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Witnesses
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Pompton Lakes, NJ
May 1, 2024

At our parish, St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes, NJ, we celebrated St. Phoebe with a St. Phoebe-focused Liturgy of the Word celebration and witness reflection from a woman from our parish. We had many interactive parts of our Liturgy of the Word, including a call and response and the opportunity for participants to share the name of a woman in their own lives who influenced their faith journey.

This was an incredibly empowering experience for those of us who were involved in planning our celebration. We hope to continue this journey together by potentially starting a St. Phoebe Circle. Our experience together was such a blessing, and we will continue to reach out to others amongst us to uplift the witnesses of women in our community on our journey 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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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.