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Witnesses
Our Lady of Loretto
South Bend, IN
March 8, 2024

We organized a unique procession and prayer service to honor St. Phoebe on her feast day, September 3, 2023 at Our Lady of Loretto, hosted by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, IN. During the opening procession, there were five stops at which we read sections of the synodal document Instrumentum Laboris, and then responded in prayer and song, singing together, “Receive her in the Lord.” As we processed, two Holy Cross sisters literally opened the doors of the church for us, to receive our procession and our prayers into the inner sanctuary. The service began with a litany of deacon saints, including St. Phoebe, followed by prayers shared by members of the community in both English and Spanish. 20 community members were involved throughout the procession with 9 different voices speaking and leading us in prayer.

Together, increasing our devotion to St. Phoebe, we created something that was empowering, mystical, connective and embodied. We experienced what it can feel like to walk and pray together on a synodal journey. We are powerful together! There is such a thirst for this conversation and for this type of embodied prayer and communal witness.

This celebration and our witness feels so tied to the General Assembly of the Synod. We are crying out to St. Phoebe and begging for her intercession on this journey. We are so filled with the Spirit, excited to meet again next year, and to continue praying and witnessing to our shared devotion to St. Phoebe. St. Phoebe, pray for us!

      

 

 

   

Witness
“For many years, I had the privilege of leading Communion services in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In the beginning, I did this with great trepidation, but by the time my ministry ended, I was thoroughly convinced that the Holy Spirit can fill the hearts, souls and minds of faith-filled women every bit as much as those of men.”
Jacalyn Anderson
Parish Member and Lector, Winchester, WI
Witness
“I have been blessed with women who have shared their many gifts with me. They have broken open Scripture for the people of God with their own perspective and insight. They have shown ways of leading which empower and confirm the value of each individual person. They have offered perspectives and visions of the Spirit’s call to live God’s love for all.”
Don Highberger, SJ
University Campus Minister and Hospital Pastoral Minister, St. Louis, MO
Witness
“If I could be ordained a deacon, the people would hear the Good News preached with authority at the pulpit and in the world. For me personally, it would feel like the ability to serve in the manner in which God has put on my heart to serve. As a minister of the word, liturgy and charity, I would preach the word to inspire others to love God and their neighbor. I would continue to bring communion to the sick and imprisoned, but I would also free our priests by taking on some baptisms, weddings, and funeral services that are outside of the Mass. It would feel like the fullness of what I was meant to do.”
Theresa Shepherd-Lukasik
Director of Adult Faith Formation, St. Joseph Parish, Seattle, WA

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