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Weekend Bulletin |
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March 11 & 12, 2023 |
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Blessing of the Week |
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This week marked the third anniversary of FutureChurch’s most recent pilgrimage* – to Greece. Along with Sr. Chris Schenk, I had the privilege of being among 29 pilgrims from around the world as we followed in the footsteps of our foremothers in faith. In the midst of a looming pandemic, the trip was equal parts spiritually enlivening and physically harrowing.
The ten-day pilgrimage included visits to important Christian sites like Philippi, where we submerged our hands and feet and splashed around in the same river where Lydia and her household were baptized; Cenchreae, where we walked the beach from which Phoebe, the deacon who delivered the Letter to the Romans, likely set out; and Corinth, where Paul first met Prisca and her husband Aquila and where we danced and sang among blooming mustard plants; as well as important Greek cultural and historical sites, where we honored the divine feminine.
Before our pilgrimage began, only four cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in Greece and all of them had been linked to travel in Italy. And since Greek officials had instituted a rigorous containment strategy, we opted to move forward with the trip while giving registrants the option of cancelling – few did. But as each day of our pilgrimage passed, cases of COVID continued to surge in Greece and elsewhere (so much so that most of us just barely made it back to our home countries before travel restrictions went into effect). And by the time we made it to Athens, our final stop, the reality and danger of the pandemic was becoming clear. Thankfully – and perhaps by Divine Providence - one of our fellow pilgrims was a family practice doctor who had previously worked at the CDC and she kept us calm and taught us strategies to keep each other safe.
Before we each said our ‘goodbyes’ and headed home, we agreed to check in on Zoom the following Thursday to make sure everyone had arrived home safe and well. Thankfully, everyone made it home Covid-free. And while the trip ended some three years ago, the pilgrimage continues to this day.
Our first Thursday check-in became a weekly – and eventually monthly – commitment, known to us and listed in our calendars as “Pilgrim Chats.” We broke bread together that Holy Thursday. We have had deep conversations about important questions for the Church and the world. We have celebrated each other’s successes, supported one another through our struggles, and mourned losses together. These pilgrims were the early foundation as presiders, readers, and participants at our weekly Online Liturgy of the Word and Faith Sharing, which we introduced during the national lockdowns. Some have since attended retreats together and even planned cross-country and intercontinental trips around each other’s locations for a chance to visit and be in physical space together again. Brought together by our mutual passion for lifting up women in the Church and made closer by our common brush illness, we continue our journey – our pilgrimage – of discipleship together.
This community of “sisters” continues to be a blessing to me and to one another. I have gained and learned so much from them. And each day I am inspired and lifted by their witness to Christian community and to agape love and thankful to be one of the “sisters.”
*We are currently developing a Racial Justice/Civil Rights pilgrimage to the Southern United States. Deb and I will keep you all in the loop as details regarding timing, etc. develop and materialize.
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Co-Director |
Russ Petrus |
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The Just Word
"Reconsidering Conversion" with Sónia Monteiro
This week, Sónia Monteiro invites us to explore Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well through theologian Elizabeth Johnson’s feminist approach; engage the importance of dialogue; and embody a feminist approach and dialogue through a community of lay women, known as The Grail:
"The Samaritan woman is, according to several scholars, the first person to develop a theological conversation with Jesus. As soon as she realizes that Jesus is the Messiah, she runs to her community to share with them this overflowing experience. The fact that she left the water jar behind shows us the rush, and the abundant joy that could not be self-contained."
Sónia Monteiro is a doctoral candidate in systematic theology and a Senior Teaching Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year at Fordham University. Her research interests include Christology, Political Theology, and Ignatian Spirituality. Before coming to New York, Sónia worked as a lawyer in Portugal. She also spent a few years working with local communities in Angola. Sónia is an active member of The Grail, an international and ecumenical movement of lay women from diverse backgrounds.
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Catholic Women Preach
"Well Woman's Witness" with Valerie D. Lewis-Mosely
Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Valerie D. Lewis-Mosley offers a reflection on seeing each other as Christ sees us:
"Where the world makes us invisible – we are made visible again in Christ! This is the faith we are initiated into at the well of Baptism. It is this proclamation of conversion and metanoia and faith that we are called to run and tell about. We are called to lead others out of a place of invisibility and into the light."
Valerie D. Lewis-Mosely, RN, OPA, is the retired Director of Religious Education at the Church of Christ the King - Jersey City, New Jersey, a historical Black Catholic Parish an Apostolate for Evangelization in the African American community. She now serves in various capacities across the nation as a mentor to youth and young adults; evangelist, retreat leader and revivalist and public speaker, life coach and Spiritual Director. Catechesis to children and youth and women’s spirituality and empowerment are a major component of her ministry as a pastoral associate. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Theology at Caldwell University, Caldwell, New Jersey, and Xavier University of Louisiana Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
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Celebrating Catholic Sisters Week |
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Celebrated annually March 8-14, Catholic Sisters Week shines a light on the spirituality, mission, and community building of women religious.
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The History of Women Religious & Resistance |
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In this two-part presentation, Professor Margaret Susan Thompson shows us how the history of the Catholic Church in the United States was indelibly shaped by the contributions of sisters.
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Women Religious: Their Identity, History, and Discernible Future |
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Sandra M. Schneiders, professor emerita of New Testament studies and Christian spirituality at Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University offers a presentation about religious life and how it is evolving.
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Black Catholic Women Religious - Agency and Obstacles |
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Diane Batts Morrow, Professor Emerita of History and African American Studies at the University of Georgia, examines the history of The Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first successful Roman Catholic sisterhood in the world established by women of African descent.
