“It was especially meaningful to hear a woman break open the scripture for our community. This is just the beginning of raising awareness on our campus of the witness and ministry of St. Phoebe, and the witness of women in our community. Together, we are just beginning our journey of rethinking women’s participation in the Church.”

“A young woman from our parish, who dreams of a future for women in the Church, is an artist and also developed coloring book type pages about St. Phoebe for the children as part of our celebration. Together, we are grateful to uplift St. Phoebe in our parish, and we will continue to uplift the witness of women in our own community and in our Church!”

“Together, we were able to share an experience that, through imagery, prayer, reflection and conversation was able to concretely connect the life and witness of St. Phoebe to the Synod and the discernment of women’s ordination to the diaconate today. The witness of St. Phoebe is powerful for us as a community, and we are committed to continuing to center women’s voices and uplift women’s experiences, especially in spaces of prayer, so that in our community and others we can all “receive her.””

“The energy following mass was palpable! We heard hopeful murmurs saying that this truly might be the time for change. We were encouraged in the reflection shared to collaborate with one another. Priests and laity, women and men all need to affirm and partner together so that, as the People of God we can discern the movement of the Spirit.”