To celebrate and uplift the witness of St. Phoebe here in our South Seattle Parish Family, we posted flyers about St. Phoebe and included the prayer for the Synod in Rome as a bulletin insert to raise awareness prior to our celebration on September 1, 2024. Educational materials were distributed prior to our celebration about St. Phoebe and the Synod, and during our celebration we included St. Phoebe in the Litany of Saints during the Eucharistic prayer. 

During the time of the homily, a female staff member shared a reflection on St. Phoebe, the Synod and women’s leadership in the Church. Parishioners also had the opportunity to write the name of a woman or women in their life who had passed the faith onto them. These names were collected, brought forward and prayed over during the offertory prayer. Additionally, our community published on social media for St. Phoebe’s feast day, uplifting her story and asking for her intercession in our community. 

It was impactful for many to hear a woman from our community sharing her reflection from the ambo. Our community was very open to discovering St. Phoebe, and many were unfamiliar with her prior to the event. Additionally, many were moved by the opportunity to share the names of the women who had played influential roles in their faith lives. 

After our celebration, one dad from the community came up with his daughter and told our speaker, “You had this 9 year-old girl listening to you today.” We are happy to be able to share about women in the Church who lead and are heard, especially for the youngest amongst us who need to hear this message.

Our celebration certainly raised awareness of the Synod and helped those in our community to grow in a devotion to St. Phoebe and think about the role of women in the Church.  Our community was ready for this celebration, and many now have a better understanding of where we are at in the process of including women in more leadership and decision-making roles in the Church.