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Witnesses
Our Lady of the Lake
Seattle, WA
March 26, 2024

 

At Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Seattle, WA we were glad to uplift the voices of women in our parish and celebrate the feast day of St. Phoebe with masses on September 2nd and 3rd, 2023. In addition to the Masses, we had a coffee hour for women in the parish, and a parish listening session regarding the role of women in the Church. 

During mass, a female parishioner courageously broke open the Scriptures for us, our community presented three gifts to the icon of St. Phoebe in front of the altar. Three generations from one family (a grandmother, mother and a young daughter) individually brought forth a cross, a scroll and an angel statue while a lector read the intention and meaning behind each object. Our community, represented by three generations of women, demonstrated our commitment to the witness of St. Phoebe in a visible and concrete way.

Our all-female choir and musicians provided powerful and reflective music for the liturgy. The hymn “A Place at the Table”  (music by Lori True and text by Shirley Erena Murray) was sung during the presentation of the gifts, with the final verse sung by the youngest members of the choir. The young girls sang with so much pride; many in the congregation were brought to tears seeing the representatives of the future women of the Church singing with joy and strength.  

Our celebrant was uplifting throughout the celebration. At the end of the Mass, he shared the impact of the presence of women throughout the gospels, and examples of women’s influence in his own formation and ministry. We are deeply impacted by our experience of sharing the witness of St. Phoebe, and excited to continue to uplift the ministry of women in our own parish and in the Church broadly. We hope to continue to have women share reflections during Mass with our community and continue to build the energy created by our celebration together. 

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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