Share
Witnesses
Colleen Schoeck
Campus Minister for Service Immersion, Office of Campus Ministry, Stonehill College
June 17, 2024

It was incredibly empowering to be able to use my voice to share about St. Phoebe the Deacon and to talk about my own spiritual journey and ministerial call during our St. Phoebe celebration. To be a woman and to speak about my experience of God during Mass meant so much to me and to many other women present. Discerning Deacons has given me hope for a Church that includes, honors, and celebrates women’s voices, leadership, and ministry. I feel honored to be a part of this community.

Colleen Schoeck shares her witness testimony at Stonehill College Campus Ministry’s St. Phoebe Day celebration in September 2023.
Witness
“As a college campus minister, diaconal ordination wouldn’t change how I encounter my students on the margins, but it would change how they encounter the Church through me. I wouldn’t be only Julia, their campus minister who tells them that God loves them unconditionally, but an official representative of a Church that loves them too.”
Julia Erdlen
College Campus Minister and Hospital Chaplain, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“Restoring the diaconate in my church, to include women, supports the hopes and desires of our whole community where I see a longing for both male and female deacons to serve. As soon as I had the opportunity to become an acolyte, I became one. If I had the opportunity to become a deacon, I similarly would rejoice at the opportunity!”
Jessica Kenny
Chaplain, ConnectEd, Alta-1 College, Perth, Western Australia
Witness
“If I were ordained a deacon, it would only be because I have accepted a call to a vocation that is equally accessible to women.“
Oblate James Holzhauer-Chuckas, ObSB
Executive Director of United Catholic Youth Ministries, Chicago, IL

Receive Our Newsletter

This is the hub where we share relevant news, events and opportunities to participate in the work. 
*We will send the newsletter only once each week, and we will never share or sell your information.

Receive Our Newsletter

This is the hub where we share relevant news, events and opportunities to participate in the work. 
*We will send the newsletter only once each week, and we will never share or sell your information.