At the St. Raphaela Center in Haverford/Philadelphia, PA we celebrated the feast of St. Phoebe with a Taize Prayer service on September 13, 2023. The service included readings about St. Phoebe, petitions praying for the increased participation of women in the life of the Church, and questions for communal reflection and imagination about women’s participation. As a retreat center and space for reflection in our area, we also host women’s retreats where women in ministry are able to reflect on their journeys in the faith and the Church.

A wonderful diversity of participants joined us to pray together. We were amazed and humbled by all who were willing to participate, and this enthusiasm gives us hope for the Church in the future. Together, we made connections for future opportunities for prayer and discernment, and we heard such a beautiful symphony of our voices together, calling forth what can be!

One participant shared that for her “the whole experience felt both radical and safe.” 

Together, we were able to share an experience that, through imagery, prayer, reflection and conversation was able to concretely connect the life and witness of St. Phoebe to the Synod and the discernment of women’s ordination to the diaconate today. The witness of St. Phoebe is powerful for us as a community, and we are committed to continuing to center women’s voices and uplift women’s experiences, especially in spaces of prayer, so that in our community and others we can all “receive her.”