Join the discernment

We can walk together.

It is important to live this discernment together as a people

We welcome you to connect: to meet others who are feeling inspired to learn more, to pray together, and to make commitments of mutual responsibility and accountability. 

New to Discerning Deacons, or curious about how you can get involved in the movement to grow the conversation about rethinking women’s roles in a synodal Church, including possibly as deacons?

Drop in for a welcome call to learn about Discerning Deacons, to connect with others across the country and world, and to get up to speed on the most current opportunities to step into your protagonism in the Church.

Welcome calls are generally offered on the second Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m. ET and last about 45-60 minutes. Register for an upcoming meeting on Zoom.

We know that is just the beginning. We trust that together we can continue to serve the Church and share the hope. 

Email our Director of Distributed Organizing, Anna Robertson, with questions.

We can’t wait to meet you!

The feeling of being part of a people can only be recovered in the same way as it was forged: in shared struggle and hardship. The people is always the fruit of a synthesis, of an encounter, of a fusion of disparate elements that generates a whole which is greater than its parts. A people may have profound disagreements and differences, but they can walk together inspired by shared goals, and so create a future. Classically, a people gathers itself in assemblies and organizes. It shares experiences and hopes, and it hears the call of a common destiny.”

Pope Francis, Let us Dream

Joining a Welcome Call on Zoom is like walking into a church and being greeted by a friendly face who wants to help you find your seat and introduce you to a few others. Come with your camera on, ready to learn about the project and to explore ways to participate and invite others into this discernment during the Global Synod.

No worries! Drop us a line, and we’ll connect with you at another time.

To commit to hold sacred space, to listen, to encounter each other’s stories and hopes, and to bear witness. We personally engage in the discernment and also invite others into it. We slowly grow, build, and deepen a collective, which can be a source of renewal to become a people, walking together

  • Join a Welcome Call and get started on the path—and invite a friend to come with you!
  • Attend a St. Phoebe Prayer for a Synodal Church, offered virtually on the 3rd of each month.
  • Browse the Discerning Deacons events page to see about upcoming opportunities to connect with Discerning Deacons.
  • Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly reflections, updates, and opportunities for engagement with the discernment about women and the diaconate in our synodal Church.
  • Plan a St. Phoebe Day celebration in your parish or community.
  • Welcome others to join the discernment.
  • Accompany others as they grow in leadership and gather others into participation.
  • Witness publicly on the website as an endorser, by sharing your hopes and prayers, or as a witness.

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