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"To Speak the Truth in Love" 3 Part Book Series |
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Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ and Sr. Theresa Kane, RSM join this unique opportunity to read Sr. Christine’s book, To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Theresa Kane RSM, together! Each session was filled with additional insights and commentary from Sr. Christine and from Sr. Theresa Kane herself.
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Wednesday, March 15 at 8pm ET
Historian Paul Collins on a Post-Benedict & Post-Pell Church
Both Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal George Pell exerted enormous influence on the Catholic Church. Will they be remembered for their efforts for reform; their lack of zeal for Vatican II; their treatment of those who dissented; or their efforts to keep women subordinated? How will history remember them? What will be their legacies?
Paul Collins: Born in Melbourne and now living in Canberra, Paul Collins is an historian, broadcaster, and writer. He has a Master’s degree in theology (Th.M.) from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Philosophy (Ph.D) in history from the Australian National University (ANU), and is a Fellow of Trinity College of Music, London.
In March 2001 he resigned from the active priestly ministry of the Catholic Church after thirty-three years of service due to a doctrinal dispute with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over his book Papal Power (1997).
While he is well known as a commentator on Catholicism and the papacy, he also has a strong interest in environmental and population issues. Nowadays he works as a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster on environmental issues, social ethics, theology, history and media.
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Thursday, March 23 at 7pm ET
Dr. Nikki Taylor Discusses Her Book, “Driven Toward Madness: The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio”(2016)
As part of our Women Witnesses for Racial Justice series, please join us as we welcome Dr. Nikki M. Taylor, Professor of History and Chair of the Department as she discusses her book Driven Toward Madness: The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio (2016).
The focus of her story is Margaret Garner, an enslaved wife and mother who, along with her entire family, escaped from slavery in northern Kentucky in 1856. When their owners caught up with the Garner family, Margaret tried to kill all four of her children – and succeeded in killing one – rather than see them return to slavery. Using black feminist and interdisciplinary methodologies, this book retells this harrowing story from the perspective of Margaret Garner–a woman who could not read or write and left little of her own voice in the historical record. Ultimately, Driven Toward Madness examines why this fated act was the last best option for her as an enslaved mother.
Dr. Nikki M. Taylor, Ph.D., specializes in 19th century African American History. Her sub-specialties are in Urban, African American Women, and Intellectual History. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and Duke University (MA, PhD, Certificate in Women’s Studies), Dr. Taylor has won several fellowships including Fulbright, Social Science Research Council, and Woodrow Wilson. She is also the Principal Investigator of two institutional grants, including the $5 million Mellon Just Futures grant (2021) and the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program Grant (2017). She is currently completing her fourth monograph, “‘Brooding Over Bloody Revenge:’ Enslaved Women, ‘Wild Justice’ and Lethal Resistance to Slavery.” The manuscript examines enslaved women who used lethal violence to resist slavery from the colonial to antebllum eras, challenging all previous interpretations about the nature of their resistance.
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Catholic Church Involvement in Native American Boarding Schools: Learning to Walk the Good Road Toward Healing |
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Presented by the Listening, Learning and Education (LLE) Subcommittee of Catholic Native Boarding School Accountability and Healing Project (AHP).
Monday March 20 | 2:00pm to 3:30pm ET "Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience in First Nations Communities" with Dr. Amy Bombay, Anishinaabe from Rainy River First Nations. Details/Register
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"Our Lady of the Way" Prayer Service for Equality |
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Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 11 a.m. ET (US) / 4 p.m. CEST
Join Women's Ordination Conference for this virtual prayer service (via Zoom) on World Day of Prayer for Women's Ordination.
Register
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DignityUSA Lenten Reflection Series |
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Wednesdays in Lent at 8pm ET
Join DignityUSA each Wednesday night in Lent starting on February 22, Ash Wednesday, through April 5 to discuss the scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Free, but registration is required. Register once to get a reminder each week, and join for a single session or the entire series!
Details/Register
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Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship For Women Discerning Priestly Ordination |
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This unique scholarship awards $2,200 to women and non-binary persons on their academic and spiritual paths, discerning ordination.
Endowed by Sheila Durkin Dierks and her family, Women's Ordination Conference is honored to celebrate the pioneering legacy of Lucile Murray Durkin.
Learn more and apply at https://www.womensordination.org
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Grant Offered to Small Intentional Eucharistic Communities |
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The John and Roberta Hydar Small Faith Community Award is a financial grant offered to small intentional eucharistic communities who propose an initiative/project which celebrates the lives of John and Roberta and reflects the mission and ministry of CORPUS. Small intentional eucharistic communities have become the oasis for Catholics rooted in the Vatican II principles of justice, equality, and consensus.
Find details and full qualifications as well as an application form at https://www.corpus.org/. Please contact Linda Pinto at corpususa@gmail.com (or 570-491-7306) if you have questions or need clarification.
The deadline for electronic submission of the application is Friday, March 24, 2023
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Scholarship Opportunities for Future Latinx Theologians |
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The University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas, has received a major grant through the Lilly Endowment to empower future Latinx theologians. Scholarships for Masters degrees in Pastoral Ministry are available. Learn more about UIW and this exciting grant, “Haciendo Caminos”(“creating pathways”), providing scholarships and more. For information, write Dr. Javier Clavere clavere@uiwtx.edu College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.
The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the founders of the University have deep roots in Mexico and in the Hispanic community in the U.S. Learn about the Sisters and see their recent exhibit INCARNATE WORD SISTERS IN THE BORDERLANDS: ACCOMPANYING OUR TEXAS MEXICAN COMMUNITIES, 1871 – PRESENT.
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We seek changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life and leadership. |
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FutureChurch is a national 501(c)(3) organization and your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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