly states: “Migrants and refugees, many of whom bear the wounds of uprooting, war and violence, often become a source of renewal and enrichment for the communities that welcome them and an opportunity to establish direct links with geographically distant churches.”

We started off 2023 with the January 3rd, 2023 service. Rhonda Miska preached about the Epiphany, and other ministerial leaders from the region of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota reflected on the meaning and intersectionality of three stories: the story of the three magi who journey to encounter the Christ Child; the story of St. Phoebe, who journeyed from her home in Cenchrea to encounter the early Christian communities in Rome; and the story of our synodal journey in our present day Church in which wise and holy women come bearing gifts to a church in need of renewal. You may access Rhonda’s preaching along with video clips of the service here.

In February, we were led joyfully and reverently by the South Bend DD circle – who issued a simple invitation to all of us, to turn to our own neighbors and the diaconal women we know, and come together in times of shared prayer & fellowship. During the Service, Felicia Johnson O’Brien preached on Matthew 5:13-16 and Karen Schneider-Kirner (Assistant Director Emeritus of Notre Dame’s University Folks Choir) debuted a new hymn she composed entitled “God of the Women,” accompanied by a beautiful array of images of the salt & light of women’s ministry! You may read Felicia’s reflection and view clips of the service here.

Our March prayer service was led by the Philadelphia Discerning Deacons Circle on the Lenten theme of Jesus’ Transfiguration and our own synodal transformation that seeks to center people on the peripheries and margins. St. Vincent De Paul parishioner Dorina Pena reflected on how we can take the messiness of our lives up God’s transformation mountain. Anna Ryan-Bender of Chestnut Hill College guided participants in a visio divina with the image “From Fragmentation to Wholeness” by artist Becky McIntyre.

“Stations of the Cross from the View of Women Along the Way”

On April 3rd, for our Holy Week prayer service, the Chicago Discerning Deacon Circle led us in a “Stations of the Cross from the View of Women Along the Way.” Their reflections guided us in a prayerful meditation on women’s faithful witness to Christ’s ministry, death and resurrection and invited us to recognize the ways we ourselves accompany Jesus along the road. We were grateful to share the reflection written by Mary Freeman for the 10th Station in our Holy Week newsletter. Read Mary’s reflection here or watch the full service by following this link.

“Go and Tell”

On May 3rd, the Continental Deacon Circle noted how God chooses women for important work. During the prayer service, the CDC presented a newly commissioned image of Deacon Saint Phoebe created by Brother Mickey McGrath. Follow this link to view this wise and determined Phoebe and to read Teresa Runyon’s reflection (featured in our May 10 issue of “The Witness”.The Continental Deacon Circle is comprised of: Jill (MT), Margie (CA), Barbara (NV), Svea (MA), Peggy (NY), Anne (CA), Peggy (KS), Diane (BC, Canada), Elizabeth (CO), Shannon (NY), Rose (CA) and Teresa (CA).

Women Witnesses to Christ
Lifting up the powerful witness of women who have come before us, we bear witness now to the work of the Spirit among women today. 
On June 3rd, the Canada Deacon Circle led us in seeking the intercession of St. Phoebe, along with women saints of North America, as we honored women’s contributions as ministers and leaders for many generations, and prayed for our global Church, celebrating women’s participation in the synodal process.

 “You are no longer strangers” (Eph 2:19)

Thanks to the Baltimore DD circle for leading our July 3rd prayer service that included a creative dialogue between St. Paul and St. Phoebe entitled “Overheard: Paul and Phoebe have tea.” 

Read Colleen McCahill’s reflection about who St. Phoebe was –a woman who nurtured the Church through its earliest days.

On August 3rd, the Phoebe Day teams from St Francis of Assisi parish in Raleigh, and Immaculate Conception parish in Durham, NC, led us in an evening prayer. Immersed in Franciscan spirituality, we prayed the scriptures for the feast of St. Phoebe.

We took a little break during September: when we focused on St. Phoebe Day celebrations taking place all over the country (and beyond), and October: when we gathered weekly to pray the Rosary.

Guided by the Spirit, inspired by the Saints

At our November 2023 prayer service, Discerning Deacons’ Young Adult Synodal Pilgrims led us in prayer while we asked for the synodal way to continue to take root in our hearts and communities. Watch the recording here.

We welcomed Advent with our December 3rd, 2023 St. Phoebe Prayer for a Synodal Church when the Discerning Deacons Seattle Circle led us in prayer. We are pleased to share with you Rose Hesselbrock’s reflection for the First Sunday of Advent, that was shared in our December 6 newsletter.wekly to 

On October 3rd, Ellie offered a powerful reflection, please follow this link to watch. Click here for her written reflection.

In November, the DD Boston team led us as we prayed for women who have experienced violence, follow this link to read Boston College grad student Arumi Ortiz’ written reflection. 

The Women and Ministeriality Thematic Core Group of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon-CEAMA led a beautiful service on December 3rd, where Brazilian missionary Sr. Ivoneide Viana de Queiroz prepared us for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 by reflecting on the solidarity, missionary outreach and prophecy of women, follow this link to read her reflection.