By Martha Ligas

The other day I went to get a haircut. My hairdresser, a lovely lady whom I enjoy chatting with but don’t yet know well, made a comment about next week’s weather, and I casually mentioned that I wouldn’t be in town next week.

“Oh, where are you going?”
“To Rome! I’m excited.”
“For work or for fun?”
“For work.”
“What type of work do you do?”

At this question, I paused. How could I possibly begin to explain to someone outside of the progressive Catholic Church reform world what I am doing in Rome next week? So, I stumbled through the next 30 seconds of conversation.

“Well…there’s a big meeting with the Pope that is happening in Rome next month.”
“Oh cool. Will you meet the Pope?”
“Well…probably not.”
“But you’ll be in the meeting?”
“Nope, not in the meeting either.”
“So….?”
“Well, we’re basically going to be outside the meeting…supporting the meeting, but also voicing our frustration about who isn’t in the meeting, and what they aren’t talking about.”

I knew that this wasn’t a great answer, but it seemed to be enough for my hairdresser. She smiled and nodded, and then changed the subject to something a little easier for us to talk about. Though we moved on pretty quickly, the conversation has been on my mind all week.
Why are we going to Rome when we aren’t Synod delegates? What good is it, to spend the money and take the time to fly across the Atlantic when we aren’t in the meeting anyway? What’s the point of the journey?

Will FutureChurch’s presence in Rome catalyze a conversation about women’s ordination on the Synod floor? Maybe. But probably not.

Will FutureChurch’s presence in Rome inspire the Dicastery to expand the lectionary to include the stories of hidden women in Scripture? I hope so, but we can’t say for sure.

Will FutureChurch’s presence in Rome inspire movements of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the LGBTQ+ community that it has so often harmed? I wish, but I don’t actually think so.

If we’re expecting immediate results from our presence in Rome this week, I think we’ll be sorely disappointed.

And yet, without a shadow of a doubt, I know in my very being: Our presence in Rome this week matters.

It matters that we will be there, carrying a banner with the names of all of the women traveling with us in Spirit.

It matters that we will be praying together in hope that women’s voices of Scripture and of today will be heard in our Sunday liturgies.

It matters that we will be partnering with other church reform organizations as a collective and uniform body representing a new way forward.

It matters that we will physically– bodily– be present to this moment of Church history, showing up with our whole selves to say yes, we support synodality, but only when the doors are thrown wide open to the voices of all.

Because though we are only a few, we carry with us the prayers and the hopes of thousands in the FutureChurch community. We carry you with us, in our hearts and in our voices and in our courage to point the way towards a more inclusive church. We stand on the shoulders of giants who have done this work for ages, and we do this work with the hope that our children will never have to.

So no, we aren’t going to be in the big meeting. But our presence in Rome matters, our bags are packed with our clothes and our laptops and all of your prayers, and we are ready to say hello to the Eternal City.

And hey, maybe if we’re lucky we’ll even spot the Pope.