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Witnesses
Church of the Good Shepherd/Immaculate Conception
Schertz and Marion, TX
March 26, 2024

At Church of the Good Shepherd/Immaculate Conception Parish in Schertz and Marion, TX, we honored the feast St. Phoebe on September 3, 2023, by distributing St. Phoebe prayer cards, and listening to an incredible homily from our pastor, Fr. Octavio Muguerza, that weaved together scripture with the story of St. Phoebe and the possibility of women’s ordination to the diaconate. He explained the witness of St. Phoebe and how many male saints had a female counterpart which complemented and strengthened their ministry. These saints together provide us an example of partnership and shared ministry that can help us rethink women’s participation today!  Together, we prayed for the Synod and our shared journey of discernment. There was also a presentation after Communion about more specifics regarding the synodal process and the discernment for the ordination of women to the diaconate. 

As a parish, we are exploring the potential of maintaining a “Phoebe ministry” as a permanent ministry in our parish to continue this prayer and conversation! Since our celebration, we have developed a mission statement for our parish’s new St. Phoebe Ministry and held a parish synodal listening session on October 5, 2023. We know that the synodal process is a gift for us to discern, pray and discuss the possibility of a diaconate that includes both men and women, and more active involvement for women in the Church. Our St. Phoebe celebration was just the beginning of what is to come.

Witness
“Being able to be educated on who St. Phoebe is and giving others the chance to meet her, being part of a community of women who promote an inclusive model of the church, and seeing my own community come alive and heal from division provides a vision of what can and will be possible one day in the Catholic Church.”
Kathleen O'Brien
Maryknoll Bay Area Regional Coordinator in the Mission Formation Department
Witness
“I have witnessed these women become Catholic high school teachers, professors, writers, administer parish life and leaders of prayer services. Women have been my peers and supervisors, except in diaconal ministry. I continue to hold out hope that women’s gifts for ministry and service can and will be acknowledged by the church.”
Fr. Tom Cwick, SJ
Pastoral Minister, North Side, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“I am grateful as a pastor and a part of the BCCs here to learn and journey together with others. As a priest in our community, I am proud to be a part of this ministry to uplift women who are struggling. It is great joy and fulfillment. In my personal life, I have experienced the richness of acknowledging and uplifting the witness of women in the early Church and also in our Church today.”
Fr. Vincent Dsouza, SJ
Pastor and Base Christian Community Leader, India

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