“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Following our celebration, members of the planning team answered questions from attendees and took photos with those who were supportive of our celebration or who heard about our celebration from our outreach prior. Our community is deeply grateful for the opportunity to not only celebrate St. Phoebe, but further for this opportunity to uplift women in our community and to continue to learn about and to pray for the ongoing Synod.”
“It is meaningful to reflect upon my journey and the many ‘Phoebes’ who have accompanied me on my journey into the Church, my journey as a lay Franciscan, my journey in synodality and uplifting women in the Church. I dream of a Church that can be a moving force in serving all people and helping each person recognize and use the gifts given by the Holy Spirit. ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ can only be accomplished if the gifts of ALL people, regardless of gender, age, race and ethnicity, are included and welcomed.”
Seeing women deacons would serve as a vast, yet strikingly modest, step in the right direction to help loosen the unnecessary (can we say unjust?) thorn in the Church’s side. It would open doors allowing the full range of gifts (of women) to heal, accompany, and refresh others. It would bring about the kind of renewing of spirit that we often pray for in our Church.
I have always felt called to ministry leadership, and I hope to be able to serve others as a deacon one day in my lifetime. Specifically, I have training as a preacher and experience officiating weddings. I often lean in to help plan funerals for loved ones, and prayer services around significant events. These ways of offering my service and gifts to others makes me feel most alive.
I feel called to a greater spiritual life on this earth daily. This call goes unfulfilled within the community we currently have in the Church. I stay faithful to the Church in the hope that the Holy Spirit will breathe new life into the Church so that all who are called might serve.
If I were a deacon, I could also share the Good News by preaching at Mass and offering hospitality to the rest of our community. I understand that this would be a long journey and require my family’s support, but my heart is filled with hope and passion when I think about serving the Church as a deacon.
“The loveliest and most hopeful memories from our celebration for me were the planning meetings led by myself and our priests, who supported me in this idea with an open heart. They spoke and accompanied our young women in the process, uplifting their voices and leadership in our community.”
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