DeaconChat is a joint initiative of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, FutureChurch, and Voice of the Faithful.
On May 12, 2016 Pope Francis — responding to a question posed by members of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) — said that he would establish a commission to study the question of ordaining women deacons in the Roman Catholic Church. That commission was formally announced in August and began its work in November of 2016. As the commission undertakes its work, it is important that Catholics — lay and ordained — undergo their own study and discernment of the history and present possibility of ordaining women to the diaconate. Many Catholics — clergy included — are eager to learn more about this topic. Thus, our goal is to bring the ordained and the laity together in conversation to continue to learn and discern together.
As the twelve experts who compose the Commission for the Study of the Diaconate of Women help Pope Francis determine whether the Church should restore women deacons, FutureChurch has launched the “100 Women Deacons” Campaign asking Catholic women who have considered a call to the diaconate to share that discernment with the wider church.
View the stories of women who have considered a call to the diaconate and share your own story:
The 45 page A Million Voices resource packet educates about the use of gospel nonviolence when a Catholic’s right and responsibility to speak on a “matter concerning the good of the Church” (Canon 212.2) is violated. The packet is organized into two threads: Thread One provides resources and strategies for those who wish to exercise their right and responsibility to continue the discussion of women’s roles in the church, including the current church teaching on the non-ordination of women to the priesthood; Thread Two provides resources and strategies for addressing and resisting an array of common abuses of authority in the US Church experienced by many Catholics at both the parish and diocesan level. The packet also includes advocacy materials for both threads.
Women and the Word Resource for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost
This resource offers time tested ways to incorporate women in our salvation history and women today during Lent, Holy Week, the Easter Season and Pentecost. You will receive:
Lent: Were You There? Women Witness the Way of the Cross Prayer Service
Holy Week: Concrete Ways to Incorporate Women in Your Holy Week Services
Good Friday: With Him All Along: The Women on the Journey
Easter Season: Concrete Ways to Incorporate Biblical Women in the Easter Season
Easter Gospel Restoration Project – Resources for including the story of Mary of Magdala on Easter Sunday
Pentecost Prayer Service featuring the Spirit of Women
Women and the Word Resources are available in the FutureChurch shop.
Our Mary of Nazareth: Feast of the Assumption Download offers educational and prayer resources to help you learn about and pray with Mary the disciple and prophet.
Education Resources on Mary of Nazareth
Mary Through History — An easy-to-read examination of Marian thought and art from the Early Church through Today by Mary Christine Athans, BVM, Ph.D.
Reclaiming Mary: A Task for Feminist Theology by Mary Grey, Ph.D.
Will The Real Mary Please Stand Up? Transcript and MP3 of Podcast Discussion with Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ
Mary of Nazareth: Sign of God’s Liberation by Christine Schenk, CSJ
Outline and Discussion Questions to host your own four-session series on Mary of Nazareth
Resources on the Feast of the Assumption
The Assumption: History and Questions by Judith Davis, Ph.D.
Beyond the Womb: Mary as Disciple by Judith Davis, Ph.D.
A New Perspective: Mary as Prophet in the Visitation by Penelope Duckworth
Mary’s Influence on Jesus: Three Prophetic Themes by Penelope Duckworth
The Wisdom of Older Women by Jordan Denari
Prayer Service Celebrating Mary, Disciple and Prophet
Poetry by Christine Lore Weber
Mary of Nazereth Resource Packs are available in the FutureChurch shop.
In 1997, FutureChurch launched an international campaign to restore St. Mary of Magdala to her rightful place as the apostle to the apostles, asking supporters to sponsor special celebrations on or around July 22 at which a biblical expert would trace Mary’s unparalleled fidelity in accompanying Jesus through crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. This would be followed by a prayer service at which a woman would preside, preach and encourage attendees to reflect on their own encounters with, and witness to, the risen Christ.
Annual celebrations of St. Mary of Magdala exploded after that, going from 23 that first year, to 150 the following year to between 250 to 400 celebrations worldwide in each year since. Every summer, thousands of women and men help correct an egregious injustice done to a great woman leader in our church.
About this year’s celebration: We live in a moment marked by fear, violence, division, and the silencing of voices — in our world, in our church, and in our communities. And we believe Mary Magdalene’s witness speaks directly into this moment: a woman who carried grief to the tomb, who was called by name, and who was sent to proclaim that love is stronger than death. This year’s theme, Easter Joy as Resistance, reflects our conviction that joy is not a retreat from the suffering of our world. It is a holy act of resistance.
We invite you to host your own celebration, adapting this prayer service as necessary. This prayer service is yours to adapt. We have designed it to be flexible, and we encourage you to make it your own. Change the readings, adjust the language, add petitions to the litany of lament, substitute songs your congregation knows and loves. What matters is that your community gathers, names its grief, and proclaims Easter hope together.
If this theme does not meet your community’s needs, FutureChurch has an extensive library of celebration guides, which provide everything you need – prayers, readings, and music suggestions – to plan your own celebration. Click on the link below to get started!
A 2021 Lenten Bible Study Series with Dr. Lizzie Berne DeGear
Beginning Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET through March 31, 2021 (6 week series)
Join FutureChurch for six evenings (75 minutes each evening) of Bible Study during Lent.
Each week, Dr. DeGear will introduce a story from Scripture where women’s power and the divine feminine are waiting to be discovered and incorporated into our own lives.
Some of the powerful and inspiring women we will meet include:
The midwives from Exodus who establish their own dynastic lines of power;
The business-owning women of Proverbs educating the next generation of literate and successful young women;
The healer in Mark’s gospel who invites Jesus to experience resurrection before he dies.
Each week we will also explore a biblical image of the divine feminine, tapping into the power of that image through a spiritual exercise that can be practiced throughout the week.
Each evening will include:
Welcome and opening meditation
Presentation on one biblical story that introduces us to a surprising form of power held by our female ancestors
Discussion — all are invited to reflect on the story through the lens of their own lives
Introduction of an image of the divine feminine from Scripture
