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Women Witnesses for Racial Justice: Download PDFs

SISTER ANTONA EBO

MOTHER MARY LANGE

SISTER THEA BOWMAN

ANNA “MADRE” BATES

MOTHER MATHILDA BEASLEY, OSF

MARY JANE CHISLEY TOLTON (mother of August Tolton)

MOTHER EMMA LEWIS

Venerable Henriette DeLille, S.S.F.

Sister M. Martin de Porres Grey

Sister Mary Aloysius (Anne Marie) Becraft, O.S.P.

Mother Josephine Charles, S.S.F.

Mother Mary Theodore (Eliza Barbara) Williams, F.H.M.

Dr. Lena Edwards

Mary Louise Smith

 

Mary of Magdala Celebration Planning Guides

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.

2023: Rethinking Women’s Participation | Stories of Synodality Then and Now

This year as we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary of Magdala, we have been given an invitation by the Church present to return to a very ancient tradition of Church past. Pope Francis has invited us to live as a Synodal Church. Much has been made, and indeed much ignored, regarding the Synod on Synodality. However, this Synod will without a doubt be one of the greatest legacies of Francis’ papacy. Because Synodality is the only path forward for the Catholic Church in the 21st century. 

Jesus himself practiced Synodality and sought to teach it to his disciples – both women and men – through example: teaching through parables; seeking out those on the periphery, whose voices had been ignored or silenced; placing each person he encountered on his path at the center of his ministry, listening to their needs, hopes, and dreams.

Perhaps the greatest ‘miss’ in the history of Synodality was that of the courageous witness of Mary Magdalene, who was commissioned by Jesus to “go and tell” the good news. And we live with the wound of that ‘miss’ in our Church to this day.

Through this prayer service, as we recover her witness and honor the impact it continues to make, we gather our prayers together for all women who continue to be ignored, discredited, and disbelieved. The voices of Catholics around the world calling for greater equality for women in the Church in “Enlarge the Space of Our Tent” will guide us through our prayer service as we highlight women’s synodal encounters with Jesus, then, and the synodal encounters in the heartfelt sharing of the People of God, now.

We are grateful to Kelly Meraw, who developed and compiled this year’s prayer service. Kelly is Director of Liturgy, Music, and Pastoral Care for St. John – St. Paul Collaborative in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She is also the primary facilitator for her Collaborative’s Committee for Synodality.

We invite you to host your own celebration, adapting this prayer service as necessary. FutureChurch has an extensive library of resources to help – including this year’s celebration guide, which provides everything you need – prayers, readings, and music suggestions – to plan your own celebration.

Download Resources

2020 Keynote Presentation by Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu

Dr. Cecilia González-Andrieu, Ph.D. presents a frank look at what the debris and fissures of our present moment reveal about what we must do differently as Church in the world and for the world.

An internationally sought-after speaker and scholar, Cecilia González-Andrieu is Professor of Theology and Theological Aesthetics at Loyola Marymount University, where she also works on multiple initiatives to serve the Latinx community, especially undocumented students and workers. As a scholar-activist González-Andrieu speaks and marches with those who thirst for the liberative power of theological thought and is a contributing writer for America Magazine and a member of the board of directors of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. Bringing together her scholarship, teaching, and service she has dedicated herself to educating and empowering young Catholics to embody a “faith that does justice.”  She received her Ph.D. in Art & Religion and Systematic Theology from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and is also a double alumna of LMU. A respected lecturer on issues of political theology, theological aesthetics, and Latino theology González-Andrieu was just named the GTU’s 2020 Alumna of the Year. She is the author of the acclaimed book Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty, co-editor of Teaching Global Theologies: Power and Praxis, and a contributor to many other books and international journals, including Go Into the Streets: The Welcoming Church of Pope Francis and the forthcoming Miradas a todo color: Teologías feministas contextuales ibero-americanas.

Read Dr. González-Andrieu’s feature article for America Magazine which is based on this presentation. 

2020 Fall Event Program

FutureChurch’s 2020 Fall Event Program includes biographies of our guests, a listing of our event sponsors, advertisements from friends of FutureChurch, and reports and updates on our programming.

View/download the program.

Marie Collins Accepts FutureChurch’s 2019 Louis J. Trivison Award

FutureChurch co-director, Deborah Rose-Milavec, introduces and presents Marie Collins with the 2019 Louis J. Trivison award in recognition of her tireless pursuit of justice for survivors of clergy sexual abuse, protection of children and vulnerable people, and accountability from the hierarchy. Accepting the award, Marie Collins offers a brief presentation on her background, her experience as a member of the Papal Commission for the Protection of Minors, two reforms she sees as necessary, and what gives her hope.

Read the transcript of this presentation.

2019 Keynote Presentation: Robert Mickens

FutureChurch co-founder, Christine Schenk, CSJ, introduces Robert Mickens, English-language editor for LaCroix International. Mickens puts forth one answer to the question, “The Francis Reforms: Too Little, Too Late” by placing the Papacy of Francis in the context of modern history and recent papacies, arguing Pope Francis’ push toward a more universal and less Euro-centric focus is perhaps one of his greatest reforms.

Read the transcript of this presentation

2019 Fall Event Program

FutureChurch’s 2019 Fall Event Program includes biographies of our guests, a listing of our event sponsors, advertisements from friends of FutureChurch, and reports and updates on our programming.

View/download the program.

Karen Gargamelli-McCreight Accepts the 2019 Christine Schenk Award

Friend of FutureChurch, Luke Hansen, introduces and presents Karen Gargamelli-McCreight with the 2019 Christine Schenk Award for Young Catholic Leaders in recognition of her co-founding of Benincasa Community in New York as well as her efforts to promote the role laity — and particularly women — in the Church. Accepting the award, Karen Gargamelli-McCreight introduces Benincasa Community, tells the story of its founding, and shares some of their advocacy actions with us.

Read the transcript of this presentation.